Lead Architect; BioFAIR

Job Description

Funding End Date 30 Jun 2029
Hours per week 37
Project Title BioFAIR
Expected/Ideal Start Date 01 Apr 2026
Months Duration 40
Interview Date 04 Mar 2026
Flexible Options Although full‑time hours are available, applications from those interested in working part‑time hours are also welcomed.

As Lead Architect for BioFAIR you define and guide the technical vision, architectural strategy and design principles for a national federated life‑science digital research infrastructure. This role blends systems architecture and solutions architecture to ensure BioFAIR delivers coherent, interoperable, sustainable and FAIR‑aligned services embedded in distributed UK partners.

Technical leadership, decisive decision‑making and strong communication across multiple independent teams and stakeholder groups are required. You accelerate and support delivery partners by ensuring a robust, resilient and loosely‑coupled architecture and interoperable technology that aligns with long‑term research‑infrastructure goals.

The ideal candidate brings clear, confident architectural judgement, the ability to make complex ideas understandable and calm authority to guide diverse partners toward coherent technical decisions. You combine systems‑level rigour with user‑focused pragmatism, build trust quickly and foster collaboration across institutions. You mentor generously and create a shared sense of direction within a distributed, multi‑stakeholder environment.

• Distributed Consortium Partners:
  Provides architectural leadership, drives consensus and resolves technical disputes across partner institutions.
• Engineering and RSE Teams:
  Mentors and guides teams on best practices to build production‑quality services.
• Architectural Groups:
  Leads architectural governance processes, chairs working groups, keeps focus on emerging priorities and makes timely decisions.
• Stakeholders (Technical and Non‑Technical):
  Communicates complex architectural concepts with exceptional clarity to diverse audiences.
• UK and International Communities:
  Represents BioFAIR to ensure alignment with emerging standards and community practices.
• BioFAIR Delivery Team:
  Works with the BioFAIR Hub and delivery partners to align the architecture with long‑term research‑infrastructure goals.

Architectural Vision & Design

• Define and maintain the architectural vision for BioFAIR, blending systems‑architecture (infrastructure, interoperability, integration patterns) and solutions‑architecture (use‑case alignment, user needs, workflow enablement).
• Establish core design patterns for APIs, identifiers, metadata, data‑flow orchestration, registries and workflows.
• Ensure architectural consistency across infrastructure (cloud platforms, HPC, storage) and software (data repositories, metadata services, registries, workflow systems, authentication/authorisation systems).
• Produce high‑quality architectural documentation, system models, decision records and integration guidelines.

Technical Leadership & Governance

• Provide strong, clear architectural leadership across a distributed consortium, ensuring aligned decisions and consistent technical direction.
• Lead architectural governance processes, chair architectural groups, drive consensus and resolve technical disputes.
• Identify and clearly communicate technical risks, dependencies and trade‑offs early.

Service Quality & Delivery

• Guide engineering and research software engineering teams as they develop production‑quality services with appropriate Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and error budgets.
• Promote software delivery best practices through site reliability engineering, continuous delivery, security‑by‑design, observability, documentation standards and operational readiness across all services.
• Provide mentorship to engineers and RSEs across institutions, supporting skills development, continuous improvement and sustainable, delivery‑focused engineering practices.

Community Engagement & Landscape Scanning

• Rapidly and responsively assess and recommend best‑of‑breed technologies and components, balancing innovation with operational stability.
• Represent BioFAIR in…