Solution Architect

Description

At Digital Forms we help mid-sized service businesses go through digital transformation — part consulting, part building the software ourselves. That mix is the job: understanding what a client actually needs, then designing something real enough to ship.

As a Solution Architect, you're the person who turns messy business problems into a clear technical plan. You'll sit in discovery workshops, dig into the client's existing systems and APIs, weigh up the options, and decide how a new system should be built — then make sure it actually gets built that way.

It's senior, it's client-facing, and it stays technical. You won't disappear into slide decks: you stay close to the code, you talk directly to our clients, and you own your design from the first conversation through to production.

Responsibilities

• Get to the bottom of what the client needs, and turn it into architecture that scales and survives contact with reality

• Design the system and choose the stack for new builds

• Stay hands-on — write and review production code, and prototype when a design needs proving rather than describing

• Look at existing systems and APIs and call what's reusable, what's a dead end, and what needs replacing

• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with client stakeholders, product owners, and developers

• Document the architecture clearly enough that the team can build from it

• Keep the technical direction consistent and feasible as things evolve

• Guide the implementation team and be the person they bring the hard calls to

• Run client workshops and technical discovery sessions

Hard Skills:

• 7+ years in software delivery, with at least 3 spent as a Solution Architect or senior backend / technical lead

• 5+ years actually writing production code (not just designing or reviewing it) in Python, Node.js, Java, or Kotlin

• Real hands-on time with AWS or Azure

• Comfortable with API design, event-driven architecture (Kafka, SQS, or RabbitMQ), and microservices / integration patterns

• At home with both relational and NoSQL databases

• Able to read API docs and judge integration options for yourself

• Experience building custom software, not just wiring up SaaS tools

• Solid grasp of how software gets shipped (Agile, DevOps)

Soft Skills:

• You've run workshops and architecture reviews directly with external clients — and US/UK clients won't be new territory

• Business-level English, spoken and written (C1+); you can hold the room with international clients

• Happy to keep CET-overlapping hours so you're there when the client is

• You can explain a technical trade-off to someone non-technical without losing them

• Analytical, pragmatic, and you take ownership rather than waiting to be told

• Client-oriented and adaptable