Solutions Architect (Data)

Role Purpose

The Solutions Architects within the Solutions Architecture function take primary responsibility for the design and end to end solutions for project work, aligned to the Enterprise Roadmaps and Vision. The Solutions Architects will champion best practices, feed their depth of knowledge and expertise into the enterprise roadmaps, and offer coaching and consultancy to the delivery teams. Solutions Architects will also take part in the governance forums to ensure the ongoing conformity to the enterprise roadmaps.

Specifically to Data, the Data Solutions Architect will provide the Data Delivery teams with design support and consultancy for each delivery, will champion application development quality, work with the Delivery Seniors/Leads to ensure roadmap alignment, act as the bridge between the delivery teams and architecture, and ensure optimal use of enterprise assets.

Department Vision

Admiral IT has a long history of supporting the business to innovate and bring new products to market. The department completely refreshed the core policy administration systems in 2016 to allow the department and the business to continue to innovate further in the ever more digital marketplace. The department continues to build on top of and around the core systems to bring more innovation and technical excellence, including Cloud adoption, Big Data technologies and furthering our digital offerings.

Who are we looking for?

We take on many different roles within IT, but we consistently look for people who are: -

• Smart
• Passionate about what they do
• A continual learner (forever inquisitive for self-improvement)
• Self-motivated, creative and highly disciplined
• Solutions driven
• Positive and a great team member
• Able to work with all levels of seniority across IT and the wider business

Requirements / Technologies

• You will use a TOGAF based approach to tackle complex and exciting challenges
• You will work with many technologies across all aspects of IT, but our core tech includes
  • Google Cloud Platform (inc BigQuery and DataFlow)
  • Teradata, Oracle, SQL Server and DB2/400
  • Informatica and WhereScape
  • Microstrategy
• You will be expected to stay current in the technology domain through research / PoCs
• You will champion and oversee the design and implementation of best practices
• You will identify and promote innovative ways of using technology to maximise system benefit

Responsibilities

• To act as a lead in the development of fit for purpose solutions, ensuring end to end responsibility from how the users will be affected by the change, ensuring the correct technical choices (within the boundaries of the agreed enterprise assets), to ensuring the scale, performance, security and quality are designed in from the start.
• To work in tandem with the Enterprise Architects to understand the business goals and vision, and to contribute to the Enterprise Roadmaps.
• To assist in the decision-making process for data delivery teams to ensure that system changes are in line with target architecture, and that tactical decisions are being made appropriately and effectively
• Producing documentation of a high-quality and to a detailed level. Also ensuring all Decision Points, Building Blocks, Design Principles, Design Rationale and all interdependencies are understood, documented and communicated across IT, where appropriate
• Proactively managing and addressing project risks and issues. Escalating high priority issues to management with suggested solutions
• Acting as a point of reference within the team to provide in-depth knowledge and technical expertise
• Provide consultancy services to internal customers by offering technical guidance, and ensuring architecture principles, design standards and operational requirements are met.
• Act as a Coach and provide consultancy to the senior developers and technical leads
• Ensuring delivery of projects on time and to budget, by adopting delivery-focussed Admiral working practices and methodologies.
• Contribute to the architecture repository, using approved modelling tools and language

Why work for us?

Admiral has many benefits, which you can see in the supplied brochure (Your Admiral Career), but further to that you will also benefit from

• Working with a top-class team
• Working on exciting challenges to maintain Admiral’s competitive advantage
• Be given the flexibility to work in the way that allows you to give your best
• Work in an open and accessible department
• Know that you are working for a department who regularly take part in charitable events
• Whilst also getting free gym passes, free fruit, cycle to work scheme, child care vouchers, free tea / coffee, non-contributory share schemes, pension contributions and many more!

Who is the Head of Area?

We recognise that the person you are reporting to is just as important as the culture and ethos of the company, and therefore we have included a short bio on the head of the area.

Wayne Ellis has worked for Admiral since 2004; joining as a lead web developer and moving through the software based roles, and then on to Enterprise Architecture and Head of Architecture. Wayne maintains his affinity to software and is a published author, and a regular blogger on web technology and JVM languages. He runs lunch and learn sessions within Admiral to share his passion with the engineering teams. Wayne holds Masters degrees in Software Engineering (MEng) and Business Administration (MBA).