Senior Solution Architect - #2082086

Senior Solution Architect (Contract)

Location: Edinburgh (Hybrid – 3 days per week onsite)

Contract: Initial 3-Month Contract with Planned Extensions

Sector: Financial Services

We are supporting a leading financial services organisation undergoing a significant business transformation and disentanglement programme. As part of this initiative, we are seeking an experienced Senior Solution Architect to lead architecture activities across complex application and corporate separation workstreams.

This is an excellent opportunity for an architect with strong experience in divestitures, carve-outs, M&A separation, TSA exit programmes, or corporate disentanglement, who can operate confidently in a fast-paced environment where solutions are being defined and delivered simultaneously.

The Role

As a Senior Solution Architect, you will play a key role in designing and delivering separation strategies across both business applications and the wider corporate technology estate. Working closely with engineering, security, infrastructure and business teams, you will define target-state architectures, data segregation models and separation patterns that enable a clean and compliant transition.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead solution architecture activities across application and company decoupling workstreams.
• Assess enterprise applications to determine appropriate separation approaches, including clone, split, retain or retire strategies.
• Design data segregation, data wall and access control solutions to ensure clear separation between retained and divested entities.
• Define tenant-level controls, workload segregation, identity separation and network segmentation across Microsoft 365 and corporate technology platforms.
• Develop and refine disentanglement playbooks, identifying architectural patterns and addressing gaps where precedents do not exist.
• Produce key architecture deliverables including High-Level Designs (HLDs), target-state architectures, transition-state designs and decoupling patterns.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to translate architectural strategy into executable delivery plans.
• Engage with SaaS and technology vendors to understand platform-specific separation options and constraints.
• Support architecture governance processes, secure approvals through architecture review boards and maintain architecture documentation.
• Present complex technical concepts clearly to senior business and technology stakeholders.

Essential Experience

• Extensive experience operating as a Senior Solution Architect within large-scale enterprise environments.
• Proven delivery experience on corporate disentanglement, divestiture, carve-out, M&A separation or TSA-related programmes.
• Strong background in application architecture, including assessment, decoupling and re-platforming of enterprise applications.
• Experience designing data segregation, data wall and access control solutions within regulated environments.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft 365 architecture, Entra ID (Azure AD), conditional access, workload segregation and identity separation.
• Strong understanding of network segmentation principles and shared-services separation.
• Experience working with SaaS and packaged enterprise platforms in regulated organisations.
• Ability to operate effectively in complex, evolving environments with limited precedent.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and facilitation skills.

Desirable Experience

• Financial services sector experience, particularly within wealth management, life & pensions, asset management or insurance.
• Experience with platforms such as GBST, Workday and/or ServiceNow.
• Architecture certifications such as TOGAF, Azure, AWS or equivalent.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements including FCA, GDPR and data residency considerations.
• Degree-qualified in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).

What's on Offer

• High-profile transformation programme within a major financial services organisation.
• Opportunity to shape architecture strategy across a complex business separation initiative.
• Hybrid working arrangement with 3 days per week onsite in Edinburgh.
• Initial 3-month contract with strong likelihood of extension.
• Collaborative environment working alongside senior technology and business leaders.

If you have a proven track record delivering architecture on complex separation, divestiture or transformation programmes and are available for your next contract assignment, we'd be keen to hear from you.