An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic Lead Architect join our Digital and Innovation Team.The energy industry is rapidly changing, underpinned by increased digitalisation and as the company responsible for powering everyday life for 8 million customers across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, Northern Powergrid is at the forefront of delivering a power network that meets the region's needs now and in the future. Our vision is to be the best energy company in serving our customers whilst delivering sustainable energy solutions as we support the region's drive towards net zero emissions.We are looking for an exceptional Lead Architect to head up a team of domain and solution architects and is accountable for defining our future technology state, setting the best pathway to achieve this end goal pragmatically and at pace whilst managing our architectural landscape.Along with a competitive salary of up to £85,000 depending on experience, other benefits also include:Up to 20% annual performance bonusAnnual leave of 25 days + bank holiday entitlementEnrolment into our Pension Scheme, with a generous company contributionPrivate medical (single cover)Key ResponsibilitiesResponsible for leading a team of architecture specialists who proactively and holistically help and guide the business, product managers, product owners and distributed product delivery teams through transformation and optimization initiatives, supporting the formulation of business strategy.Support business and technology innovation that drives the organisation's top and bottom lines by creating and implementing processes, policies and procedures to ensure efficient and repeatable high-quality architecture work.Engage key stakeholders to facilitate both strategy and innovation planning. Collaborate with stakeholders involved in digital strategy and digital innovation to develop an IT investment roadmap. Participate in enterprise strategy development, including environmental analysis, opportunity identification, value cases and business innovation portfolio development.Manage the entire portfolio of architectural landscapes and artefacts across data, applications, and infrastructure, establishing a robust and comprehensive process to support continual roadmap planning in each architectural domain.Establish a business architecture capability to support an increasing maturity level within Enterprise architecture and develop the relevant artefacts to support this by upskilling the existing team.Form, manage, and continuously develop a high-performing and collaborative team, setting objectives, managing performance, and developing potential while modelling behaviours.Produce multi-year architectural roadmap forecasts, reflecting this in the IT plan/annual budgets and forecasts.Skills, Knowledge, Experience & QualificationsExperience in leading a team of domain experts. This role requires strong leadership skills and the ability to manage complex projectsExperience in at least three disciplines: business, information, solution or technical architecture, application development, middleware, information analysis, database management, or operations in a multitier environment. This breadth of experience demonstrates your versatility and adaptability.Knowledge of business ecosystems, SaaS, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), SOA, APIs, open data, microservices, event-driven IT and predictive analytics.Familiarity with enterprise architecture tools, related graphical models, and frameworks.Understand various operating models, such as project-centric and product-centric, as well as different agile principles, methodologies, and frameworks.Strong consulting skills in targeted communications, engagement management, stakeholder management, and business development.Mastery of all components of enterprise architecture, business & IT principles and processes.Master’s degree in business, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, system analysis, or a related field of study or equivalent experience.Previous experience working as part of a Distribution Network Operator.Insight into information management practices, system development life cycle management, IT services management, agile and lean methodologies, infrastructure and operations, and EA and ITIL frameworks.Posted: 13/03/2026Closes: 27/03/2026Location: Shiremoor or SunderlandApplicants are considered on the basis of their suitability for the post irrespective of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender re‑assignment, race, age or disability, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. #J-18808-Ljbffr