Solution Architect (Azure) - Contract

£670 per day (Inside IR35) | 6-Month Contract | Remote - 2 days per month in Manchester

We are seeking an experienced Solution Architect (SFIA 5) to join a major digital transformation programme delivering large-scale cloud solutions. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the architecture of critical services, working within complex enterprise environments and helping deliver secure, scalable, and resilient technology solutions.

The Role

As a Solution Architect, you will be responsible for designing and governing cloud-based solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture principles, technical standards, and strategic roadmaps. You will work closely with stakeholders, engineering teams, security specialists, and delivery teams to define and implement architectures that meet both business and user needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and oversee end-to-end Azure-based solution architectures.
• Translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and supportable technical solutions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across business and technical teams to develop architectural options and recommendations.
• Provide architectural guidance throughout the full delivery lifecycle, from concept through to production.
• Support governance activities, architecture reviews, and decision-making forums.
• Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture standards, best practices, and strategic roadmaps.
• Work within multidisciplinary Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery environments.
• Drive technical quality, resilience, security, and maintainability across solution designs.
• Collaborate with engineers, DevOps teams, and security specialists to ensure successful implementation.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong experience designing enterprise-scale solutions within Microsoft Azure.
• Deep understanding of Azure services including:
• Virtual Machines
• Containers
• Networking
• Storage
• Security and Identity Management
• Experience with cloud administration, automation, and infrastructure management using:
• PowerShell
• Azure CLI
• DevOps practices and tooling
• Strong knowledge of cloud architecture patterns and modern application design.
• Proven experience translating complex business requirements into technical architectures.
• Experience producing architecture artefacts using recognised modelling techniques and tools.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to present technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience working within architecture governance frameworks and technical assurance processes.

Desirable Experience

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or equivalent certification.
• Microservices architecture and API-led integration design.
• Event-driven architecture and messaging patterns, including:
• Publish/Subscribe (Pub/Sub)
• Data Streaming
• Experience designing solutions across hybrid environments, including public cloud and on-premise infrastructure.
• Knowledge of architecture principles, technical standards, patterns, and technology roadmaps.

What We're Looking For

• An experienced architect who can operate at SFIA Level 5.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction and support strategic decision-making.
• A collaborative mindset with experience working across large and complex programmes.
• Passion for delivering high-quality digital services at scale.

Contract Length: 6 Months

Rate: £670 per day (Inside IR35)

Role: Solution Architect (Azure) - SFIA 5

If you have extensive Azure architecture experience and enjoy shaping large-scale cloud solutions within complex enterprise environments, we'd love to hear from you.