Senior Solutions Architect

Salary: Competitive plus excellent benefits

Location: Walsall, West Midlands

Contract: Full Time, Permanent, 37 hours per week (minimum two days in the office)

Closing Date: 10th March 2025

Interview Date: W/C 24th March 2025

Are you a strategic thinker with a passion for designing and delivering complex solutions? 

As a Senior Solutions Architect, you’ll play a key role in strategic design for the Infrastructure and Technology roadmap to ensure key design principles are always considered, and systems continue to meet the needs of the business. In this role you’ll have the autonomy to lead solution design, evaluate emerging technologies, and collaborate with stakeholders to create innovative architectures. If you thrive on solving complex challenges and want to make a real impact, we’d love to hear from you!

The ideal candidate will possess deep technical expertise, a strategic mindset and a proven track record of designing and implementing robust IT solutions at scale that meet the continuing needs of the business operational and transformation activities. 

Main job responsibilities:

• Creating complex solution design and development of systems and services of various sizes, including how they interact with their surroundings, and how they evolve over time. 
• Exploring advancements in technology and innovation. This includes IT Infrastructure, Cloud, Security, Data, AI, End User Compute, iOT, SAAS / PAAS and Applications relevant to housing. You will be expected to Incorporate relevant solutions trends and direction into a strategic view and communicate this information to the Technical Design Authority as an appropriate strategy or roadmap.
• Work closely with other IT teams and Business stakeholders on multiple projects or problems to ensure broader architectural thinking is always considered.
• Acting as Deputy chair of the Technical Design Authority.
• Helping to build a diverse, inclusive culture across the technical architecture function, growing awareness, inclusivity and balance.
• Ability to motivate others to adopt and sustain resultant changes in organisation, roles, processes, systems and information.
• Defining and creating documents and managing a full set of solutions working collaboratively with others and across multiple projects and programmes.

We're looking for someone who has:

• Valid certificates or have extensive Design and Operational experience of Microsoft Azure, M365 & AWS Cloud Services.
• 7+ years’ experience in a Solutions Architecture role
• Subject Matter expert (SME) in Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW) & Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Technologies.
• Highly proficient in Enterprise Network design including LAN, WLAN, MPLS/SD-WAN technologies.
• SME in Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) principles.
• Highly proficient in Security tooling and a good understanding of security frameworks such as ISO 27001 and NIST 800-53.
• SME in Least Privilege principles and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) Design & Implementation.
• SME in Microsoft Core Services including Active Directory, PKI, DNS, DHCP, Identity (Microsoft Entra).
• SME of Microsoft Server and M365 stack.
• Strong working experience of designing, deploying/migrating Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive for Business and Microsoft Teams.
• Extensive Mobile Device Management (MDM) platforms experience coupled with Client Operating systems.
• SME in L1 & L2 Hypervisor technologies such as VMWare, Hyper-V, HCI platforms such as VX-Rail, HPE Synergy, Nutanix & Cisco UCS.
• Experience leading technical teams and delivering user- centred services in an agile environment.

What’s in it for you?

In return, you will receive a competitive salary, 27 days annual leave (plus Christmas shut down), a defined benefit pension scheme, health cash plan, a range of shopping and leisure discounts.  

We are output focused and flexible and believe in giving colleagues the right balance of autonomy and support to enable them to work to their full potential. Despite the high expectation for performance and delivery, we are committed to ensuring colleagues have a healthy work-life balance and able to work in agile ways which support them.  

About us

At whg, we are dedicated to providing affordable homes across the Midlands and creating sustainable communities. We believe everyone has the right to a safe and secure home, which is the foundation for a successful life. Our values— Trustworthy, Respectful, Accountable, Collaborative and Excellent — guide our work and our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

We have been recognised as a top employer in the prestigious Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024. The awards celebrate the top employers in the UK who are leading the way in employee pride, job satisfaction and wellbeing, as well as reward and recognition. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, committed to providing opportunities and support for all applicants, including those with disabilities.

Interested in joining our team? Visit our website www.whg.uk.com and read Our 2030 Plan.