Technical Architect

About the job

We have an urgent contract opportunity for a hands-on Senior Technical Architect to play a leading role in the biggest technology transformation programme our client has ever undertaken.

The Project / challenge

The business currently operates across two legacy core operational systems (each with different capabilities, processes and underlying technologies) with the plan to consolidate and replace these with a modern, AI-first SaaS platform, while transforming the wider architecture around it.

This is much bigger than simply implementing a new system. The new platform sits at the heart of a complex operational ecosystem spanning courier applications, ordering and operational systems, scanning and measuring technology, optimisation platforms, third-party services, data and analytics platforms and numerous satellite applications.

The challenge is to understand how the business operates today, how all of these systems interact, and what the future architecture needs to look like.

What You'll Be Doing

Working closely with the CTO, Director of Engineering and wider business and technology teams, you'll take ownership of the architecture from AS-IS through to TO-BE.

You'll:

• Lead discovery workshops with business and technology stakeholders to understand operational processes, requirements, pain points and dependencies.
• Map the AS-IS business processes and technology landscape, including the two core legacy systems, Microsoft ESB, integrations, interfaces, data flows and satellite applications.
• Translate business requirements and processes into a clear TO-BE architecture and technical blueprint.
• Produce High-Level Designs (HLDs), architecture diagrams, UML diagrams, integration models and supporting architectural artefacts.
• Design how the new SaaS platform fits into the wider technology ecosystem rather than viewing it in isolation.
• Define the integration architecture across operational systems, courier applications, optimisation solutions, scanning and measuring technology, SaaS platforms and third parties.
• Help drive the move towards a modern Azure and event-driven architecture, including event buses, real-time messaging, APIs and appropriate integration patterns.
• Define how operational and event data flows into the wider data ecosystem, including Databricks and Microsoft Fabric.
• Establish architectural standards and patterns that can be applied consistently across the programme.
• Work directly with potential technology vendors, asking the right questions and challenging proposed solutions.
• Provide technical assurance across areas including functionality, scalability, resilience, performance, security, cost, telemetry/observability and supportability.
• Help define the transition from today's architecture through implementation, migration and ultimately decommissioning of the legacy platforms.

Person requirements:

• Strong experience as a Technical Architect / Systems Architect | Solutions Architect.
• Evidence of personally designing architecture for major core system replacement, modernisation or transformation programmes.
• Strong experience moving from business process and requirements through to technical architecture and HLD.
• Experience designing solutions across complex estates involving multiple systems, interfaces and third parties.
• Strong knowledge of Azure architecture (preferred but any cloud based transformation is fine).
• Experience with event-driven architecture, event buses, real-time messaging, APIs and modern integration patterns.
• Experience working with legacy ESB environments and designing the transition towards modern integration architectures.
• Good understanding of modern data architecture; Databricks and/or Microsoft Fabric would be particularly relevant.
• Experience working with SaaS vendors and providing technical assurance during selection and implementation.
• The confidence and technical depth to challenge vendors and ask the right functional and non-functional questions.
• Strong stakeholder and workshop leadership skills with the ability to communicate architecture to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A pragmatic, hands-on approach, someone comfortable operating at both the big-picture architecture level and deep within the detail.

Contract Details

Contract: 6 months

IR35: Outside IR35

Rate: £625 per day, with some flexibility for the right person

Location: Liverpool / Hybrid