Solution Architect
Job summary
Are you ready to join a team shaping the future of digital healthcare across England? Do you want to apply your architectural skills to services that impact millions of patients, clinicians, and NHS staff every day?
NHS England is looking for experienced Solution Architects to help design modern, secure, and interoperable digital services.
If you're passionate about designing high-quality, user-centred solutions--and want to grow your career within a supportive, nationally focused architecture community--this could be the ideal opportunity.
Digital transformation is central to the NHS's long-term ambitions. This is an exciting time to join NHS England and help design services that operate at national scale, supporting clinical delivery, improving patient experience, and strengthening the digital foundations of the health and care system.
Our Solution Architecture function provides architectural design and technical consultancy across national programmes. You will work within multidisciplinary teams shaping the architecture of major national services, platforms, and capabilities--from citizen-facing applications to critical national infrastructure.
What's in it for you
- Join a collaborative architecture team using digital technology and data to transform health and care
- Work on national-scale services that directly support the public, clinicians, and NHS operations
- Access a wide range of learning, development, and training
- Benefit from hybrid, flexible working arrangements
Main duties of the job
Main Duties of the Role
We offer opportunities across several core architecture domains. You'll be aligned to the domain that best matches your strengths -- not expected to have experience in all areas.
Applications o Design next-generation NHS digital serviceso Work across services including NHS App, NHS.uk, UEC digital tools, and GP digital serviceso Support user-centred, interoperable solutions for patients and clinicians
Security (Cyber Architecture) o Design secure national systemso Strengthen cyber maturity, resilience, and complianceo Improve system visibility across all the NHS
Infrastructure o Shape national foundational serviceso Hybrid cloud strategy and next-generation networkingo Microsoft 365 national collaboration platformso Improve performance, interoperability, and digital capability
Platforms o Support shared platforms and digital foundationso APIs, integration services, event-driven architectureso National registries and data serviceso Enable interoperability and national data sharing
As part of the architecture team, you will: o Develop and own architecture componentso Align designs with NHS standards and governanceo Work in agile, multidisciplinary teamso Produce high-quality diagrams, models, and technical artefactso Act as a technical contact for delivery teams and supplierso Contribute to assessments, reviews, and assuranceo Champion reusable patterns and best practice
About us
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Some roles may require the successful candidate to hold, or be willing to obtain, Security Check (SC) clearance.
To meet National Security Vetting requirements, SC clearances require 5 years continuous UK residency. In certain cases, this can be reduced to three years continuous UK residency, with additional overseas checks for the previous two years.
Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.
For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc.
The post of Solution Architect has been awarded a Recruitment and Retention Premia (RRP) in response to current labour market conditions. In recognition of this, the role attracts an additional monthly RRP payment equal to 15% per annum.
Please be aware that RRP is non-contractual and subject to review.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience, ideally in a computing, scientific or mathematical field
- Significant experience working as a Solution Architect in complex environments
Knowledge
- Strong knowledge of cloud technologies and appropriate use of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS models
- Understanding of modern integration approaches, API-driven design, and interoperable solution patterns
Skills
- Skilled in defining technical roadmaps, including identifying, analysing and documenting both functional and non-functional requirements, and in challenging ambiguous or incomplete requirements.
Experience
- Significant experience working in an Information Technology or digital architecture environment
- Has led the development of solution architectures, ensuring alignment with standards, identification of integration dependencies, and documented decisions or deviations.
- Experience working within large-scale agile delivery environments and multidisciplinary teams
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
NHS England
Address
Any NHS England Office
National
LS1 4AP
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/working-for/