Technology Senior Solution Architect

London Source: WhatJobs

£90,000–£150,000

The Department

Our Technology team continues to go from strength to strength, playing a vital role in firm-wide innovation and strategy. Far from being a support function, Technology is integral to the firm's growth agenda, backed by strong leadership engagement and sustained investment.

The Department

The Role

As a Senior Solution Architect, you will lead the shaping and delivery of complex, high-impact application and technology solutions that advance the firm's strategic objectives. Reporting directly to the Head of Architecture, you will act as a trusted advisor to senior business and technology stakeholders, translating business capabilities, processes and operating needs into coherent target-state architectures.

You will lead cross-domain design across the firm's application estate, data, security, cloud services, interoperability and service operations. You will define multi-year roadmaps, provide assurance across major programmes, raise architecture maturity and deputise for the Head of Architecture where required. This is a broad, business-facing role that focuses on the and application-estate. Integration and API design are important components to this. You will help define target states and transition roadmaps, evaluate application and supplier options, guide delivery and ensure solutions remain supportable, secure and commercially sustainable.

Strategic Programmes currently underway

The successful candidate will lead the solutioning across several significant transformation initiatives which include major upgrades, re-platforming, migrations to cloud, de-coupling and decommissioning.

Matter Lifecycle Management : Modernising the end-to-end lifecycle supporting client work (from f client onboarding and matter inception through delivery, billing, closure, retention and archive.
Client Intake, Risk and Compliance : Enhancing the client onboarding process, conflicts management, risk assessment, regulatory compliance and information governance.
Practice and Financial Management : Improving pricing, time recording, billing, financial operations, profitability management and reporting.
Document, Information and Knowledge Management : Improving how information is created, managed, governed, searched and reused across the firm.
CRM, Marketing and Relationship Intelligence : Developing a joined-up view of clients, matters and relationships to support growth and client service.
Data, Integration and AI Enablement : Establishing trusted data, interoperability, analytics, AI capabilities and secure access to enterprise information.
Application Portfolio and Service Modernisation : Defining application roadmaps, reducing technical debt, and driving consolidation, modernisation, re-platforming and retirement initiatives.
Architecture Maturity and Governance : Strengthening architecture standards, governance, roadmaps, target-state architectures and decision-making.

Duties And Responsibilities

Lead business capability analysis, discovery and solution shaping across major programmes and complex change initiatives.
Translate strategic objectives, operating models and business processes into target-state application and solution architectures.
Own end-to-end solution direction across applications, data, security, cloud services, interoperability, user experience and service operations.
Develop multi-year application roadmaps, transition states, investment priorities and sequencing recommendations.
Lead application portfolio rationalisation, lifecycle planning and decisions to invest, modernise, consolidate, replace or retire.
Identify and manage capability gaps, cross-programme dependencies, architectural risks and technical debt.
Lead option analysis and technology decisions, balancing business value, commercial considerations, delivery risk, security, regulation and operational sustainability.
Own and quality-assure capability views, option papers, target-state designs, transition roadmaps, high-level designs, security and data considerations and non-functional requirements.
Provide architectural leadership and assurance to product, programme, delivery and engineering teams, resolving complex cross-domain design issues.
Lead solution design across legal and business capabilities such as client intake, risk, matter management, financial management, document and knowledge management, CRM, data and AI enablement.
Govern interoperability, API and messaging approaches where required, ensuring they support the wider application solution and target architecture.
Architect data flows and access models that uphold client confidentiality, information barriers, privacy, retention, security and regulatory obligations.
Lead build, buy, reuse, rationalise and retire decisions, including vendor evaluation, commercial assessment, due diligence and contract-related technical input.
Define and assure non-functional requirements covering performance, resilience, availability, accessibility, operability, disaster recovery and supportability.
Present and defend recommendations at senior governance forums, clearly articulating outcomes, options, trade-offs, costs, risks and dependencies.
Drive architecture maturity through proportionate governance, reusable patterns, standards, templates, repositories and decision records.
Mentor Solution Architects, SMEs and technical leads, and deputise for the Head of Architecture where required.

Candidate Profile

We are seeking a senior, application-focused and business-facing architect with demonstrable experience shaping business capabilities, target-state application architectures and multi-year transformation roadmaps. Experience centered primarily on APIs, middleware, integration platforms or infrastructure delivery without wider application and business solution ownership is unlikely to provide the breadth required.

Skills/Experience

Extensive experience leading broad, business-facing and application-focused solution architecture across complex programmes.
Proven ability to translate business strategy, capability needs, operating models and transformation goals into target architectures and multi-year roadmaps.
Demonstrable breadth across enterprise applications, SaaS, data, security, cloud, interoperability and service operations, rather than experience centered primarily on APIs or middleware.
Strong record of influencing and constructively challenging senior stakeholders, resolving conflicting priorities and securing decisions.
Experience creating or materially improving architecture governance, review processes, standards, principles, repositories and ways of working.
Strong commercial judgement, including vendor evaluation, RFI/RFP activity, business cases, investment options, total cost of ownership and benefits realisation.
Experience leading application rationalisation, target-state design, transition planning and technology lifecycle decisions.
Strong knowledge of modern enterprise application, SaaS, data, AI, security, cloud and interoperability patterns.
Strong Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 knowledge; specialist depth in every integration component is not required.
Deep understanding of privacy, client confidentiality, information barriers, data protection and regulated environments.
Excellent executive communication, facilitation and storytelling skills.
Experience with TOGAF or a comparable framework and EA repositories such as Ardoq, LeanIX or BizzDesign.
Experience in legal, professional services, financial services, consulting or another regulated industry is highly desirable.
Experience with applications supporting client intake, risk and compliance, matter management, practice and financial management, document and knowledge management, CRM, data or AI is advantageous. Platforms may include Intapp, Aderant, iManage, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Fabric or equivalent products.

Qualifications

Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification
TOGAF 9 Certified or similar EA qualification
Experience with Ardoq, LeanIX, or similar EA tools
Agile/Scrum certifications (CSM, PSM)
ITIL Certification (desirable)

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

About

About Mishcon de Reya Group

The Mishcon de Reya Group is an independent, international professional services business with law at its heart, employing over 1400 people with over 650 lawyers. It includes the law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP and a collection of leading consultancy businesses that complement the firm's legal services.

Mishcon de Reya LLP is based in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Hong Kong and UAE. The firm services an international community of clients and provides advice in situations where the constraints of geography often do not apply.The work the firm undertakes is cross-border, multi-jurisdictional and complex, centred around three increasingly entwined and connected sectors: the Innovation Economy, Private Wealth and Capital, and Real Estate. The firm is known as a disputes powerhouse with a formidable capacity firmwide for dispute resolution.

The Mishcon de Reya Group includes consultancy businesses MDR Discover , MDR Mayfair (in London, Singapore and Dubai), MDR ONE , and MDRi (in Hong Kong). The Group also includes MDR Lab , which invests in the most promising early stage legaltech companies as well as the Mishcon Academy, its in-house place of learning and platform for thought leadership.

In 2024, the Group announced its first strategic acquisition in the alternative legal services market, flexible legal resourcing business Flex Legal. It also acquired a majority stake in Somos, a global group actions management business.

We strive to create a fully diverse and inclusive workplace where all our people are empowered to fulfil their potential. We are proud of our agile working culture and are always happy to talk flexible working.

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