Systems Solution Architect

MERITUS Talent have partnered with one of Europe's busiest defence firms for the hire of an Information Systems Solutions Architect on a contract basis

Systems Solutions Architect - Contract - £66ph - Stevenage - SC Clearance - British Citizenship required - Hybrid - One day a week on site

Overview of department:

Information Management (IM) defines, implements, and adapts the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and Information Systems (IS) strategy to the needs of the business and users. Within Information Management, the Information Systems teams support and deploy business applications, with IS Engineering supporting a key pillar of our business.

Responsibilities:

The IS Engineering Solutions team supports the contribution to an international programme to deliver a new generation missile. The team collaborates with key partners in UK Defence and abroad, while also assessing the internal state of MBDA's IM systems to meet the needs of new ways of working. The IS Engineering Solution Architect will cover these key activities within an established team to prioritize and deliver improvements to our Engineering toolsets.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assessing needs/ideas according to the IM End to End Process as a Technical Expert or applying equivalent agile techniques.
• Ensuring and maturing the quality of the Scope, Feasibility, and Business Case.
• Accountability for project compliance with Technical Quality and Results, working with appropriate IM Delivery Teams.
• Providing Systems Engineering processes/lifecycle subject matter expertise and advice.
• Investigating appropriate application solutions for all programme needs in the application layer, closely working with the Infrastructure Architect.
• Interacting with counterparts in key partners for Enterprise goals.
• Assessing compliance with Enterprise standards and identifying activities to improve internal tooling.
• Leading Business Case creation and participating in agile scrums.
• Assisting in the creation of feasible projects and proposing or validating key technical solutions.
• Ensuring all solution risks are identified and mitigated.
• Gathering and disseminating technical lessons learned and contributing to the action plan for agreed improvements.

The Solution Architect is responsible for supporting a variety of internal and external stakeholders within the scope of the programmes. This includes performing Business Analysis and Solution Design to define digital transformation/adoption goals and develop solution roadmaps. Strong stakeholder relationships are fostered to support and guide effective decisions.

Where possible, align new concepts and solutions to existing enterprise and digital transformation strategies, proposing innovation in toolsets and solutions directly meeting business goals. This role ensures all solutions align to IM's strategy and reports to the existing IS Engineering Solution Architect.

Agree solution concepts with IM & Security teams to ensure compliance with all regulatory bodies.

Skillset/experience required:

Understanding of:

• Essential - Designing technical solutions to meet business needs within security constraints.
• Essential - Documenting designs clearly from an architectural perspective.
• Advantageous - The lifecycle of information systems, including acquisition and development of new technology with a focus on automation.
• Advantageous - Application integration approaches, e.g. use of OLSC.
• Advantageous - Awareness of industry infrastructure and operating standards such as SQL, DB2, Active Directory, Virtual Machines, WebSphere.

A broad level of Technical IT knowledge and expertise in developing concepts and scoping enterprise systems and services, especially in the integration of disparate and distributed solutions in a defence environment is required. Excellent problem-solving skills, proven Business Analyst and Project Management skills, and the ability to articulate technical information to different audiences are essential. Candidates should be self-organising, adaptable, and willing to work with team members towards a common goal, with a desire to be part of high performing teams and build strong relationships.