Solutions Designer - #2168115

Solutions Designer

Salary: £56,500 per annum

Location: Manchester — hybrid working, with 1–2 days per week on site

Benefits: Excellent benefits package

Are you an experienced technical design professional who can turn architectural direction and complex business requirements into clear, developer-ready solutions? This is an opportunity to play a senior role at the heart of a forward-looking digital function, helping teams deliver secure, supportable and high-quality products and applications.

Working across architecture, business analysis, product delivery and software development, you will provide technical design leadership from high-level design through detailed solution design, implementation, testing, deployment and operational support. You will improve design maturity, backlog readiness and delivery confidence across a varied portfolio of enterprise applications, integrations, data services and emerging technology initiatives.

This is a hands-on role embedded within the delivery team, giving you the scope to influence standards and governance while ensuring that designs remain practical, buildable and aligned with operational realities.

What you’ll do

• Translate architectural principles, patterns and business requirements into detailed, developer-ready technical designs.
• Lead the transition from high-level design into practical solution designs that support estimation, development, testing, deployment and ongoing service.
• Provide design governance and assurance across enterprise applications, integrations, platform enhancements, data services and AI-enabled solutions.
• Produce high-quality design artefacts, including solution outlines, process flows, sequence diagrams, interface specifications, data mappings and technical reference material.
• Define and promote technical readiness standards, helping teams resolve ambiguity, dependencies and risks before work enters development.
• Work closely with architects, business analysts, product managers, developers, testers, security specialists and service operations colleagues.
• Champion secure-by-design, resilience, supportability, maintainability and effective service transition.
• Identify technical debt, design risks and recurring delivery issues, using insight to drive continuous improvement.
• Influence stakeholders at all levels and communicate complex technical decisions, options and trade-offs clearly.

What we’re looking for

• Experience as a Solutions Designer, Technical Business Analyst, Solution Consultant, Lead Developer or in a comparable senior technical role.
• A strong track record of turning architectural direction and business needs into detailed, buildable technical solutions.
• Experience working across architecture, analysis, development, testing, security and service operations.
• Strong knowledge of agile delivery approaches, backlog readiness and technical governance.
• Experience creating solution designs, process models, integration specifications, interface contracts, data mappings and other technical documentation.
• Confidence using Azure DevOps or equivalent backlog and delivery tooling.
• The ability to influence technical and delivery practices without direct management authority.
• Strong stakeholder management, facilitation and communication skills.

Desirable experience

• Product engineering or product delivery operating models.
• Enterprise integrations across cloud and SaaS platforms.
• Microsoft Azure, APIs, integration platforms, event-driven architecture and data services.
• Solution architecture or complex multi-stakeholder environments.
• A relevant degree or equivalent professional experience; recognised architecture, design, agile or business analysis qualifications would be advantageous.