Principal Azure Platform Architect

The Principal Azure Platform Architect owns the technical design of the Azure Cloud platform, defining reference architectures, patterns, and standards that make solutions secure, scalable, and consistent.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define reference architectures, patterns, and standards for the platform, aligned to DPTF strategy and enterprise architecture.
• Design AI into the platform, producing reference patterns for AI-assisted delivery and intelligent operations.
• Architect for reliability and resilience by design, ensuring platform SLOs and error budgets are achievable.
• Provide design assurance and technical guidance to engineering teams, reviewing designs against standards.
• Ensure platform solutions are secure and compliant, including GxP requirements.
• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, measuring results against architecture OKRs.
• Set architecture standards for supplier and managed-service solutions.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture and Information Security on standards, roadmaps, and exceptions.
• Increase pattern reuse across the platform, tracking adoption and divergence.
• Reduce rework by intervening early in design and evidencing the reduction.
• Advise the Product Owner and Platform Manager on architectural consequences of roadmap choices.

Professional Qualifications:

• Degree in a technology or engineering discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Architecture certifications desirable (e.g., TOGAF).

Area of Specialisation:

• Platform architecture in the relevant domain, covering reference architecture, patterns, standards, and design assurance.
• Security and resilience by design, including AI reference patterns and GxP considerations.

Related Experience Required:

• Overall 15 years and typically 6-8 years in technology architecture or senior engineering.
• Proven experience as an Azure Cloud Architect.
• Knowledge of networking, security, and compliance in cloud environments.
• Experience deploying, configuring, and managing services in Azure Cloud Platform, including AI Services.
• Experience running design assurance or architecture review.
• Track record of architecting for reliability and resilience, working to SLOs and error budgets.
• Experience designing secure and compliant solutions, ideally including GxP or another regulated context.

Skills/Background:

• Ability to influence engineering teams without line authority.
• Judgement about when to grant an architectural exception and when to hold the standard.
• Clear design documentation.
• Comfort challenging vendor claims and evaluating technology on measured outcome.
• Pragmatism about technical debt.
• Collaborative habit with Enterprise Architecture and Security.