Senior Solutions Architect – Digital Experience & AI

Location: Hybrid, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Salary: £4,395 per month after tax, excluding pension and insurance contributions

Company

hirify.global-EBI is a worldwide leader in storing, analysing, and disseminating large biological datasets for the global research community.

What you will do

• Lead solution architecture for digital experience initiatives spanning web applications, APIs, content platforms, AI-enabled services, and emerging digital channels.
• Design AI-enabled services using LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, intelligent agents, semantic search, tool calling, and workflow orchestration where appropriate.
• Translate user needs, service journeys, and design principles into accessible, sustainable technical architectures in collaboration with UX, product, design, and web development colleagues.
• Provide technical leadership across discovery, prototyping, implementation, and production, including technology choices, architectural decisions, and engineering practices.
• Lead, mentor, coach, and manage the development team while building capability in modern software and AI engineering.
• Design integrations across APIs, data sources, content platforms, enterprise systems, and existing digital infrastructure; establish reusable architecture patterns and technical guidance.

Requirements

• Significant experience in a senior solution architecture, digital architecture, or software engineering lead role.
• Strong software engineering background with experience designing and delivering modern digital applications and services.
• Practical experience designing and delivering AI-enabled digital services, including LLM-based applications, retrieval, agentic patterns, and AI orchestration.
• Strong understanding of modern application architecture, including APIs, integrations, cloud and/or containerised architectures, CI/CD, and modern software delivery practices.
• Experience providing technical leadership to software development teams, including mentoring, coaching, and developing technical capability.
• Experience working with UX, product, or design professionals to translate user needs and service requirements into technical solutions.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including explaining complex technical concepts and making pragmatic architectural decisions.
• Understanding of security, privacy, accessibility, observability, and responsible AI considerations.
• Understanding of accessibility and inclusive design principles, including WCAG, and their application to digital service architecture and delivery.

Nice to have

• Experience with modern front-end technologies such as React, Angular, or similar.
• Experience with content management platforms such as Drupal, WordPress, or similar.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience with relational and non-relational databases, vector databases, enterprise search, or knowledge graphs.
• Experience with workflow automation and orchestration platforms.
• Experience with conversational, assistant, or agent-based user experiences.
• Experience with scientific, research, data-intensive, or information-rich digital services.
• Experience establishing architecture patterns, technical standards, or reusable digital capabilities across an organisation.

Culture & Benefits

• Three-year fixed-term Staff Member contract, renewable to nine years.
• Hybrid working arrangements in a collaborative and inclusive research environment.
• Pension scheme, insurance coverage, annual salary review, allowances, and private medical insurance.
• 30 days of annual leave plus public holidays.
• Relocation package including an installation grant, subject to conditions.
• Family benefits, campus facilities, shuttle transport, subsidised gym and cafeteria, and sports and social activities.
• International applicants may receive visa exemptions and additional benefits for non-UK residents.

Hiring process

• Submit an up-to-date CV and supporting cover letter through the online application system.
• Applications close at 23:59 CET on 17 November 2026.