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Solution Architect

Employer
BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Closing date
16 Feb 2022
Reference
103037

Job Details

Role Purpose

Solution Architects are responsible for architecting solutions to meet the needs of BAE clients. Solution architects ensure that solutions developed within delivery programmes are fit-for-purpose.

Solution architects select and tailor the engineering processes that are used to develop the solution and govern the technical quality of the work as it is executed. As expert communicators with deep knowledge in more than one discipline, they coordinate the activities of engineering specialists to develop a design and work with Software Engineers and Service professionals to deliver enduring capability.

Typically, Solution Architects will work with very senior client stakeholders (up to CXO level) to understand, influence and shape requirements and solution approaches. They will deploy an excellent understanding of mainstream and emerging solution technologies and providers with a flair for evangelism of innovative approaches to business problems and the intellectual capability to rapidly develop expertise and authority in new areas.

Solution Architects must deliver solutions with consideration of through-life solution operation such as operational support and management, integration, change and extension, migration and re-platforming, productisation, re-use, withdrawal/retirement and disposal.

Common Role Accountabilities

  • Leads the development of solution architectures, ensuring consistency with specified requirements agreed with both external and internal customers.
  • Responsible for defining and managing the solution engineering approach.
  • Oversees and assures the implementation of the design in collaboration with other design team members such as Application Architects, Infrastructure Architects, System and Software Designers, Data Architects, Security Architects and Functional Architects.
  • Ensure that the design meets key functional and non-functional requirements and will allow the operational and through-life scenarios required for the solution to be satisfied.
  • Owns and manages technical and solution risks. Works to reduce and mitigate at earliest practical opportunity 
  • Leads estimation efforts to rapidly develop an understanding of potential solution costs and delivery timescales including appropriate Service regimes for solutions in production operation
  • Retains overall ownership of solution through delivery and transition into operation and/or subsequent refinement, or modification.
  • Ensures that appropriate standards (corporate, industry, national and international) are adhered to.
  • Works with quality and test management functions to ensure that proposed test strategies and approaches are fit-for-purpose.
  • Works with Delivery Assurance functions to agree how the quality and progress of a given solution delivery should be tracked, and acts an expert resource to support interventions on projects where solution quality or progress has become an issue.

Level Specific Accountabilities

Depending on the particular job being performed, seniority and experience an architect may typically have a range of these specific accountabilities:

Core Architecture  – mid-level accountabilities

  • Retains overall ownership of solution through delivery and transition into operation and/or subsequent refinement, or modification.
  • Responsible for specification, flow-down and acceptance of requirements to 3rd parties.
  • Management of the Architect team, design baseline and scope changes
  • Shapes further the solution blueprint and/or design – for example through the tailored application of architecture frameworks (e.g. Zachmann, TOGAF and MODAF) and other design articulations (including the UML).
  • Responsible for managing the functional and non-functional requirements set out in the contract.
  • Establishes policy and strategy for the selection of systems architecture components, and co-ordinates design activities, promoting the discipline to ensure consistency.
  • Works with client technical authorities or Enterprise architecture functions to ensure that they have a clear understanding of architecture and design proposals at an appropriate level, and that environmental and other standards/constraints within the client domain have been dealt with appropriately.

Core Architecture – top-level accountabilities

  • Directs the development of multi-disciplinary architectures for complex systems, ensuring consistency with specified requirements agreed with both external and internal customers.
  • Directs the further development of the design in collaboration with other design team members such as Application Architects, Infrastructure Architects, System and Software Designers, Data Architects, Security Architects and Functional Architects.
  • Leads structured and objective evaluations of candidate solution options including input to any partnering or subcontracting strategies that may be required to support solution delivery.
  • Retains overall ownership of solution through delivery and transition into operation and/or subsequent refinement, or modification.

Pre-sales

  • Work with Account Management and Sales functions to ensure that key sales messages for the BAE solutions are accurately and authoritatively communicated within bids and pitches and to develop or qualify new opportunities
  • Understand and leverage existing BAE organisational experience, IP and expertise in similar providing similar solutions – working with other client teams, marketing, product and proposition experts to incorporate the reuse of solution elements from multiple service lines.
  • Undertake architecture for solutions in response to RFI and RFP requests for clients
  • Consult with clients to evolve early solutions

Industry representation

  • Represents BAE at group level on relevant architecture working groups under the remit of the BAE Systems Corporate Engineering Council.
  • Represents BAE at company level in articulating company thinking with regard to solution offerings, external partnering and collaboration with solution vendors and technology providers.
  • Participates in cross-industry architectural working groups and within relevant professional bodies

Delivery/lifecycle management accountabilities

  • Shepherds all architectural activity through the project development lifecycle paying particular care to ensure that all quality processes, gates and controls are followed.
  • Sets standards for tools and techniques, advises on their application and ensures compliance. Takes technical responsibility for all stages in the architectural and engineering process. Prepares project and quality plans and advises systems development teams. Provides advice, guidance and assistance to less experienced colleagues as required.

Team leadership Accountabilities

  • Nurtures and guides the technical ability of lower grade Architects.
  • Manages a team of architects in architectural activities
  • Provides input into the performance reviews of development staff
  • Provides career guidance to development staff

 

Company

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is home to 4,800 digital, cyber and intelligence experts. We work collaboratively across 16 countries to collect, connect and understand complex data, so that governments, nation states, armed forces and commercial businesses can unlock digital advantage in the most demanding environments.

At BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, we believe that digital technology is the key to unlocking our customers’ advantage. By advancing digital technologies, we open doors to worlds of opportunities, together. We work across 6 main areas, Cyber, Defence, Delivery & Advisory, FinCrime, Intelligence and Space. Come visit us at the expo, or our website, to learn more about our opportunities.

www.baesystems.com/cybercareers 

https://twitter.com/BAES_Digital

https://www.facebook.com/baesystemsdigitalintelligence

https://www.linkedin.com/company/baesystemsdigital

https://www.youtube.com/c/BAESystemsDigitalIntelligence

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