Solutions Architect - Retail Technology

About us

We’re the team behind digital retailer Very.

Our purpose, helping families get more out of life, powers everything we do.

And we want our people to get more out of life too! If you’re high-performing, ambitious and make the most of every opportunity, we want to hear from you. In return, you’ll enjoy heaps of flexibility, great perks and benefits, and the freedom to be yourself, keep learning and take your career wherever you want it to go.

If you love making a difference, you’ll love making it sparkle for millions of Very customers. ✨

About the team

The Retail Tribe is at the heart of our digital transformation journey.

Responsible for the technology that supports our end-to-end retail operation, the team owns the design, development, integration and operation of solutions spanning:

• Sourcing and Supplier Management
• Planning and Forecasting
• Buying and Merchandising
• Pricing and Promotions
• Product Information and Publishing
• Retail Operations and Commercial Systems

Together, we're modernising legacy platforms, embracing cloud technologies and creating innovative solutions that support the next generation of retail capabilities.

About the role

As a Solution Architect, you'll play a key role in shaping technology solutions across our Retail Tribe, helping teams deliver scalable, secure and resilient systems that support our end-to-end retail operation.

Working closely with Product, Engineering and Delivery teams, you'll be responsible for translating business requirements into well-designed technical solutions, ensuring alignment with architectural standards while enabling teams to move at pace.

You will:

• Design end-to-end solutions that align business requirements with technology strategy and architecture standards.
• Shape solution designs across a modern cloud-based ecosystem, ensuring scalability, security and resilience.
• Partner with Product, Engineering and Delivery teams to define technology approaches and support successful delivery.
• Provide architectural guidance and support throughout the delivery lifecycle, from discovery through to implementation.
• Collaborate with architects and engineering teams to ensure consistency and alignment across platforms and products.
• Identify and manage technical risks, dependencies and architectural considerations.
• Contribute to architectural governance activities, ensuring solutions adhere to agreed principles, standards and best practices.
• Evaluate technologies and recommend solutions that support business objectives and future growth.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Support the ongoing evolution of our cloud-native architecture and engineering capabilities.
• Champion Agile and Lean delivery practices within multidisciplinary teams.

About you

We're seeking an experienced architect with a passion for technology, collaboration and solving complex business challenges.

You'll bring:

• Experience designing and delivering technology solutions within complex enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of modern software architecture, cloud-native technologies and distributed systems.
• Experience working closely with engineering teams to define solution designs and delivery approaches.
• The ability to balance business requirements, technical constraints and delivery objectives when making architectural decisions.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience working within Agile delivery environments and modern product organisations.
• A collaborative approach, with the confidence to challenge constructively and influence outcomes.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity and complexity.
• A passion for technology, continuous improvement and delivering great customer outcomes.

We're particularly interested in candidates with experience across:

• Java
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Cloud-native architecture and distributed systems
• API-led integration and modern engineering practices

Experience in any of the following would be advantageous:

• Spring Boot
• Oracle Database
• Terraform
• React
• AWS API Gateway
• AWS RDS

Some of our benefits

• Flexible, hybrid working model
• Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews

• £1000 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs
• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• LinkedIn Learning access
• Bonus potential (performance and business-related)
• Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk

• Matched pension up to 6%
• More benefits can be found on our career site

How to apply 

Please note that the talent acquisition team are managing this vacancy directly, and if successful in securing this role, you will be required to undertake a credit, CIFAS, Right to Work checks and if a specific requirement of your role a DBS (criminal records) check. Should your application progress we require you to let the team know if there is anything you need to disclose in relation to any of these checks prior to them being undertaken, including any unspent criminal convictions.

What happens next? 

Our talent acquisition team will be in touch if you’re successful so keep an eye on your emails! We’ll arrange a short call to learn more about you, as well as answer any questions you have. If it feels like we’re a good match, we’ll share your CV with the hiring manager to review. Our interview process is tailored to each role and can be in-person or held remotely.

You can expect a two stage interview process for this position:

1st stage - A 30 minutes Teams Call with one of our Lead Architects.

1st stage - A one hour face-to-face interview with the hiring team to discuss your skills and relevant experience + competency questions. There will be a technical exercise included in this session. This is also a great opportunity to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have.

As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.

If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here.

Diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities

We’re building a culture of everyday inclusion, and welcome applications from anyone who believes they can do the job. We don’t discriminate based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer and have nine brilliant colleague networks - including DAWN (Disability Awareness at Very) and Think (Neurodiversity at Very) - that are helping us make Very an even more inclusive place to work.