Lead Enterprise Architect | Front Office

Lead Enterprise Architect | Front Office/Investment Technology

• London (Hybrid – 2 days in office)
• Up to c.£175k base + bonus
• Opportunity to shape architecture in a function still being built
• High visibility across investment technology
• Long-term strategic role with real impact, not just governance

I'm partnered with a global asset manager undergoing a significant transformation of its investment technology arm - this sits in a newly formed architecture function focused on bringing structure, alignment and modern engineering practices into a historically siloed environment – particularly across front office, data and portfolio management systems.

You’ll operate as a senior individual contributor, working directly with engineering teams and stakeholders to shape platform direction, influence design decisions and drive towards a more coherent target state.

What you’ll be doing:

• Owning architecture across a core investment domain (research, portfolio management, trading or data)
• Working closely with engineering teams to shape and guide solutions, not just define strategy
• Driving alignment across fragmented systems and teams
• Helping establish architectural standards, guardrails and long-term direction
• Engaging with front office stakeholders to understand how technology supports investment processes

What they’re looking for:

• Strong background in financial services (asset management or investment banking)
• Exposure to front office systems (e.g. trading, portfolio management, risk, market data)
• Experience operating as an architect who can go deep technically when needed
• Ability to influence and communicate clearly – this is a low-ego, collaborative environment
• Engineers-turned-architects who have “walked the walk” tend to do well here

Tech environment:

• Cloud-based (AWS primarily, open to Azure/GCP backgrounds)
• Moving towards Java / microservices architectures (away from Python monoliths)
• Evolving data landscape (Snowflake, Kafka under consideration)
• Growing focus on pragmatic AI adoption within engineering and architecture

Apply here if you think this is a good fit!