Group Architect

Group Architect

Are you a strategic thinker with a passion for cloud architecture and technical leadership?

As a Group Architect you will be a technical leader and problem solver, tackling complex technical challenges and driving solutions through effective team collaboration. Working with multiple product teams, you will define the target architecture for the entire domain – including business, application, data, infrastructure, components and cost.

You will support continuous conversational architecture governance by collaborating with many product teams within the domain to ensure that they understand the target architecture and that all technology changes are aligned to University strategy, policies and standards. You will mentor and manage others in the wider architecture profession.

• Work closely with software developers, IT operations and other stakeholders to understand their requirements and translate them into effective cloud solutions. Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering teams.
• Contribute to the definition and execution of OU technology strategies, within the domain and in other areas as needed.
• Co‑create and document the target architecture, reference architectures, policies and standards – sharing these with teams to support faster delivery of features whilst meeting expectations around Security, Stability, Scalability, Speed and Spend.
• Act as an advocate for continuous conversational architecture governance – ensuring that solutions are aligned to strategy, policy and standards.
• Support the team in balancing the tension between build, run and improve – managing key metrics and ensuring that compromises are understood and documented, with mitigations included in the overall product roadmap.
• Keep up to date with trends in Higher Education, technology, architecture and engineering – advocating an attitude to be open to new ways of working which could improve productivity and delivery.
• Be a trusted advisor to the Head of Enterprise Architecture, the Head of Engineering for the domain and across the wider University.
• Support the re‑use and availability of trusted data, through use of approved integration and data sharing tools, to help the OU make good decisions.
• Participate in show and tell sessions and other activities to share successes with others and enable learning across Digital Services and the University.
• Be an active member of the OU architecture profession, supporting other architects and contributing to overall development and knowledge of all architects.

• Experience as a domain or solutions architect, including cloud solutions using Azure and AWS, and integration technologies.
• A track record in defining strategy, policies and standards, encompassing MACH and event‑driven architecture.
• Experience in migrating on‑premise solutions to Azure, understanding the cost and performance impacts.
• Experience with the shift towards a Dev Ops, CI, CD culture and practices (e.g. automation) to increase flow, frequent feedback and ongoing learning.
• Understanding of SaaS solutions from suppliers such as SAP and Salesforce, and how they complement custom solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to suit a variety of stakeholders with varying technical expertise.
• Appreciation of the role of implementation partners and third‑party support teams.
• Understanding of the UK Higher Education sector, key trends and forces and their impact on a University.
• Experience in matrix management across product teams and within a profession.
• Understanding of how architects can support multi‑disciplinary teams working in an agile manner.
• Awareness of architecture frameworks and patterns that support software development and maintenance.
• Strong organisational skills and a logical mindset for effective decision making.
• Experience working with diverse, geographically distributed teams, onshore and offshore, using a variety of technologies.

At The Open University, we are pioneers in accessible education and digital innovation. This is your opportunity to lead architectural initiatives that shape the future of learning and technology.

• 33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three-day Christmas closure period.
• Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
• Staff fee waivers for OU study, allowing you to earn a degree for free.
• Flexible working and family‑friendly policies.
• Discounts, wellbeing support and development opportunities.

Mid‑Senior level

Full‑time

Information Technology, Product Management, and Engineering

Higher Education