Solution Architect reference: 0000051885

## Opportunity Review: Solution Architect (Northampton) This review provides potential candidates with insights into the Solution Architect role, highlighting key advantages and considerations for career growth.

This Solution Architect position offers a significant opportunity to shape the future of a major bank's IT infrastructure. You will be instrumental in designing and directing solutions for the bank's most intricate IT systems and platforms. This is a chance to leverage industry-leading approaches to tackle complex functional and non-functional requirements, making a tangible impact on critical banking operations.

Key Advantages for Candidates:

• Strategic Impact: Directly influence the bank's strategic architecture direction in specialist technology areas, such as trading platforms.
• Deep Technical Engagement: Provide deep technical expertise, evaluating and designing complex technology architectures, and fostering continuous learning within the architecture community.
• Innovation & Problem Solving: Manage innovative design and engineering initiatives, collaborating with technical experts to resolve challenging problems and support the bank's technology strategy.
• Standards & Governance: Develop and promote architectural standards, guidelines, and governance policies, ensuring quality, consistency, and risk mitigation.
• Emerging Technologies: Identify and implement solutions based on emerging technology trends, aligning with the bank's strategic objectives.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Build and maintain strong advisor relationships with business partners, architects, and engineering teams, driving successful design and adoption outcomes.
• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: Contribute to the growth of the engineering and architecture community through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and streamlining operations.
• Career Development: The role offers clear pathways for growth, whether through leadership responsibilities (setting strategy, managing teams, driving change) or as a highly valued individual contributor (subject matter expert, technical direction).

Key Considerations for Candidates:

• Mandatory AWS Certification: The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certification is a non-negotiable requirement.
• Technical Breadth: A strong foundation in solution architecture is expected, specifically with technologies such as Java, Python, Spark, Glue ETL, DynamoDB, Postgres, and MongoDB.
• Cloud Native & Modern Architectures: Proficiency is required in modern architectural paradigms including Zero Trust Architecture, AWS Cloud Native architectures, Event-Driven/Streaming Architectures, Microservices, Kafka, Object Stores, DevOps, Kubernetes, SOA, API Design, and Enterprise Integration Patterns.
• Domain Knowledge: Experience in the Payment & Fraud domains is highly valued, suggesting a need for business-aligned technical solutions.
• Communication & Leadership: Excellent communication and presentation skills are essential for engaging with senior stakeholders and advocating for architectural decisions. The ability to engage directly with senior leaders from other areas is also a key requirement.
• Analytical & Strategic Thinking: Candidates will be assessed on critical skills such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking, and digital and technology understanding. A capacity for sophisticated analytical thought and interpretative thinking to define problems and develop innovative solutions is crucial.
• Risk Management: A demonstrable ability to manage and mitigate risks, and to strengthen controls, is a core expectation.
• Organizational Alignment: Understanding the bank's functions and business strategies is important to contribute effectively to achieving business goals.
• Values Alignment: Candidates are expected to embody the bank's values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence, and Stewardship, as well as the Barclays Mindset of Empower, Challenge, and Drive.

In summary, this Solution Architect role is ideal for experienced professionals seeking a challenging and rewarding position within a dynamic financial institution. It offers a platform to leverage cutting-edge technologies, influence strategic direction, and contribute to the bank's ongoing digital transformation. Success in this role requires a robust technical skillset, strong analytical abilities, excellent communication, and a commitment to driving impactful architectural solutions.