Application Solutions Architect - VP

An established international financial services organisation is looking to appoint an experienced Application / Solution Architect to play a key role in shaping and delivering its technology architecture. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing scalable, resilient and secure application architectures across a complex enterprise environment, ensuring solutions align with business objectives, technology strategy and regulatory requirements. Working closely with engineering, infrastructure, security, data and business stakeholders, you will provide architectural leadership across strategic initiatives, application modernisation and technology transformation programmes. This is an opportunity to influence architectural direction, drive the adoption of modern technologies and help deliver future-ready platforms within a highly regulated financial services environment. Key Responsibilities Application & Solution Architecture - Define end-to-end application architectures for strategic business initiatives and enterprise platforms. - Produce high-level and low-level solution designs, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards and technology roadmaps. - Design scalable, secure and resilient application frameworks. - Drive adoption of modern architectural patterns, including cloud-native architectures, microservices, event-driven design, API-first integration, Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and containerisation. - Support legacy application transformation, rationalisation and modernisation. Architecture Governance & Standards - Establish and maintain architecture principles, standards and reusable design patterns. - Participate in architecture governance forums and Design Authority processes. - Ensure solutions align with target-state architecture and wider technology strategy. - Identify and manage technical debt, architectural risks and design considerations. Stakeholder Management & Leadership - Work closely with business stakeholders to translate strategic requirements into effective technology solutions. - Collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, security, data and operational teams. - Provide architectural guidance and leadership to delivery teams throughout the project lifecycle. - Engage with senior stakeholders, external partners and international technology teams. - Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to technical and non-technical audiences. Technology Strategy & Transformation - Contribute to technology strategy, architecture roadmaps and target operating model development. - Support cloud adoption, hybrid and multi-cloud transformation initiatives. - Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend appropriate solutions. - Identify opportunities for technology simplification, standardisation and reuse. Delivery & Implementation - Support Agile and DevOps delivery methodologies. - Guide engineering teams through architecture implementation and technical design decisions. - Review technical solutions, code structures, APIs and integration approaches where required. - Ensure non-functional requirements, including performance, resilience, security and operational readiness, are considered throughout delivery. Skills & Experience - Proven experience working as an Application Architect, Solution Architect or Technical Architect within a complex enterprise environment. - Financial services experience, ideally within banking or another highly regulated organisation. - Strong understanding of application architecture, solution design and enterprise technology principles. - Experience producing high-level and low-level architecture designs. - Strong knowledge of modern application architecture patterns, including microservices, API-led integration and event-driven architecture. - Experience with cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS or Google Cloud Platform. - Understanding of containerisation and orchestration technologies. - Experience supporting application modernisation and legacy transformation programmes. - Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence technical and business stakeholders. - Understanding of architecture governance frameworks and Design Authority processes. Qualifications & Certifications - Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience. - TOGAF, Zachman or other recognised architecture framework certifications would be advantageous. - Cloud certifications across Azure, AWS or Google Cloud would be beneficial. - Relevant AI certifications would be advantageous. Robert Walters Operations Limited is an employment business and employment agency and welcomes applications from all candidates