Job at a glance
The Solution Architect will support the Chief Engineer in the development and delivery of a secure, interoperable, and data-driven Joint Collective Training capability. The role is responsible for analysing customer requirements and designing the end-to-end technical solutions that underpin collective training across UK Defence, NATO, coalition partners, and multi-domain operational environments. The Solution Architect will lead the development of architectures spanning modelling and simulation, synthetic environments, exercise support systems, operational CIS, data exploitation platforms, networking, distributed edge computing, and training management systems.
Working across a diverse ecosystem of Defence customers, technology providers, simulation partners, and engineering teams, the Solution Architect will ensure that individual systems are integrated into a coherent training ecosystem capable of delivering realistic, scalable, and operationally relevant Tier 3 and Tier 4 collective training exercises. The role combines solution architecture, systems integration, simulation architecture, networking, distributed computing, Secure by Design principles, and requirements engineering to deliver measurable training outcomes and operational readiness.
Key Responsibilities: Architecture & Solution Design Design secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-effective solution architectures aligned with FJCAST programme objectives and enterprise architecture principles. Support the Chief Engineer in developing and maintaining the programme technical architecture, future-state vision, and architectural roadmap. Develop High-Level Designs (HLDs), Low-Level Designs (LLDs), technical architectures, integration patterns, and implementation roadmaps.
Ensure solution designs align with operational, security, interoperability, performance, resilience, and availability requirements. Produce and maintain architecture artefacts, technical specifications, interface definitions, and design documentation. Requirements Analysis & Solution Definition Work closely with military stakeholders, training audiences, operational users, and partner organisations to understand training objectives and operational outcomes.
Translate user needs and business requirements into coherent technical architectures and solution designs. Develop and maintain requirements-to-solution traceability ensuring architecture decisions remain linked to customer outcomes. Ensure solutions support measurable training outcomes, force preparedness, readiness assessment, interoperability, and future capability growth. Lead/Support in future bid work, strategy direction, and innovation throughout the Training Business.
Simulation & Synthetic Environment Architecture Design and integrate modelling and simulation capabilities supporting Joint, Combined, and Multi-Domain training. Develop architectures supporting Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) training environments. Design simulation federations using HLA, DIS, and NATO interoperability standards. Support integration of Exercise Control (EXCON), exercise management systems, synthetic environment platforms, scenario generation tools, and training support capabilities.
Ensure synthetic environments accurately represent operational conditions, threat environments, patterns of life, and multi-domain effects. Support experimentation, mission rehearsal, operational analysis, and After-Action Review activities through simulation-enabled solutions. Systems Integration Lead solution-level systems integration activities across simulation systems, operational CIS, communications networks, exercise management systems, data platforms, analytics services, distributed compute environments and training support systems.
Define integration patterns, service interfaces, APIs, messaging architectures, and data exchange mechanisms. Develop systems-of-systems architectures spanning Defence, NATO, coalition, and partner environments. Ensure interoperability ac