Solution Architect

ABOUT APPLY DIGITAL

Apply Digital is a global experience transformation partner. We drive AI-powered change and measurable impact across complex, multi-brand ecosystems. Leveraging expertise that spans across the customer experience lifecycle from strategy, design to engineering and beyond, we enable our clients to modernize their organizations and maximize value for their business and customers.

Our 750+ team members have helped transform global companies like Kraft Heinz, NFL, Moderna, Lululemon, Dropbox, Atlassian, A+E Networks, and The Very Group. 

Apply Digital was founded in 2016 in Vancouver, Canada. In the past nine years, we have grown to ten cities across North America, South America, the UK, Europe, and India.

At Apply Digital, we believe in the "One Team" approach, where we operate within a 'pod' structure. Each pod brings together senior leadership, subject matter experts, and cross-functional skill sets, all working within a common tech and delivery framework. This structure is underpinned by well-oiled scrum and sprint cadences, keeping teams in step to release often and retrospectives to ensure we progress toward the desired outcomes. 

Wherever we work in the world, we envision Apply Digital as a safe, empowered, respectful and fun community for people, every single day. Together, we work to embody our SHAPE (smart, humble, active, positive, and excellent) values and make Apply Digital a space for our team to connect, grow, and support each other to make a difference. 

Visit our Careers page to learn how we can unlock your potential.

LOCATION: Apply Digital is hybrid/remote friendly – the successful candidate is expected to be in office 2-3 times a week from our London, UK office.

THE ROLE:

At Apply Digital, Solution Architects are the key technical leaders who bridge the gap between a client's biggest ambitions and the technical reality of making them happen. You are accountable for translating a project's "Why" into a brilliant, achievable "How," designing the complete architectural blueprint that will solve complex, large-scale challenges.

This is a pivotal, strategic role focused on technology strategy, business transformation, and technical stewardship. You will apply your architectural expertise across multiple client initiatives—often guiding one project through its critical discovery phase while stewarding another through the complexities of its build. You'll thrive at this intersection, turning client visions into tangible, deliverable, and lasting impact.

Apply Digital partners with globally recognized brands across a wide range of industries, designing and building customer-facing platforms, tools, and experiences. As we increasingly integrate AI into these solutions, we seek leaders who can design systems that are not only robust and scalable, but also intelligent and forward-thinking.

We're looking for a leader who balances architectural elegance with pragmatism, and who can communicate complex trade-offs with absolute clarity. If you are a systems-level thinker, a gifted communicator, and you thrive on seeing a complex technical vision built and shipped—we'd love to hear from you.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role isn't about just drawing diagrams—it's about stewarding the technical vision from the first conversation to the final line of code.

In the early months, you'll partner with Product and Strategy teams in discovery, build trust with senior clients, and define the definitive technical path forward. You'll author the core blueprints that become the "source of truth" for the delivery teams.

Over time, you'll become a central technical pillar on our most complex initiatives. You'll act as the project's senior technical forecaster, identifying and neutralizing architectural risks long before they become emergencies. You won't just operate within our systems—you'll be instrumental in shaping how we design and deliver high-stakes digital platforms.

• Leading Technical Discovery: Partner with Product Managers and client stakeholders to lead discovery workshops and technical feasibility studies across new and ongoing initiatives. You'll be the primary force in decomposing large, ambiguous business problems into clear, buildable technical roadmaps and requirements.
• Owning Technical Blueprints: Author and own the core technical blueprints for your projects. This includes creating client-facing deliverables like reference architectures, integration strategies, migration plans, and governance models.
• Evaluating and Selecting Technology: Lead the evaluation and selection of technologies, frameworks, patterns, and platforms for each solution. You'll balance innovation with pragmatism, ensuring your choices are a perfect fit for the client's goals and long-term maintainability.
• Guiding Build Phases: Act as the primary steward for the architectural vision during the build phase on active delivery projects. You'll partner seamlessly with Staff Engineers and delivery teams, attending key ceremonies to provide clarity, answer questions, and ensure the code being written adheres to the agreed-upon patterns.
• Communicating Value and Trade-offs: Serve as the lead technical voice. You will clearly articulate complex technical decisions and their trade-offs to both executive-level clients and internal engineering teams, ensuring everyone is aligned on the "How" and "Why."
• Managing Architectural Risk: Own the identification, documentation (in ADRs), and mitigation of all long-term architectural risks, including scalability, security, platform choice, and technical debt.

• A Foundation in Delivery: You've earned your scars shipping complex, multi-system projects. You've likely been a Staff Engineer or a similar senior technical leader, and that hands-on experience forms the foundation of your architectural pragmatism.
• Systems-Level Thinking: You have the ability to see the entire "forest," not just the "trees." You can design and reason about complex, interconnected systems and their long-term behavior.
• Consulting-Grade Communication: This is a core competency, not a secondary skill. You possess a rare combination of technical authority and high emotional intelligence. You can build consensus with senior clients, navigate complex stakeholder politics, and articulate the business value of your technical decisions with clarity and confidence.
• Deep Technical Breadth: You have a wide "T-base" with strong knowledge of modern architectural patterns, cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), data modeling, security, and integration strategies.
• Architectural Vision: You don't just solve the problem at hand. You design solutions that are elegant, forward-thinking, and built to last.
• Cloud-Certified Excellence: You likely hold a current, senior-level certification on a major cloud platform (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, GCP Professional Cloud Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert).
• Pragmatism: You know when to pursue architectural purity and when the most pragmatic, deliverable solution is the right answer. You master the art of balancing ideals with the real-world constraints of a client's budget and timeline.

LIFE AT APPLY DIGITAL

At Apply Digital, people are at the core of everything we do. We value your time, safety, and health, and strive to build a work community that can help you thrive and grow. Here are a few benefits we offer to support you:

Great projects: Broaden your skills on a range of engaging projects with international brands that have a global impact.

An inclusive and safe environment: We're truly committed to building a culture where you are celebrated and everyone feels welcome and safe.

Learning opportunities: We offer generous training budgets, including partner tech certifications, custom learning plans, workshops, mentorship, and peer support.

Vacation policy: We value work–life balance, so you'll enjoy 24 days of vacation plus 8 bank holidays to rest, recharge, and focus on what matters most.

Benefits: We use Vitality benefits designed to enhance your health, well-being, and work–life balance.

Flexible work arrangements: We work in a variety of ways, from remote, to in-office, to a blend of both.

Apply Digital is committed to building a culture where differences are celebrated and everyone feels welcome. That's why we value equal opportunity and nurture an inclusive workplace where our individual differences are recognized and valued.

For more information, visit the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) section of our website. If you have accommodation needs at this stage of the recruitment process, please inform us as soon as possible by emailing us