Senior Architect

IRIS Software Group; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software solutions company in London is seeking a Senior Architect to drive the modernization of applications into scalable, cloud-native solutions. You will work closely with product and engineering teams to implement architectural frameworks and mentor cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate has a strong background in cloud architecture, REST APIs, and experience in leading significant technical transformations.

Qualifications

• Must have extensive experience in cloud architecture (AWS/GCP).
• Deep understanding of REST APIs and software design patterns.
• Experience mentoring cross-functional teams and managing dependencies.

Responsibilities

• Lead modernization of applications into cloud-native solutions.
• Define strategies for migration and ensure minimal disruption.
• Establish architectural frameworks and enforce quality standards.
• Mentor teams through technical transformations and promote best practices.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Microservices

API design

Data migration

DevOps practices

Education

BSC in software engineering or equivalent

Architecture Certifications (Azure)

Job description

Role Overview

As a Senior Architect on our Education product team, you’ll shape the technical vision and lead the end-to-end modernization of applications—many originally built before the cloud era—to operate as scalable, secure, cloud native solutions. You will partner with product, engineering, and architecture peers to drive roadmap, design, and governance across our cloud portfolio. You’ll be working with another Senior Architect and together looking after the Education solutions in Iris. The role reports to the Senior Director for Software Engineering in Education

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end modernization of on-premises or monolithic applications, redesigning them as cloud native solutions (microservices, serverless, containers).
• Define migration strategies—including phasing, DataMigration, and integration patterns—to move existing applications to public cloud platforms (Azure/AWS) with minimal disruption.
• Develop proof of concepts for refactoring, containerization, and infrastructure as code approaches; validate performance, scalability, and cost efficiency improvements.
• Architect services and features according to company cloud principles, ensuring they integrate seamlessly with modernized legacy systems.
• Design fullstack, API-first solutions (UI, middle tier, data layer) that leverage event driven and multitier patterns to maximize resilience and extensibility.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product to translate business goals into a prioritized, agile delivery roadmap for both new and modernized services.

Governance, Quality & Security

• Establish and enforce an architecture framework—covering standards, patterns library, security controls, and compliance requirements—for both legacyrefactored and cloudnative code.
• Conduct regular architecture reviews and codequality checkpoints; define KPIs/metrics to track maintainability, performance, and adherence to best practices.
• Partner with Security and Operations to embed security-by-design into modernization efforts and cloud deployments.

Technical Leadership & Change Management

• Mentor and guide crossfunctional teams through significant technical transformations, removing blockers and managing crossteam dependencies.
• Evangelize modern cloud and application modernization practices via workshops, brownbags, and internal documentation.
• Continuously scan emerging technologies and frameworks that can accelerate modernization or improve system reliability and cost optimization.
• Evangelize AI driven development in the teams and the wider Product and Engineering department

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with Development Managers to scope modernization projects, estimate effort, and align on delivery milestones.
• Engage Product Owners to ensure modernization initiatives are appropriately prioritized alongside new feature development.
• Liaise with Architecture Guild to evolve and maintain the architectural backlog, incorporating lessons learned from each migration engagement.

Key Relationships

• Product team
• Operations

Qualifications

Must Have:

• BSC or equivalent in a software engineering discipline, or relevant experience.
• Architecture Certifications (Azure)

Experience

Must Have:

• Multiple years of developing and architecting in cloud in AWS or GCP.
• Familiarity with observability practices
• Experience of designing full-stack architectures (multi-tier, so UI/UX, middle tier and persistence tier)
• An API-first approach
• Deep understanding of REST APIs
• Understanding of different software design patterns e.g Multi-tier, Micro service, Event driven
• Ability to explain complex concepts to diverse audiences

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Information Technology
• Industries: Software Development

Visit www.iris.co.uk for more information about IRIS Software Group.