Senior Solutions Architect

IT Search; Dublin; On-site; EUR 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

IT Search is partnering with a major financial institution to recruit a Senior Solutions Architect for its Risk Technology team. The role centers on designing mission-critical, high-volume systems and guiding architectural strategy in a complex banking environment.

You will balance strategic design with hands-on validation, including PoCs, governance, and collaboration with Risk, Compliance, and Engineering. Strong UML/Visio and multi-stakeholder communication are essential.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Solution Architecture or senior architectural roles.
• Deep expertise in microservices/SOA design within containerised environments.
• Proven experience with high-volume ETL and data processing systems.
• Experience with RDBMS (SQL Server/PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB).
• Strong RESTful/GraphQL APIs and asynchronous messaging (Redis/Kafka).
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management; UML/Visio proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Design and document robust solutions to solve complex business problems.
• Define and enforce architecture standards, DevOps/CI-CD pipelines.
• Develop PoCs and lead R&D to validate feasibility and drive innovation.
• Collaborate with Risk, Compliance, and Engineering teams to translate requirements.
• Create UML diagrams, Visio workflows, and clear technical documentation for diverse audiences.
• Advise on technology selection, vendor evaluations, and cost-benefit analyses.
• Mentor engineering teams on risk-aware design patterns and secure, resilient architecture.

Skills

Solution Architecture

Microservices

Data processing

REST APIs

GraphQL

UML/Visio

Stakeholder mgmt

Cloud security

Communication

DevOps/CI-CD

Tools

SQL Server

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Redis

Kafka

Job description

• Contract Length: 6 Months (Initial, with a strong likelihood of extension)
• Rate: Competitive Day Rate (Dependent on experience)

About the Client & Team

Join one of the world’s largest and most prestigious financial institutions. We are seeking a talented Senior Solutions Architect to join a high-performing Risk Technology team. This is a unique opportunity to design mission-critical applications within one of the most dynamic, complex, and fascinating areas of global banking.

If you thrive on solving intricate financial data puzzles, driving innovation, and designing resilient, high-volume systems, this is the contract for you.

Key Responsibilities

As a Senior Solutions Architect, you will balance strategic design with hands-on technical validation:

• Solution Design: Responsible for designing and documenting robust solutions to help solve complex business problems.
• Standards & Governance: Define and enforce architecture standards, coding best practices, and robust DevOps/CI-CD pipelines.
• Hands-on Innovation: Develop Proof of Concepts (PoCs) and lead R&D initiatives to validate technical feasibility and drive innovation.
• Collaboration: Partner closely with Risk, Compliance, and Engineering teams to translate business needs into elegant technical solutions.
• Documentation & Visualisation: Create high-quality UML diagrams, Visio workflows, and clear technical documentation tailored for diverse stakeholders (from developers to C-suite executives and auditors).
• Tech Strategy: Advise on technology selection, vendor evaluations, and cost-benefit analyses for core risk systems.
• Mentorship: Guide and mentor engineering teams on risk-aware design patterns, cloud security, and resilient architecture.

Required Skills & Qualifications

To excel in this role, you will ideally bring a strong blend of the following:

• Experience: 5+ years of dedicated experience in Solution Architecture (or equivalent senior architectural roles).
• Architecture Patterns: Deep expertise in microservices/SOA design within containerised environments.
• * Proven experience with high-volume ETL and data processing systems.
• Experience designing polyglot systems using diverse database technologies: RDBMS (SQL Server or PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (ideally MongoDB).
• Strong expertise with RESTful/GraphQL web APIs and asynchronous communication flows (using Redis Streams, Kafka, etc.).
• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication, diagramming (UML/Visio), and presentation skills. The ability to simplify highly complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences.

Bonus Skills

• Experience with TimeSeries databases (such as Prometheus) or Graph-native databases (e.g., Neo4j or TigerGraph).