Technical Architect - Capital Markets / Custody Technology

Location: London (Hybrid - 3 days per week in office)
Contract: 12 Months
Rate: £750- £850 per day (Inside IR35 via umbrella)

A leading global financial services organisation is seeking an experienced Technical Architect to support a large-scale technology modernisation programme across its Custody and Securities Services platform.

This is a senior architecture role focused on designing scalable, event-driven solutions across areas including Securities Settlements, Corporate Actions, Transaction Management, Tax Processing, and Cash & FX. You'll act as the technical authority within delivery teams, driving architecture strategy, governance, and engineering best practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Design modern microservices and event-driven architectures using technologies such as Kafka, REST APIs and cloud platforms.
• Lead architecture governance, technical reviews, non-functional requirements, and technical debt management.
• Partner with Product, Business and Engineering teams to translate complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Define integration patterns across enterprise platforms, market infrastructure and cloud data environments.
• Build Proof of Concepts (PoCs) and evaluate emerging technologies, including Generative AI solutions.
• Support build-vs-buy decisions and third-party technology assessments.

Required Experience

• Extensive experience as a Technical Architect within Capital Markets, Securities Services, Custody or Investment Banking environments.
• Strong knowledge of one or more domains including:
  • Securities Settlements
  • Corporate Actions
  • Transaction Management
  • Tax Operations
  • Cash & FX Processing
• Strong software engineering background in Java, Spring Boot, Oracle and SQL databases.
• Proven experience with:
  • Microservices architecture
  • Event-driven systems (Kafka, MQ, Solace)
  • API design and integration
  • AWS and/or Snowflake
• Knowledge of SWIFT MT, ISO 20022 and post-trade processing workflows.
• Experience operating within enterprise architecture governance frameworks.

Desirable

• TOGAF or ArchiMate certification.
• Experience with Generative AI, AI-assisted tooling, and architecture PoCs.
• Exposure to Agile delivery environments (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban).

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior architect to play a key role in a strategic transformation programme within a highly complex and regulated financial services environment.