Solution Architect - Data

Skipton Building Society; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual discretionary bonus

25 days annual leave

Pension contribution up to 10%

Mortgage discounts

Flexible working

Private medical insurance

Wellbeing app

Volunteer opportunities

Cycle-to-work

Discounts on home tech

Job summary

Skipton Building Society is seeking a lead architect to design scalable technology solutions that align with enterprise strategy and data governance. You will partner with product, delivery and engineering teams to translate complex requirements into practical designs, guiding decisions for sustainable outcomes and governance across delivery lifecycles.

The role embraces modern, cloud-native architectures and API-led integration, with a hybrid work model enabling collaboration and flexibility

Qualifications

• Strong solution-architecture experience across enterprise applications, platforms and data ecosystems.
• Deep understanding of how data supports business capabilities and outcomes.
• Experience delivering enterprise-scale solutions with data governance.
• Knowledge of data modelling, integration patterns and data flows.
• Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and analytics.
• Collaborative work with business, engineering, architecture and analytics in agile delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder management and ability to explain complex concepts.

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end technology solutions aligned to architecture strategy and target-state capabilities.
• Partner with product owners and engineering teams to turn complex requirements into designs.
• Guide technical decisions balancing short-term delivery with long-term sustainability.
• Provide architectural governance across the delivery lifecycle.
• Identify risks and opportunities to improve simplicity and reuse.
• Champion modern architecture approaches, including API-led integration and cloud-native design.

Skills

Solution architecture

Data architecture

Cloud platforms

Stakeholder management

Agile delivery

Job description

What You’ll Do

Every day at Skipton is an innovation day. You’ll join our Technology team and find that we’re constantly focused on realistic challenges as we build tools that get things done for our members—quicker than you imagine. You’ll play a key role in turning strategic ambitions into practical, deliverable solutions, influencing transformational change, collaborating closely with engineering and product teams, and embedding architecture into delivery to create meaningful, lasting impact.

• Design end-to-end technology solutions aligned to enterprise architecture, strategy, and target-state capabilities.
• Partner with product owners, delivery leads, and engineering teams to turn complex requirements into clear, actionable designs.
• Guide and influence technical decisions, balancing short‑term delivery with long‑term sustainability.
• Provide architectural governance and assurance across the delivery lifecycle.
• Identify risks, trade‑offs, and opportunities to improve simplicity, reuse, and coherence.
• Champion modern architecture approaches, including API‑led integration, cloud‑native design, and reusable platforms.

We work in a hybrid way, balancing flexibility with collaboration. For this role, you’ll typically spend three days a week in our Skipton office, with the remaining two days working from home.

What You’ll Need

• Strong solution‑architecture experience with the ability to design scalable, end‑to‑end solutions across applications, platforms and data ecosystems.
• Deep understanding of how data supports business capabilities, customer outcomes and strategic decision‑making.
• Experience developing enterprise‑scale solutions, balancing immediate delivery needs with long‑term data quality, governance and integrity.
• Solid knowledge of data‑architecture principles, including data modelling, integration patterns, pipelines and information flows.
• Familiarity with modern cloud‑based data platforms, analytics technologies and data‑driven solution architectures.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across business, engineering, architecture and analytics teams within agile delivery environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and explain complex technical concepts at all levels.

What’s In It For You

• Annual discretionary bonus scheme.
• 25 days of standard annual leave + bank holidays + an additional day per year of service, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10% per annum).
• Colleague mortgages and access to Skipton products and services at discounted rates.
• Flexible working to help balance your commitments.
• Private medical insurance, health and wellbeing app, volunteering opportunities, cycle‑to‑work scheme, discounted gym memberships.
• Lifestyle perks such as a Home and Tech voucher, usable at John Lewis, Currys and IKEA.