Principal Solutions Architect

Principal Solutions Architect Location: Remote (Bi-monthly London travel) Salary: £(Apply online only)k Type: Permanent Overview Senior strategic technology leader within a global organisation delivering national-scale health and employment services. Owns end-to-end solution architecture across complex transformation programmes, spanning pre-sales, bid, and delivery. Combines deep technical authority, commercial awareness, and customer engagement to deliver differentiated, feasible, winning solutions. Purpose Act as senior technical lead across the opportunity lifecycle - shaping, capture, and transition to delivery. Drive architecture strategy, innovation, estimation, compliance alignment, and cross-functional integration. Accountable for both solution vision and execution. Responsibilities Solution Strategy Lead architecture for large, complex public sector pursuits Define win themes, differentiators, innovation strategy Partner with capture/BD teams pre-RFP through customer engagement Lead executive solution reviews Drive cross-functional initiatives of strategic importance Technical Architecture Design scalable cloud and platform solutions Use accelerators, reusable assets, reference architectures Align with hyperscaler/enterprise ecosystems (AWS, Microsoft, Google, ServiceNow, Salesforce) Ensure feasibility and compliance Proposals & Competitive Own technical RFI/RFP/RFQ responses Produce whitepapers and solution concepts Conduct pricing/award trend analysis Support Black Hat exercises Ensure corporate/regulatory compliance Estimation & Cost Lead top-down, parametric, and comparative estimation Drive cost optimisation, pricing realism, risk quantification Align pricing, delivery, and solution viability Assess SLAs and market impacts Leadership & Collaboration Mentor Solution Architects Coach technical teams Bridge technical and business stakeholders Engage operations, security, HR early Work directly with customers on tailored solutions Delivery Create implementation and operational readiness plans Act as Chief Engineer in delivery Ensure operationally viable designs Support transition from bid to live service Communication Deliver presentations and demos Translate technical models for non-technical audiences Present solution concepts and estimates clearly Build credibility through consistent delivery Essential Experience Deep hands-on expertise in cloud, AI, and data solutions Proven success shaping winning solutions for £20M-£200M+ bids/contracts Experience across several: Salesforce, ServiceNow, Dynamics 365, AWS Connect, Genesys, Verint, Case Management (incl. AI) Strong communicator across technical and business audiences Advanced stakeholder engagement Experience running capability modelling and roadmap sessions Agile problem-solving Background in Managed Services, IT Services, or Software Development Knowledge in areas such as DevOps, CI/CD, SRE, Secure Software, Data Governance, Analytics, Cloud, Platforms, SaaS Business-driven architecture approach focused on CX and journeys Comfortable in fast-paced, global environments Strong commercial/pricing understanding Continuous learning mindset; industry engagement Desirable Secure cloud and cybersecurity expertise Compliance and risk frameworks in regulated environments Black Hat bid experience Monitoring, performance, SLA standards knowledge Experience in global organisations Track record supporting inclusive teams and ethical tech