Solutions Architect.

About the role

The Solutions Architect is one half of a strong partnership with a Project Manager. In this role you will split your time between technical leadership and oversight, technical pre-sales support and small development tasks. The expected technical skillset is that of a senior-level developer (at least four years’ experience at this level), though typically a Solutions Architect will focus primarily on smaller development tasks to be able to better support the project team and Project Manager. We continuously find new and innovative ways to tackle problems using a variety of technologies including Microsoft Azure, DevOps, .NET Core, headless CMS and React.

Responsibilities

The role involves a range of skills and activities across the project lifecycle, including:

• Partner with a Project Manager to lead and mentor a team of developers within a Ridgeway Project Team
• Interpret project requirements and providing technically robust solutions in-line with Ridgeway’s project delivery approach
• Function as a cross-project consultant, providing advice and making autonomous decisions regarding technical approach
• Be an active participant in client workshops, specification writing, detailed effort estimation and collaboration with key teams to define the solution architecture
• Input into the assessment and application of new and existing technology used to ensure we continue to optimise use of the right tools 
• Technical pre-sales and consultancy

Essential skills and experience

• Previously worked in a Solution / Technical Architect or Senior Developer role for at least four years
• Extensive commercial experience of developing mobile first ASP .Net CMS and ecommerce websites
• Experience of integrating back-end APIs with JavaScript-based application frameworks, for example Next.js, to assist and support developers in both back-end and front-end roles
• Demonstrable experience of technically scoping, architecting, and leading projects successfully to conclusion, on time/budget, to specification
• Previously defined and written detailed functional and technical specifications for medium and large-scale solutions (£200k+)
• Familiarity with the Kentico DXP platform, Kontent.ai, and/or alternative enterprise CMS and headless platforms 
• Experience providing detailed task breakdowns and accurate estimation for the technical areas of website delivery
• Organised, self-motivated and ambitious with a desire to lead a team of talented developers to create cutting edge websites
• Excellent communication, consulting and client-facing skills, interfacing with both technical and non-technically focused clients
• Demonstrable experience of using version control systems

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience scoping and integrating with 3rd party platforms using RESTful API patterns, e.g. ERP, CRM, PIMs, fulfilment etc
• Experience with a broad range of .NET coding patterns and practises with the ability to apply these to real world scenarios
• Understanding of, and experience with, hosting environment aspects such as IIS, Azure App Services, security, caching, and CDN’s
• Experience with building automated continuous integration and deployment pipelines with Azure DevOps
• Commercial experience of developing mobile first React-based CMS and/or ecommerce websites ideally using a framework such as Next.js