Principal Architect

JOB TITLE: Principal Architect 

SALARY: £124,653 - £146,650

LOCATIONS: Edinburgh or Leeds 

HOURS:  Full time  

WORKING PATTERN: Hybrid, 40% (or two days) in the Edinburgh or Leeds office 

About this opportunity 

An excellent opportunity for an experienced Principal Lead Architect for our Chief Technology Office (CTO) Insurance, Pensions & Investments (IP&I) team. 

In this pivotal role, you’ll define, uphold, and communicate the Technology Strategy to support the Group’s vision and strategic goals. With a clear focus on the capabilities needed for long-term success, you’ll align our Technology agenda with the Group’s overarching strategy. 

This opportunity is specifically aligned to our Insurance, Pensions & Investments Business Unit, an essential part of the Group’s growth strategy. Our mission here is to financially empower the UK by deepening relationships with customers, future-proofing their finances, and protecting them from the unexpected. This includes various products like General and Protection Insurance, direct-to-customer services, advisor-led and employer pensions, annuities, and investment products. 

We’re looking for a candidate who can combine a mix of business acumen, technical prowess, architectural expertise, and personal skills to support our platform from an architectural perspective. 

Here’s where you’ll make a difference –  

• Propose and drive the strategic direction of architecture for IP&I

• Act as a trusted advisor and internal consultant to Technology and Business Platform Leads 

• Combine corporate governance, business control, and developing business solutions 

• Utilise technical skills in Public and Private Cloud, APIs, Traditional hosting, and event-driven architectures 

• Create feasibility assessments and roadmaps 

• Embody an agile and digital mindset while demonstrating strong communication and leadership skills 

About us 

We’re on an exciting journey and there couldn’t be a better time to join us. The investments we’re making in our people, data, and technology are leading to innovative projects, fresh possibilities, and countless new ways for our people to work, learn, and thrive. 

What you’ll need 

•  A proven track record in a Principal Architect role, having successfully set the architecture vision and strategy, is essential 

• Experience in business skills such as corporate governance, business control, solution development, and design 

• Technical knowledge of Public/Private Cloud, APIs, traditional hosting, and event-driven architectures 

• Architectural expertise, including feasibility assessments and road-mapping 

• Personal strengths: agile mindset, digital approach, strong communication, leadership, and alignment with company values 

• Support for Platform architecture 

About working for us 

Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms.  

We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture.  

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. 

And it’s why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups. 

We’re disability confident. So, if you’d like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know. 

We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, which includes:  

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15% 

• An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance  

• Share schemes including free shares 

• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping 

• 30 days’ holiday, with bank holidays on top 

• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies 

Want to do amazing work, that’s interesting and makes a difference to millions of people? Join our journey.