Job Description

The Role
We are seeking an experienced GCP Data architect to join our Architecture team, as part of the current transformation programme.
The successful candidate will design, implement, and manage cloud infrastructure solutions on GCP.
You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud architectures.
Your responsibilities:
Collaborates with IT Business Leads and Business Stakeholders to develop, maintain and curate the IT Roadmaps across multiple domains.
Contributes to IT Architectural bodies (Design Authority and Architecture Review Board) ensuring all solutions adhere to customers standards, principles, security, operational and regulatory requirements.
Provides technology thought leadership and guidance to IT Business Leads and Business teams
Conducts Business Capability assessments and maps these to current and future state IT solutions
Works as part of multiple delivery teams / scrums to ensure projects are delivered to a high standard of quality within the agreed time, scope and cost measures.
Seeks opportunities to simplify, automate, rationalise and improve the efficiency of our IT solutions
Creates application upgrade, migration and retirement strategies that align to our plan whilst ensuring dependencies, risks are identified and mitigated accordingly.
Communicates architecture solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences ensuring the communication style used is appropriate for the intended audience.
Engage with the wider IT teams to foster innovation, deliver proof of concept solutions and acceptance of new technologies
Keeps abreast of technology trends in Insurance. A proven track record as a Solution Architect in Commercial Insurance Enterprises
Demonstrable experience designing IT solution architectures with corresponding technology phase transitions and migration plans where necessary.
Essential skills/knowledge/experience:
Strong knowledge of cloud architecture, hosting patterns & services (especially GCP), cloud security, resilience, and operational excellence
Strong understanding of microservices, containerisation, cloud native, data architectures and event-driven design concepts
Strong understanding of API standards, security, networking, ingress/egress patterns & FinOps
Strong understanding of data technologies - SQL/NoSQL, Big Data
Experience working with enterprise-wide cloud patterns - networks, security, ingress/egress
Knowledge of ML/AI and data capabilities in GCP
Strong experience & knowledge of some key development technologies (e.g. JavaScript, Java Spring Boot, Python)
Knowledge of the SDLC & SRE
Desirable skills/knowledge/experience:
Experience in the Banking & Finance industry
Cloud Certifications, particularly GCP
Preferable experience with ML/AI & Data Tooling in GCP
Experience in agile / iterative design working practices