What is the opportunity?

We are seeking an experienced Senior Solution Architect to lead the design of solutions for our Retail Digital Channels Tribe!

This role involves strategic technical leadership dedicated to defining architecture for customer-facing digital platforms including mobile banking, online banking and other customer facing journeys.

In this role, you will:

Technical Leadership & Integration Expertise

• Build scalable solutions connecting internal systems, third-party services, and cloud platforms that are aligned to our Architectural Strategy.
• Define integration architecture patterns and standards across the tribe
• Lead the implementation of APIs, microservices, event-driven architectures, and integration middleware
• Ensure integration solutions are secure, performant, resilient, and maintainable
• Provide technical guidance on integration technologies, patterns, and standard processes (REST, GraphQL, messaging queues, ETL, event streaming)
• Conduct architecture reviews and code reviews to ensure quality and alignment with standards
• Solve complex integration issues and lead root cause analysis
• Stay current with emerging integration technologies and recommend adoption where appropriate.

People Management & Mentorship

• Lead a team of Solution Architects within the tribe
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, performance evaluations, and career development discussions
• Set clear objectives and provide ongoing feedback to support engineer growth
• Mentor others in the tribe on technical skills, integration patterns, and engineering guidelines
• Foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and retention of architecture talent
• Advocate for team members' development needs and career progression.

Collaboration & Delivery

• Work closely with other architects both inside and outside the Tribe, product owners, and other engineers to translate requirements into technical solutions
• Participate in squad ceremonies and contribute to sprint planning and backlog refinement
• Collaborate with multi-functional teams to understand architectural needs and dependencies
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical partners
• Contribute to the engineering community through collaboration, documentation, and technical leadership

What will make you stand out?

Technical Expertise

• Strong solution architecture experience
• Deep expertise in digital channel architecture including:
• Mobile application build and structure based on React Native for iOS and Android platforms
• Web application architecture using JavaScript frameworks and responsive design
• API design and management (RESTful APIs, API gateways, API-first design)
• Authentication and authorization patterns (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, biometric authentication)
• Digital payment systems and payment orchestration
• Deep knowledge of retail banking products, processes, and customer journeys
• Extensive hands-on experience with AWS cloud platform with deep expertise across multiple service categories:
• Compute: ECS, EKS, Lambda, App Runner, EC2
• API & Integration: Muleflex, API Gateway, AppSync, EventBridge, Step Functions, SQS, SNS
• Security & Identity: Cognito, IAM, Secrets Manager, KMS, Certificate Manager, WAF, Shield
• Data & Storage: RDS, DynamoDB, S3, ElastiCache, Aurora
• CI/CD & DevOps: CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodeCommit, CloudFormation
• Monitoring & Observability: CloudWatch, X-Ray, CloudTrail
• Networking: VPC, Route 53, CloudFront, API Gateway, Transit Gateway
• Strong understanding of AWS Well-Architected Framework pillars (operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization)
• Experience designing multi-region, highly available architectures on AWS
• Knowledge of AWS serverless architectures and event-driven patterns
• Core technology stack expertise:
• Java and Spring Boot: Extensive expertise in the Spring ecosystem for building microservices and backend systems
• React Native and JavaScript: Strong proficiency in mobile app development and modern JavaScript/TypeScript
• RESTful API design: Extensive experience designing, documenting, and versioning REST APIs
• MuleSoft: Strong knowledge of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, API management, and integration patterns
• ODS (Operational Data Store) technology: Understanding of ODS architecture and real-time data integration
• Open Banking: Extensive understanding of open banking standards, PSD2, and open API implementations
• Security Architecture: Expertise in security design patterns, encryption, PKI, secure coding practices, and threat modeling
• CIAM (Customer Identity and Access Management): Experience with customer identity solutions and user authentication flows
• Solid understanding of:
• Microservices architecture and distributed systems design
• Micro front end architecture and composable UI patterns
• Back ends for front ends (BFF) pattern for optimized API aggregation
• Event-driven architecture and asynchronous messaging patterns
• Integration patterns and middleware solutions
• DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code
• Data architecture including caching strategies, database design (SQL/NoSQL)
• Strong understanding of regulatory requirements within the finance industry
• Experience with observability and monitoring solutions (AppD, CloudWatch, Datadog, Splunk, ELK stack)

Architecture & Design Skills

• Confirmed ability to design complex, large-scale distributed systems
• Strong architectural thinking showing proficiency in balancing trade-offs between competing concerns
• Experience creating architecture artifacts (sequence diagrams, architecture decision records)
• Deep understanding of architectural patterns and when to apply them
• Ability to think strategically about long-term technical direction while delivering tactical solutions
• Experience with domain-driven design and bounded context modeling
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman) is beneficial

Leadership & Communication

• Excellent partner management and influencing skills
• Strong presentation and documentation skills with ability to tailor messaging to different audiences
• Consistent record of leading technical initiatives across multiple teams
• Ability to build consensus and drive decision-making in complex environments
• Experience working with senior leadership and presenting to executive audiences
• Comfortable challenging assumptions and providing constructive technical guidance
• Strong facilitation skills for workshops, design sessions, and architecture reviews

Agile & Delivery

• Validated experience working in Agile delivery environments (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe)
• Solid grasp of Agile ceremonies and the architect's role within Agile teams
• Ability to work iteratively and adapt architecture as requirements evolve through sprints
• Experience with modern software delivery practices and DevOps culture
• Understanding of lean and continuous delivery principles
• Comfortable working at pace in an Agile model while maintaining architectural rigor

Experience with any of the following will help you to stand out but is not necessary in order to apply for this role;

• AWS certifications (Solutions Architect Professional, Security Specialty)
• MuleSoft certifications (Developer, Architect, or Platform Architect)
• Experience with specific digital banking platforms or core banking systems
• Advanced knowledge of CIAM platforms and customer authentication journeys
• Deep experience with HID as the internal CIAM technology platform
• Hands-on experience implementing open banking APIs and TPP (Third Party Provider) integrations
• Experience architecting and implementing ODS solutions for real-time data access
• Knowledge of React Native performance optimization and mobile architecture patterns
• Experience with Spring Cloud and Spring Integration for building cloud-native microservices
• Familiarity with design systems and front-end architecture patterns
• Experience implementing AI/ML capabilities in customer-facing applications
• Understanding of mobile DevOps and app store deployment processes (App Store, Google Play)
• Experience with API security patterns and OAuth 2.0 flows in financial services
• Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design
• Experience in large-scale digital transformation programs
• Contributions to technical communities, speaking at conferences, or published articles

Essential Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications or minimum educational requirements needed for this role.

More about the team

The Retail Digital Channels Tribe delivers new functionality for our B365 Mobile and Web based retail customers.

Reporting to the Head of Tribe Technology, you will work at the intersection of business strategy and technology, translating business objectives into scalable, secure, and innovative architectural solutions while providing technical direction to multiple delivery squads across the RDC Tribe. You will lead and develop a team of Solution Architects with the Retail Digital Channels Tribe.

This is a hybrid role, based primarily in Baggot Plaza. We typically ask colleagues to spend a minimum of 8 days per month working in-person to support teamwork and connection. Specific arrangements will be confirmed by your recruiter to ensure they meet the needs of the role and team.

#li-hybrid #ij-hybrid

Why work with us?

The Bank of Ireland company culture prioritises work-life balance with an opportunity for flexible working, along with 25 days annual leave and excellent pension contributions. Family can mean different things to different people; we offer 6 months paid maternity leave, an innovative fertility and surrogacy policy and working parent supports.

Your wellbeing is important to us; we have an employee assistance program, WebDoctor and financial wellbeing coaches available. We also encourage and support staff to pursue educational and professional qualifications to grow and enhance your career!