Senior Solution Architect

INTRODUCTION

At Burberry, we believe creativity opens spaces. Our purpose is to unlock the power of imagination to push boundaries and open new possibilities for our people, our customers and our communities. This is the core belief that has guided Burberry since it was founded in 1856 and is central to how we operate as a company today.

We aim to provide an environment for creative minds from different backgrounds to thrive, bringing a wide range of skills and experiences to everything we do. As a purposeful, values-driven brand, we are committed to being a force for good in the world as well, creating the next generation of sustainable luxury for customers, driving industry change and championing our communities.

JOB PURPOSE

The Senior Solution Architect provides architectural leadership for Burberry’s most complex and strategically important delivery initiatives. Anchored to a primary domain, the role builds deep business, platform and technology context over time, providing continuity across squads, programmes and roadmaps.

As part of the central Architecture function, the Senior Solution Architect also flexes onto cross-domain programmes and high-priority initiatives where broader solution design oversight is required. The role translates enterprise architecture direction into practical, deliverable solution designs and ensures those designs are scalable, secure, supportable and aligned to Burberry’s technology strategy.

The role acts as the bridge between Enterprise Architects, who set enterprise direction and guardrails, and delivery teams, who design, build and implement solutions. It provides senior design assurance, resolves architectural trade- offs, surfaces delivery-level insight back into enterprise architecture, and coaches Solution Architects to improve quality and consistency across the practice.

ACCOUNTAIBILITY BOUNDARIES & KEY INTERFACES

• Accountable for end-to-end solution architecture for complex initiatives within aligned domains and selected cross-domain programmes.
• Accountable for applying enterprise architecture standards, patterns and guardrails to solution designs, but not for setting enterprise architecture strategy or target-state roadmaps.
• Accountable for providing senior design assurance across squads, programmes and partner-delivered work, but not for project delivery, engineering execution or operational service ownership.
• Key interfaces include Enterprise Architects, Solution Architects, domain-aligned teams, programme teams, platform teams, Cyber Security, Data, Integration, Portfolio Management & Transformation Office and strategic technology partners.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead end-to-end solution design for complex product and programme initiatives, spanning application, integration, data, cloud, infrastructure and security considerations.
• Translate enterprise architecture principles, standards and roadmaps into practical solution designs that balance pace, cost, quality, risk and long-term sustainability.
• Provide design authority across aligned domains, reviewing and challenging solution designs produced by Solution Architects, engineering teams and third-party partners.
• Ensure solution designs conform to enterprise standards, architecture guardrails, security requirements and agreed technology patterns.
• Provide design assurance across multiple squads and programmes, ensuring consistency across the portfolio rather than within a single delivery team.
• Engage early in demand shaping and portfolio assessment, providing solution feasibility input, ROM estimates, dependency identification and technical risk assessment.
• Flex onto cross-domain programmes and priority initiatives where solution complexity, business criticality or architectural risk requires senior architecture oversight.
• Act as the senior technical voice within major delivery initiatives, including platform migrations, strategic vendor implementations, large-scale integrations and complex system changes.
• Resolve solution-level architectural trade-offs within delivery, escalating to Enterprise Architects or governance forums where decisions have wider enterprise implications.
• Surface recurring risks, integration challenges, design constraints and technical debt from delivery back into enterprise architecture standards and roadmaps.
• Coach and guide Solution Architects within aligned domains, supporting consistency, capability development and quality of architectural output.
• Contribute to reusable solution patterns, reference architectures and design playbooks.
• Participate in architecture governance forums, providing solution-level assurance, recommendations and decision support.

PERSONAL PROFILE

• Significant experience in solution architecture, including leading design across complex, multi-system and cross-domain initiatives.
• Strong technical breadth across application, integration, data, cloud, security and infrastructure architecture, with depth in one or more specialist areas.
• Proven ability to translate enterprise architecture direction into practical solution designs that delivery teams can implement.
• Experience providing design assurance and architectural governance across product, programme and partner-led delivery.
• Credible technical authority, able to challenge engineering teams, vendors and third-party partners constructively on design quality and long-term fit.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain architectural trade-offs and recommendations clearly to senior technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience coaching or mentoring Solution Architects or technical design leads.
• Comfortable operating in a matrixed organisation, balancing domain alignment with the need to flex across high-priority demand.
• Experience working in Agile, hybrid or squad-based delivery models is preferred.
• Experience with one or more core enterprise platforms such as SAP, Salesforce, Databricks, integration middleware or cloud platforms is preferred.