Solutions Architect – Contract (Outside IR35)

Location: Remote / Flexible, with travel to client sites as required

Rate: Competitive day rate (Outside IR35)

Clearance: SC eligible

Duration: 6 month rolling

We’re working with a major defence and technology client seeking an experienced Solutions Architect to support a Data Centre Exit & Obsolescence Programme. This is a fast-paced, high-impact project requiring strong architectural leadership, business engagement, and practical experience in cloud migration strategies, particularly to Microsoft Azure.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and support discovery and assessment activities, working at pace across a complex estate using the 7Rs approach.
• Conduct architectural analysis to assess current applications and determine future state solutions.
• Engage directly with business application owners and stakeholders to capture and validate architectural requirements.
• Drive quick, evidence-based treatment determinations for applications and systems.
• Lead lift-and-shift (re-host) strategies as an initial approach, with scope for re-architecting where appropriate.
• Work with cross-functional teams to reverse engineer and document both source and target application/system architectures.
• Support the migration of workloads to Microsoft Azure, leveraging deep understanding of cloud architectures and capabilities.
• Operate under pressure to meet tight timelines and deliver consistently at pace.

Essential Experience:

• Proven experience on a Data Centre Exit and Obsolescence programme, ideally in a complex or regulated environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and contribute to discovery and assessment at speed using the 7Rs methodology (Retire, Retain, Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, or Replace).
• Strong background in both infrastructure and application architecture, including hands-on cloud migration.
• Solid experience with Azure cloud services and deployment models.
• Track record of facilitating and leading meetings with business stakeholders, extracting and challenging requirements as needed.
• Ability to interpret and reverse engineer undocumented legacy systems.
• Experience operating in high-pressure programmes with immovable deadlines

Desirable Skills:

• Exposure to security architecture or governance within transformation programmes.
• Familiarity with tooling to support architecture analysis and migration planning.
• Knowledge of defence, aerospace, or secure government environments.

Why Apply?

• High-profile, fast-paced transformation programme
• Outside IR35 with flexibility to work remotely
• Opportunity to shape a major infrastructure and application migration to Azure
• Work with a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team