AQA
Solution Architect
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Solution Architect
18-month Fixed Term Contract Location: Manchester Salary: £75,800 – £88,300 Working Arrangement: Hybrid (minimum two days/week in Manchester office)
About the Role
AQA is seeking an experienced solution architect to support a major customer portfolio during a period of reform and change. This opportunity allows you to shape architecture for systems that influence AQA’s relationships with schools, colleges, and other centres—while contributing to the evolution of an architectural function.
Purpose of the Role
You’ll join AQA’s enterprise technology architecture team, collaborating with business, portfolio, project, and technical colleagues to guide change. Your focus will be on the customer data platform and wider improvements to sales, marketing, and support systems, ensuring AQA optimises data to enhance services for centres and learners.
Key Responsibilities
• Shape solution architecture—as-is/to-be analysis, roadmaps, options appraisals, and high-level designs • Collaborate with stakeholders, project teams, suppliers, and technical teams to turn business goals into practical, scalable, and standards-compliant technology solutions • Support architecture governance, defining patterns, ensuring low-level designs align with AQA’s standards, security, and strategy • Drive design decisions aligned with AQA’s evolving technology strategy
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Requirements
We’re seeking an established architecture leader with:
- Strong solution/application/enterprise architecture experience (recent architectural focus in your role)
- Expertise in customer data platforms, CRM, sales, marketing, or customer service systems
- Ability to connect business goals, customer journeys, integrations, and technical delivery
- Skill in creating architecture artefacts: vision statements, roadmaps, designs, options papers, and patterns
- Pragmatic, influential collaboration style—ability to work with suppliers and keep fast-paced projects progressing
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What We Offer
• Varied, high-impact work shaping key portfolios and AQA’s architecture maturity • Opportunity to direct future architecture lines and standards • 35-hour week, flexible hybrid working • 25 days annual leave (rising to 30), plus holiday closures • Generous pension: up to 11.5% employer contribution
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I)
AQA celebrates diversity and is committed to equity and inclusion. Our ED&I strategy ensures all employees—regardless of background, identity, or experience—feel valued and empowered to grow. We welcome applications from all sectors.
Application Process
Apply via the AQA careers site with your CV by Sunday 12 July 2026. • First stage: short virtual interview • Final stage: face-to-face interview in Manchester.
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