Director, Solution Architect

Description

The company is a global biopharma business with a portfolio of vaccines, specialty medicines and general medicines. It targets £40 billion in annual sales by 2031 and centres its Ahead Together strategy on early intervention to prevent and alter the course of disease.

The Solution Architect provides solution architecture and design assurance for major initiatives, checking that solutions meet architecture standards, fit the target architecture and deliver the intended business outcomes. The role produces solution designs, builds in reliability, resilience and observability from the start, proposes AI where it speeds up delivery or operations, and works across domains so end-to-end solutions hang together. Platform reference architectures sit with Platform Architects and Platform Architecture Directors in each domain, build work sits with platform engineering teams, and enterprise strategy sits with the Head of Solution Architecture and the Enterprise Architects. Where a design touches platforms, the domain architect leads and this role assures it.

Responsibilities

• Write solution designs for major DPTF and wider Digital & Tech initiatives that follow reference architectures, enterprise standards and strategy.
• Design in reliability, resilience and observability from the outset, taking into account the SLOs that consuming services commit to.
• Propose AI-enabled designs only where AI clearly speeds up delivery or operations, and explain the case for it.
• Assure design and review architecture for initiatives led by others. Reject designs that fall short and state what would meet the standard.
• Weigh business outcome, cost, risk and technical fit in every design.
• Work across platform domains to keep end-to-end solutions coherent, raising conflicts between domain architectures early.
• Assure supplier and managed-service solutions to the same standard as internal designs.
• Enforce architecture standards and governance. Send genuine exceptions to Enterprise Architecture instead of allowing local workarounds.
• Make sure designs meet security and compliance requirements, including GxP where the initiative supports regulated activity.
• Engage early in initiative shaping to cut rework, and show the reduction with evidence.
• Advise on architectural risk and on the consequences of accepting technical debt.
• Keep clear boundaries with Platform Architects on platform reference architecture, Enterprise Architects on enterprise strategy and standards, and engineering teams on build.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a technology or engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience, such as in Computer Science, Software Engineering or Information Systems.
• 8+ years in technology architecture or senior engineering, including at least 3 years producing solution designs for major initiatives.
• Experience across more than one technology domain, enough to design and assure end to end.
• Experience working with and influencing one or more business domain architects, such as in R&D, Commercial, Global Functions or Global Supply Chain.
• Experience running architecture review or design assurance.
• Experience designing for reliability, resilience and observability.
• Experience designing secure and compliant technology solutions.
• Experience reviewing or assuring supplier or systems integrator designs against established architecture standards.
• Experience applying AI patterns in solution architecture or technology design.
• Experience designing across SaaS, PaaS and IaaS on Azure and/or GCP.
• Experience with modern engineering workflows, including CI/CD, infrastructure as code and observability, including AI-assisted or agentic tooling.
• Experience producing solution architecture documentation and diagrams for technical and business audiences.
• Experience working across multiple technology domains and explaining architectural decisions and trade-offs to stakeholders.
• Preferred: architecture certifications, including a recognised cloud, network or workplace architecture certification.
• Preferred: familiarity with GxP validation requirements for solution designs, beyond platform standards.
• Preferred: experience producing designs later delivered through third-party systems integrators.
• Preferred: exposure to FinOps or cost-to-operate considerations in solution design decisions.
• Preferred: hands-on experience with AI-enabled patterns, including RAG and agentic workflows, as delivery accelerants.
• Preferred: ability to decline a design while clearly explaining what would meet the required standard.
• Preferred: judgement about when an exception is genuinely warranted and when it is convenience.
• Preferred: comfort engaging early in initiative shaping where requirements are still ambiguous.
• Preferred: pragmatism about technical debt, making its cost visible rather than blocking delivery.
• Skills list: API Management, Application Development, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Architectures, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data Architecture Development, Database Management Systems (DBMS), DevOps, Microservices Architecture, Network Architecture, Security Architecture Design, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software Engineering, System Integration, Technical Solution Architecture.

Conditions

Hybrid role based in the United States of America, with remote and on-site work agreed with your manager.

The company does not accept referrals from employment agencies or businesses for these vacancies without prior written authorisation from its procurement or HR department. Any fees from unauthorised referrals are not the company's liability.

US licensed healthcare professionals may have interview-related expenses captured and reported under US Transparency requirements.

Benefits

• A comprehensive US benefits programme, with details available on the company's US Benefits Summary page.