Head of Architecture

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Manchester, UK

Reporting To: Daniel Wardin

Description

A little about you...

• Deep expertise in .NET and modern technical architecture, with the ability to operate hands-on where needed. Proven experience leading teams of Principal Engineers and Architects in complex environments.
• Strong understanding of AI integration patterns (e.g. RAG, embeddings, vector databases), cloud-native architectures, and scalable distributed systems. Experience overseeing AI-enabled product capabilities at scale.
• Proven ability to drive high standards in system design, delivery practices, and operational performance across large-scale platforms.
• Ability to define and execute long-term architectural strategies while balancing short-term delivery needs.
• Confident in making high-stakes, complex decisions and leading teams through ambiguity and change
• Strong understanding of governance frameworks, risk mitigation, and architectural assurance in enterprise environments.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences and influence at executive level.
• Demonstrated track record of adopting emerging technologies and driving impactful innovation.
• Proven experience building, mentoring, and leading high-performing engineering and architecture teams.
• Deep knowledge of modern software architecture patterns, including microservices, event-driven systems, and cloud-native design. 
• Strong understanding of AI/ML concepts and integration approaches, including LLMs, RAG architectures, vector databases, and responsible AI practices. 
• Expertise in scalable platform design, performance optimisation, and distributed systems used by high-volume, global user bases. 
• Solid understanding of security, compliance, data privacy, and governance frameworks in enterprise SaaS environments.
• Strategic and forward-thinking, with the ability to anticipate future technology and business needs. 
• Highly collaborative, able to influence and align diverse stakeholders across engineering, product, and executive levels. 
• Pragmatic and outcome-focused, balancing innovation with delivery and operational realities. 
• Strong ownership mindset, with a drive for accountability and continuous improvement. 
• Resilient and adaptable, able to navigate ambiguity and lead through complex organisational and technical challenges.
  
  

About the role...

• Lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing team of Principal Software Engineers and Technical Architects, ensuring strong technical leadership across domains.
• Shape and influence the architectural strategy across the business, aligning decisions with immediate needs and long-term goals.
• Define and drive architectural roadmaps, standards, policies, and vision statements to guide the organisation’s evolution.
• Champion engineering excellence, driving best practices in design, delivery, scalability, and maintainability.

• Define and lead the AI architecture strategy across Interact’s platform and ecosystem.
• Oversee the design and delivery of AI-powered features such as intelligent search, summarisation, classification, recommendations, generative capabilities, and insights.
• Ensure the development of secure, scalable AI integration layers using modern patterns (e.g. embeddings, RAG, vector databases, prompt orchestration, evaluation frameworks).
• Govern the creation and operation of AI services, APIs, telemetry, evaluation pipelines, and guardrails.
• Establish and enforce best practices for responsible AI, including privacy, compliance, model governance, and risk mitigation.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to prioritise AI initiatives and define measurable business and user outcomes.
• Ensure reuse and scalability through shared AI components, SDKs, and architectural standards across teams.

• Serve as a bridge between engineering, product, and executive stakeholders to ensure architectural decisions align with business goals.
• Collaborate closely with senior leadership to shape and deliver strategic initiatives and complex platform capabilities.
• Proactively identify opportunities for architectural improvements, innovation, and transformation.

• Oversee technical governance, ensuring architecture decisions align with organisational standards, risk management, and budget considerations.
• Lead architectural assurance processes to mitigate risk and ensure quality across products and services.
• Define and enforce architectural principles, standards, and review processes.

• Provide strategic guidance on complex, high-risk technical designs across the platform.
• Shape and evolve the overall system architecture, ensuring scalability, resilience, and performance at global scale.
• Lead the design and delivery of complex, cross-cutting platform features.
• Review and approve key architectural decisions, ensuring alignment with long-term strategy.

• Stay ahead of industry trends, particularly in AI, cloud, and modern software architecture.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies that enhance the platform and improve engineering effectiveness.
• Foster a culture of experimentation and innovation within the architecture and engineering teams.

• Drive the development of architectural documentation, patterns, and best practices.
• Coach and mentor senior engineers and architects, building strong technical leadership across the organisation.
• Provide training and alignment sessions to ensure consistency in implementation and decision-making.

• Make high-impact, complex architectural decisions with significant business and technical implications.
• Build alignment and consensus across diverse stakeholders, balancing trade-offs effectively.

• Ensure technical quality, reliability, and performance meet organisational goals.
• Embed engineering excellence into all aspects of architecture and delivery.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave (with the option to buy and sell additional days)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to Learning & Development platform
• ‎Life Insurance
• Auto Enrolment Pensions
• ‎Healthshield (Cashback on dental check-ups and fillings, eye tests, physiotherapy, prescriptions and much more
• Reimburse for usage of personal mobile phone
• ‎Free Gym membership and Free Friday lunch for office based staff