Retail Solution Architect

We are looking for Solution Architects to join a high-performing architecture function supporting a portfolio of strategic initiatives across Hospitality and Retail.

The Solution Architect will play a hands-on design and assurance role, owning core architecture artefacts and working closely with Engineering, Product, Delivery, and Architecture peers across multiple towers. The role requires strong domain understanding, excellent design communication skills, and the ability to operate across multiple initiatives in parallel throughout the year.

Planned initiatives include (but are not limited to):

• Marketing Technology (MarTech)
• Group Bookings
• Digital Platform Re-architecture
• Digital Keys
• Online Check-in (CIOL)
• Customer Identity, Payments, and Integrations, Account Services,
• Distribution

Key Responsibilities:

1. Architecture Artefacts & Design Ownership

The Solution Architect is accountable for producing and maintaining core architecture artefacts, including:

• Key Design Decisions (KDDs)
• Identify architectural options, constraints, and trade-offs
• Clearly articulate decisions, rationale, risks, and implications
• Maintain decision traceability across initiatives
• Outline Solution Designs (OSDs)
• Define early-stage solution direction to support discovery, estimation, and planning
• Establish scope boundaries, assumptions, and dependencies
• High-Level Designs (HLDs)
• Produce clear, structured HLDs covering:
• Architecture overview and context
• Logical and physical views
• Integration patterns and data flows
• Security, resilience, scalability, and operability considerations
• Ensure designs align with enterprise architecture principles and target state

These artefacts will be reviewed and approved through Architecture Governance forums.

2. Collaboration with Engineering & Delivery

• Work closely with Technical Leads and Engineering Teams to:
• Explain and walk through designs in detail
• Ensure architectural intent is clearly understood
• Enable effective translation of HLDs and OSDs into Low-Level Designs (LLDs)
• Act as the architectural bridge between strategy and delivery, supporting teams through build and implementation
• Review and assure LLDs produced by delivery teams and partners to ensure alignment with approved designs

3. Multi-Initiative & Portfolio Support

• Support multiple initiatives concurrently, flexing across programmes based on demand and priority
• Provide architectural consistency where initiatives intersect (e.g. CIOL, Digital Keys, Identity, Booking flows)
• Support initiatives across different phases: discovery, design, delivery, and transition to BAU

4. Architecture Governance & Cross-Tower Alignment

• Present designs, KDDs, and recommendations in Architecture Forums and review boards
• Incorporate feedback and manage design iterations through governance
• Work closely with Architecture teams from other towers (e.g. Data, Integration, Security, Infrastructure) to:
• Ensure end-to-end alignment
• Resolve cross-cutting concerns and dependencies
• Avoid duplication and architectural divergence
• Identify, document, and manage architectural risks, constraints, and technical debt

5. Domain-Driven Solution Design (Hospitality & Retail)

Apply strong domain knowledge to solution design, including:

• Booking and reservation lifecycles (leisure, business, group)
• Guest digital journeys across web, app, kiosk, and contact centre
• Payments, pre-pay, pay-on-arrival, and refunds
• Hotel operations and integrations with PMS, CRM, CDP, and MarTech platforms
• High-availability and operational resilience requirements of 24×7 hospitality environments