About us
IQUW is a speciality (re)insurer at Lloyd’s (Syndicate 1856) underwriting a diverse range of Property, Commercial and Speciality (re)insurance products from Cargo and Marine to Political Violence, Terror and War. We combine data, intelligent automation, and human expertise to make smart decisions, fast.
ERS is the UK's largest specialist motor insurer with an A+ rating. We recognise that for some, motor insurance is more than just a must-have; it's a way of taking care of what stands at the heart of their passion or livelihood. For those people, standard insurance isn't enough. That's why we work exclusively with motor insurance brokers to help get under the skin of the most difficult insurance risks, helping build products to meet their customer’s needs.
The role
Lead Architect embedded in Agile Product teams to lead technical design of digital products and ensure alignment with broader enterprise architecture.
Key responsibilities
- Translate product vision & business outcomes into technical enablers & architectural building blocks.
- Support agile delivery lead and product managers with technical planning.
- Act as the first point of contact for architectural impact assessment as part of Product Planning Events
- Produce & maintain Solution Architecture documents while promoting reusable patterns.
- Present Low-Level Designs at the Technical Design Authority and articulate key design decisions.
- Guide development teams in assessing options and ensure adherence to standards.
- Maintain working partnership with Data & Analytics, Information Security, IT Operations & Infrastructure.
The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list, and you may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties compatible with your experience and competencies. This description may be varied from time to time to reflect changing business requirements.
Essential qualifications, skills, and experience
- Core skills - prior experience in design and implementation of least two of the following is a must have:
- Integration and Middleware Systems
- Web Application Architectures
- Data, Insight & Artificial Intelligence solutions
- Operating fit – prior experience working in Product based delivery is a must have:
- Can translate high level NFRs into Stories & Tasks for agile delivery teams
- Can take calculated risks when working through immediate priorities v/s medium term goals.
- Can lead “hands on” participation with engineers in designing technical solutions.
- Business domain knowledge - background in any of the following would be beneficial but not a requirement:
- Speciality risk underwriting e.g. Property, PVT, Energy, Cargo etc.
- Actuarial processes e.g. exposure analytics, technical pricing, capital modelling, reserving etc.
- Risk & Compliance e.g. KYB & Sanctions, London market regulations, Cyber Security etc.
- Frameworks, Platforms & Tools- background in the following would be beneficial, but not a requirement:
- Azure Analytics stack e.g., ADLG2, Databricks, Azure SQL, Synapse, ML, PowerBI
- Azure Integration stack e.g. API Management, Logic App, Data Factory
- Data management & governance e.g. Azure Purview, Profisee
- MVC compatible web app frameworks e.g. MERN stack or equivalent
- Understanding of popular API frameworks, e.g. SOAP, REST, WebSocket, WebHook
- Understanding of non-relational structures, e.g. Key-Value, Document, Graph, In Memory
- Tools used in agile architecture documentation e.g. DrawIO, ADO Boards, ADO Wiki
Must have behavioural attributes.
- Naturally takes ownership and drives progress; can demonstrate a bias towards action.
- Communicates assertively while maintaining work relationships; can instil confidence.
- Analytical minded, structured problem solver; can demonstrate outcome-oriented thinking.
- Takes calculated risks using the information available at hand; can operate in a dynamic environment.
- Is objective & structured in their design e.g., refers to facts and / or industry best practices.
- Can be a voice of authority when representing Enterprise Architecture in governance forums.
- Can articulate the rationale behind complex technical design choices at different stakeholder levels.
- Can operate in a fast-paced organization and could adapt quickly as the operating model evolves.
