Automation Architect

Closing Date 2026-07-06 Job Title: Automation Architect Location: Hybrid working between our head office in Durrington (Worthing) 2 days pw, and home. Contract Type: Permanent Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday - Friday Salary: Starting salary of up to £62,000, commensurate to skills and experience. About the role Water underpins everyday life, yet it remains an industry that is still evolving in how it uses technology, data and automation. At Southern Water, that is changing. We are building a new Intelligent Automation and Process Engineering capability at the heart of the organisation. This is not about incremental improvements, it is about redefining how work gets done, embedding automation, data and AI into our core processes, and creating a more efficient, resilient and future-ready business. As Automation Architect, you will play a critical role in shaping that future. This is a foundational leadership role within a brand-new capability, giving you the opportunity to define and own Southern Water’s enterprise-wide automation and AI architecture. You will set the long-term vision, standards and guardrails that ensure all automation, workflow and AI solutions are scalable, secure and aligned to our wider digital, data and cloud strategies. Working closely with senior technology leaders and business stakeholders, you will act as the principal authority for automation architecture, influencing investment decisions, driving platform maturity, and ensuring consistency across delivery teams. This role goes beyond solution design – it is about defining the architecture that enables automation and AI at enterprise scale. What you’ll be responsible for: Defining and governing enterprise automation and AI architecture across Power Platform, RPA, Logic Apps, Co‑Pilot Studio and wider ecosystem Establishing architectural standards, guardrails, reference designs, DLP policies and governance frameworks Leading end-to-end solution design for automation, workflow and AI-enabled services across all directorates Providing technical leadership and design assurance to engineering and delivery teams Producing architecture artefacts including solution designs, integration patterns, data flows and security models Leading and supporting the Platform Engineer, ensuring platforms are secure, scalable and operationally robust Overseeing platform strategy including environments, ALM/CI‑CD, capacity, licensing and monitoring Enabling advanced AI capabilities including Co‑Pilot agents, Azure OpenAI, RAG patterns and knowledge integration Ensuring secure and scalable integration with enterprise systems and data platforms Acting as a senior advisor across governance forums, architecture boards and strategic initiatives Supporting automation pipeline prioritisation, feasibility and long-term roadmap development What you’ll bring to the role: Essential Significant experience designing automation, integration or AI architectures in enterprise environments Deep expertise across Power Platform, Azure services, RPA technologies and workflow orchestration Strong understanding of security architecture including DLP, RBAC, identity, API security and governance Experience designing scalable, cloud-native solutions using event-driven and microservices patterns Strong knowledge of AI architecture (e.g. RAG patterns, embeddings, prompt engineering, knowledge graphs) Proven ability to produce clear architectural documentation and translate complex concepts into practical designs Strong leadership capability, including mentoring engineers and guiding technical delivery Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, including influencing senior leadership Desirable Microsoft certifications (e.g. PL‑600, AZ‑305, AZ‑204, AZ‑104) Experience with Blue Prism, ServiceNow RPA, Alteryx or similar AI/ML or Azure AI certifications TOGAF or equivalent architecture qualification Experience in regulated or asset-intensive industries About Southern Water Southern Water is delivering a generational transformation across the business, investing significantly to improve resilience, sustainability and customer outcomes. You will be joining at a time of real change, as part of a new capability that sits at the core of how the organisation evolves. This is a unique opportunity to define the foundations of process architecture in a business that is actively transforming how it operates. We offer an environment where you will have real ownership, visibility and impact, working alongside senior stakeholders to shape strategic direction and deliver meaningful change. Our mission is to protect and enhance life through water – and this role will directly contribute to how we achieve that. . If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself (myworkdaysite.com- Introduce Yourself) Our Commitment to Diversity We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. Additional information In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years. Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation. #LI-BD1 Our purpose is big. Our impact is huge. And we know that every single one of us has the power, through our actions, to positively change society and the environment for good. It’s why careers with us have real meaning. Because, if you’re driven and ambitious, we can offer you huge opportunities for personal growth, professional development and constant innovation. Forever evolving. Forever focused on doing the right thing, we empower and encourage everyone to play to their strengths and to help us shape a fair and positive future for all. We believe in Water for Life. If you do too, Dive Right In. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?