Chief Architect (Interim)

\n Chief Architect (Interim) Global Transportation Company London (On Site) Contract | Competitive Day Rate\n

We are supporting a global Transportation organisation on the appointment of a Chief Architect (Interim) to lead a critical phase of its digital and technology transformation.

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This is a high-impact leadership role, operating at the heart of the digital leadership team, with responsibility for shaping and delivering enterprise-wide architecture and engineering strategy in a complex, large-scale environment.

The Opportunity\n

This role blends strategic vision with Architecture & Engineering leadership, taking ownership of architecture as a true business enabler, not just a governance function.

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You will be responsible for modernising legacy environments, accelerating digital capabilities, and embedding scalable, future-ready technology foundations. A key part of the remit will also involve enabling increased adoption of AI and emerging technologies, supporting innovation across operational and customer-facing functions.

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With significant investment underway and strong executive backing, this is a unique opportunity to influence the direction of a globally recognised organisation at pace.

Key Responsibilities\n

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• Lead and own the end-to-end Architecture and Engineering strategy, aligned to wider business and technology objectives
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• Provide leadership across enterprise, solution and platform architecture, alongside software engineering teams
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• Define and implement architecture standards, guardrails and governance, ensuring consistency across delivery
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• Drive adoption of modern practices including cloud, DevSecOps, APIs, microservices and Agile delivery
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• Establish and evolve foundational capabilities that enable product teams to innovate at speed
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• Act as a senior decision-maker on technology direction, standards and strategic design across the enterprise
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• Develop and present technology roadmaps and business cases, influencing senior stakeholders on key trade-offs
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• Build and maintain trusted relationships across business and technology leadership, acting as a strategic advisor
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• Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing architecture and engineering leadership team
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• Champion a culture of engineering excellence, innovation and continuous improvement
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Scope & Scale\n

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• Reporting to the Chief Information Officer
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• Direct leadership of 5-10 senior leaders, with a dotted line to an overall team of 100+, and additional third-party resources
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• Accountability for £10m+ Opex budget, with governance across a significantly larger technology spend
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What We're Looking For\n

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• Proven experience operating in a senior technology leadership role within a complex, global organisation
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• Deep expertise across enterprise architecture and full-stack engineering, including modern digital platforms
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• Strong understanding of cloud architectures, APIs, microservices, DevSecOps and scalable application design
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• Experience leading architecture across application, data and infrastructure domains
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• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive enterprise-wide change
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• Track record of leading and developing large, multi-disciplinary teams
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• Experience working in Agile, product-centric environments (e.g. SAFe)
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• Strong commercial awareness, including business case development and technology investment decisions
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Leadership Profile\n

You will bring a combination of:

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• Strategic thinking and technical depth
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• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills
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• A collaborative, inclusive leadership style
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• The confidence to challenge the status quo and drive change
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• A passion for innovation, learning and continuous improvement
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Why Apply\n

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• Enterprise-wide impact within a globally recognised organisation
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• Significant influence over technology strategy and investment
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• Opportunity to shape modern architecture and engineering capabilities at scale
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• Immediate start, with strong executive visibility and backing
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