About the Role
You will lead the architecture of our digital ecosystem, creating secure, scalable and maintainable solutions. This is a hands-on role, working closely with Product, Engineering, Data, Marketing and IT teams to set technical direction and solve complex challenges.
Responsibilities
- Own the target architecture and technical roadmap across Virgin Active’s digital ecosystem.
- Define architectural standards for applications, APIs, integrations, data, security and cloud infrastructure.
- Design secure, scalable solutions across mobile, web, backend services, data platforms and third-party systems.
- Lead the design of complex features spanning multiple products and technical domains.
- Create reference implementations and work directly with engineers to solve complex technical challenges.
- Guide our transition towards a cloud-native, API-led and event-driven architecture.
- Work with our Group Chief of AI to support the safe and effective introduction of AI into member experiences.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, Data, Marketing and IT teams to align technical solutions with business priorities.
- Lead architecture reviews and communicate technical decisions, risks and trade-offs clearly.
- Provide technical guidance to engineers and help strengthen architectural capability across the team.
- Oversee Microsoft Azure architecture, including networking, identity, security and infrastructure.
- Establish standards for reliability, observability, testing, CI/CD and production readiness.
- Balance long-term architectural goals with technical debt, cost and delivery priorities.
- Provide technical oversight for third-party platforms, vendors and external delivery partners.
Requirements
- Significant software engineering experience, including experience as a Solution Architect, Principal Engineer or in a similar senior technical role.
- Experience leading architecture across mobile, web, backend, integration and data platforms.
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Azure, cloud-native architecture, distributed systems and microservices.
- Experience designing API-led and event-driven solutions.
- Experience integrating third-party platforms and services at scale.
- A good understanding of security, identity, privacy and data architecture.
- Hands-on experience with C#, .NET, CI/CD and modern DevOps practices.
- Experience introducing AI or machine-learning capabilities into digital products.
- Strong technical judgement and the ability to balance scalability, maintainability, cost and delivery.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to lead through influence.
- Experience with Azure Functions, API Management, Service Bus, Event Grid or Logic Apps.
- Knowledge of Azure data and AI technologies.
- Experience with Docker, Kubernetes or Azure Kubernetes Service.
- Experience supporting consumer-facing digital products across multiple countries.
- Experience working with external technology partners and delivery teams.
Skills
- C#
- .NET
- CI/CD
- DevOps
- Microsoft Azure
- Cloud-native architecture
- Distributed systems
- Microservices
- API-led solutions
- Event-driven solutions
- Third-party platform integration
- Security architecture
- Identity architecture
- Privacy architecture
- Data architecture
- AI
- Machine learning
- Azure Functions
- API Management
- Service Bus
- Event Grid
- Logic Apps
- Azure data technologies
- Azure AI technologies
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Azure Kubernetes Service
Work Type
- Permanent
- Full Time
Experience Level
- Senior
Benefits
- 25 days (excluding bank holidays) annual leave, plus a Celebration Day
- Access to The Peoples Pension, with our contributions at 3%
- Complimentary Virgin Active membership for you and a buddy
- Free membership for your children
- Private Dental and Healthcare Insurance
- Life Assurance 4x your salary
- Discounts across Virgin Active
- Discounts across Virgin Group (Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Holidays and Virgin Media/O2)
- 20% off food and drink at KAUAI branches
- Access to Salary Finance for loans and savings plans
- BUPA employer assistance programme with 4 free counselling sessions
- Complimentary corporate letting services with Dexters
- Access to ePoints, offering online discounts to retailers
- Discount on all Virgin Active Academy courses
About the Company
- As we evolve into Social Wellness Clubs, we are creating spaces and experiences that support every aspect of our members’ physical, mental, nutritional and social wellbeing.
- By bringing together expert guidance, genuine community, personalised experiences and innovative technology, we make wellness feel accessible, welcoming and easy to navigate.
- Virgin Active is committed to recruiting the finest people who share our passion for creating exceptional experiences and delivering world-class service every day.
- Technology is central to this evolution.
- We are building globally scalable solutions that connect our mobile applications, websites, data platforms and third-party services across multiple countries.
