Solutions Architect

SONICOM; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 72,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

43 days annual leave

Generous pension schemes

Flexible working policy

On-site leisure facilities

Cycle-to-work scheme

Season ticket loan

Job summary

Imperial College London is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead faculties across the Information & Communication Technologies domain. The role sits within Imperial's Digital Products and Technology teams, driving strategic operational excellence and governance.

The successful candidate will shape digital services for staff and students, ensure secure, scalable architectures, and partner with product managers, engineers and stakeholders to deliver impactful outcomes at

Qualifications

• Experience designing and delivering complex digital or enterprise solutions within large organisations.
• Strong understanding of enterprise architecture principles and solution architecture practices.
• Experience with cloud platforms, enterprise applications, integration technologies and data platforms.
• Knowledge of APIs, microservices and cloud-native architectures.
• Ability to evaluate technology options and balance business, technical and operational trade-offs.
• Experience working with suppliers and supporting technology procurement activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of solution architectures across multiple product and platform domains, ensuring alignment with strategy and architecture principles.
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers and stakeholders to translate business needs into practical technology solutions.
• Develop architecture designs that support scalability, resilience, interoperability and long-term maintainability.
• Produce and maintain architectural artefacts, including solution designs, diagrams, standards and reference architectures.
• Provide architectural leadership throughout the lifecycle of products and services.
• Ensure solutions meet cybersecurity, data protection, accessibility and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Learning new technologies

Enterprise architecture

Cloud platforms

APIs & microservices

Stakeholder engagement

Architecture documentation

Analytical thinking

Cybersecurity best practices

Tools

ServiceNow

T4

Microsoft Dynamics

Job description

Job number COO01419 Faculties Chief Operating Officer (COO) Team Departments Information & Communication Technologies Salary or Salary range £71,793- £82,031 per annum Location/campus White City Campus - Hybrid Contract type work pattern Full time - Open ended Posting End Date 9 Sept 2026

About the role

Imperial College London is seeking an experienced Solutions Architect to join our Digital Products and Technology teams, helping shape the digital services that support our world-leading education, research and innovation activities.

As a Solutions Architect working across multiple product domains, you will play a pivotal role in defining the technology solutions that underpin Imperial's digital ecosystem. Working closely with product managers, engineers, platform teams, researchers, academics and professional services colleagues, you will design secure, scalable and sustainable solutions that deliver tangible outcomes for our staff and students.

This is a unique opportunity to influence technology decisions across a diverse portfolio, ensuring that solutions align with Imperial's Digital Strategy, Enterprise Architecture principles and product roadmaps while supporting the University's ambitions for digital transformation.

What you would be doing

As a Solutions Architect, you will:

• Lead the design of solution architectures across multiple product and platform domains, ensuring alignment with Imperial's Digital Strategy and Enterprise Architecture principles.
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers and stakeholders to translate business needs into practical, sustainable technology solutions.
• Develop architecture designs that support scalability, resilience, interoperability and long-term maintainability.
• Produce and maintain architectural artefacts, including solution designs, architecture diagrams, standards and reference architectures.
• Provide architectural leadership throughout the discovery, design, delivery and operational lifecycle of products and services.
• Ensure solutions meet cybersecurity, data protection, accessibility and regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to architecture governance activities, including Technical Design Authority reviews and technology working groups.
• Review solution designs across the digital portfolio and provide technical assurance against established standards.
• Platform-based architecture
• DevOps and automation
• Evaluate emerging technologies and provide recommendations that support Imperial's long-term technology strategy.
• Facilitate informed architectural decision-making across multidisciplinary teams.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support the continuous evolution of Imperial's architecture standards, practices and communities of practice.

What we are looking for

We are looking for someone who:

• Loves to learn new technologies
• Has experience designing and delivering complex digital or enterprise solutions within large organisations.
• Has worked across the full product or platform lifecycle, from discovery and design through to operation and decommissioning.
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of enterprise architecture principles and solution architecture practices.
• Has experience working with cloud platforms, enterprise applications, integration technologies and data platforms.
• Understands modern architectural patterns including APIs, microservices and cloud-native architectures.
• Can evaluate technology options and balance business, technical and operational trade-offs effectively.
• Has experience working with suppliers and supporting technology procurement activities.
• Can engage and influence a diverse range of stakeholders, from senior leaders to technical delivery teams.
• Produces high-quality architecture documentation and communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrates excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Has an understanding of secure-by-design principles and cybersecurity best practices.

The following would be advantageous:

• Service Now, T4 and Microsoft Dynamics
• Experience contributing to architecture governance, design review or technical assurance processes.
• Experience within Higher Education, research-intensive organisations or other complex institutional environments.
• Knowledge of accessibility and inclusive design principles.
• Understanding of data governance, data quality and information management practices.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to shape products and services that directly affect the experience of thousands of students.
• A key leadership position within one of the world’s leading universities.
• A collaborative and supportive environment where innovation is encouraged and celebrated.
• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to use science for humanity.
• Benefit from a sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 43 days’ annual leave and generous pension schemes).
• Access to a range of workplace benefits including a flexible working policy from day one, generous family leave packages, on-site leisure facilities and cycle-to-work scheme.
• Interest-free season ticket loan schemes for travel.
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing .

Further information

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week).

If you require any further details about the role, please contact: Kavita Kapoor, Director of Digital Products ([e-mail] ).

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

We reserve the right to close the advert before the stated closing date, should we receive a high volume of applications. It is therefore advisable that you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you encounter any technical issues while applying online, please don't hesitate to email us [e-mail]. We're here to help.

About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top-ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.

Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial College London.

Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our web pages .

Proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. We welcome applications from the Armed Forces community.

Our values are at the root of everything we do, and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity, and innovation.