Solutions Architect - Security

Location: Reading – hybrid

Travel: Occasional travel to Dublin

Salary & Package: Competitive

Caraffi is recruiting on behalf of our client, a global retail organisation, for an experienced Solution Architect – Security to join their Technology Strategy & Architecture function. This is a permanent role within a growing architecture practice, supporting large‑scale transformation across the business.

This position will play a key role in shaping secure‑by‑design technology solutions, strengthening enterprise security posture, and guiding delivery teams through end‑to‑end architecture and design.

What You’ll Do

• Design secure‑by‑design solutions across complex enterprise environments, ensuring alignment to architectural and security standards
• Translate security policies and regulatory requirements into practical, implementable solution designs
• Define security non‑functional requirements and ensure they are embedded throughout delivery
• Provide end‑to‑end design oversight within delivery teams, ensuring consistency, quality and risk mitigation
• Identify and address security risks early in the design lifecycle
• Collaborate with stakeholders across technology, cyber, engineering and business functions
• Support governance processes including design reviews, assurance and documentation
• Advise on security tooling such as logging, monitoring and identity protection
• Contribute to cloud security design, with a focus on Azure environments
• Engage in audits, reviews and assessments to ensure compliance and continuous improvement

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years’ experience designing and delivering enterprise‑scale technology solutions
• Strong background in Solution Architecture within complex organisations
• Deep expertise across key security domains including IAM (Entra ID, AD, SSO), network security, application security, data protection and encryption
• Ability to translate security requirements into actionable solution designs
• Experience working with Azure cloud security and cloud‑native security services
• Familiarity with security tooling for monitoring, identity protection and logging
• Strong communication skills, able to explain security concepts to non‑technical audiences
• Experience working embedded within delivery teams providing architectural oversight
• Solid understanding of systems development lifecycles and delivery best practice
• Minimum 8 years in technology with relevant degree or professional qualifications

Desirable Experience

• Exposure to regulated environments (PCI‑DSS, GDPR)
• Knowledge of security frameworks such as NIST or ISO 27001
• Familiarity with Zero Trust principles
• Experience with DevSecOps and secure engineering practices
• Understanding of cloud‑native security services (Azure security stack, CNAPP)
• Experience supporting security reviews, audits or penetration testing
• Background in retail or fashion industry technology landscapes
• Experience providing technical leadership to junior architects or engineers