Cloud Architect

The Role

(Senior Role – Self-managed Individual Contributor)

The Cloud Architect is a senior technical leadership role responsible for defining and governing the strategic architecture that underpins the organisation's cloud and infrastructure platforms.

Acting as the technical authorityacross infrastructure (on-premises and cloud), this role ensures that architectural decisions deliver operational integrity, security, compliance, and value for money. You will work closely with the Director of Cloud, Platform Design, and Platform Engineering teams to drive the cloud transformation journey, embedding DevOps and automation principles into every layer of delivery.

This is a hands-on, self-directed rolerequiring both strategic vision and technical depth. The Cloud Architect will design solutions, establish standards, and create proof-of-concepts (POCs) to demonstrate the feasibility of architectural approaches. You will also mentor engineering and architecture talent across the organisation, enabling a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Architecture & Design

• Define and own the architecture strategy for cloud foundations and infrastructure services (on-premises and cloud).
• Develop and maintain reference architectures, patterns, and blueprints that standardise delivery across all cloud platforms.
• Translate business needs into cloud-native and hybrid solutions that ensure scalability, resilience, compliance, and cost optimisation.
• Incorporate DevOps principles and CI/CD alignment into all solution designs.
• Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) as a core enabler of automation and standardisation.
• Lead the definition of security-by-design patterns and ensure architectural compliance with governance and risk frameworks.

Cloud Strategy & Delivery Enablement

• Partner with the Director of Cloud to shape and evolve the organisation's cloud strategy.
• Provide architectural oversight and support to Platform Engineering, Platform Design, and Cloud Management Office teams.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior business and technology stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into business outcomes.
• Support roadmap planning, platform evolution, and cloud product ownership by aligning architecture with delivery priorities.
• Drive evaluation and adoption of emerging cloud and infrastructure technologies, ensuring the platform remains future-ready.

Leadership, Coaching & Mentoring

• Promote agile, DevOps, and product-centric ways of working across the cloud organisation.
• Lead by example—demonstrating thought leadership, technical excellence, and collaborative problem-solving.
• Build a strong architectural community of practice, fostering innovation and knowledge sharing.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain oversight of architecture decisions related to infrastructure, cloud, and security domains.
• Establish and enforce architecture review processes, ensuring solutions align with enterprise standards and strategy.
• Conduct regular assessments to identify opportunities for simplification, automation, and performance improvement.
• Develop and maintain architectural documentation, diagrams, and user journeys to support solution clarity and stakeholder understanding.
• Build and demonstrate proof-of-concepts (POCs) to validate designs and accelerate innovation.

The Person

Experience

• 5+ years' experience in cloud architecture, covering infrastructure, cloud services, and security domains.
• Proven success leading cloud transformation programmes and large-scale migration initiatives.
• Certified to Professional or Expert level in AWS and/or Azure architecture.
• Deep hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Bicep.
• Strong background in DevOps, Agile delivery, and CI/CD integration.
• Demonstrated experience as a cloud product owner, setting and evolving platform roadmaps.
• Skilled in producing architecture documentation, diagrams, and user journeys for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience mentoring other architects and engineers, with a focus on professional development and talent recognition.

Skills & Attributes

• Strategic thinker with a visionary mindset and the ability to influence at executive level.
• Deep technical understanding of infrastructure (on-premises and cloud), networking, and security principles.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills—able to simplify complex concepts.
• Confident self-starter, capable of managing priorities and delivering outcomes independently.
• Passionate about innovation, automation, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborative and adaptable, with a focus on driving shared success across multidisciplinary teams.

Reporting Line

Reports to: Director of Cloud
Works closely with: Platform Design, Platform Engineering, Cloud Management Office, and Enterprise Architecture teams.

Scope of Influence

• Accountable for all architecture decisions relating to infrastructure, cloud, and security.
• Provides strategic technical direction across cloud foundation delivery and platform evolution.
• Acts as technical ambassador for cloud transformation within and beyond the IT organisation.