What should digital services look like in an AI-enabled future?

We are looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Senior Solution Architect to join the Digital Experience Team at EMBL-EBI.

This is a new role at an exciting point in EMBL-EBI's digital evolution. As our focus expands towards the digital experience landscape, you will have the opportunity to help shape how our users discover, access and interact with EMBL-EBI's information, platforms and services.

Working at the intersection of architecture, user experience, software engineering and emerging AI technologies, you will design and shape a more connected ecosystem of user-centred, AI-enabled and multi-channel digital services.

You'll bring strong architectural and software engineering expertise, together with practical experience of designing AI-enabled applications, to turn emerging technologies into sustainable, accessible and genuinely useful digital services.

This is a role where you won't simply inherit an established architecture. You'll help shape what comes next.

About the Team

The Digital Experience Team at EMBL-EBI, brings together expertise across UX, development and digital architecture to create a more connected digital experience for our users.

We are bringing together people, technology and services that have historically evolved across different areas, with a focus on creating a more coherent and user-centred digital ecosystem.

AI is an important part of this evolution. We are exploring how technologies including large language models, advanced retrieval approaches and emerging interaction models can enhance how users discover and engage with EMBL-EBI's information and services.

You will report to the Digital Experience Team Leader and work closely with UX, web development and product colleagues, as well as stakeholders across EMBL-EBI.

What you will do

You will provide technical guidance across Digital Experience initiatives, connecting user needs with architecture, engineering and emerging technology. You will remain technically hands-on through technical discovery, prototyping and architectural development, while providing technical direction and leadership to the development team.

Your key responsibilities will include: 

• Lead solution architecture for digital experience initiatives spanning web applications, APIs, content platforms, AI-enabled services and emerging digital channels
• Shape AI-enabled digital services, applying approaches such as LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, intelligent agents, semantic search, tool calling and workflow orchestration where they provide genuine value
• Bridge UX and engineering, translating user needs, service journeys and design principles into effective, accessible and sustainable technical architectures
• Provide technical leadership throughout discovery, prototyping, implementation and production, guiding technology choices, architectural decisions and engineering practices
• Lead and develop the development team, providing technical direction, mentoring and people management while building capability in modern software and AI engineering
• Design integrations across APIs, data sources, content platforms, enterprise systems and EMBL-EBI's existing digital infrastructure
• Work collaboratively with stakeholders across EMBL-EBI to understand user and organisational needs, evaluate options and balance technical, user and organisational considerations
• Shape future technical capability, evaluating emerging technologies and establishing reusable architecture patterns, guidance and good practices for the Digital Experience portfolios.

You will bring:

• Significant experience in a senior Solution architecture, Digital architecture, Software engineering lead role
• A strong software engineering background, with experience designing and delivering modern digital applications and services
• Practical experience designing and delivering AI-enabled digital services, with a strong understanding of LLM-based applications, retrieval, agentic patterns and AI orchestration
• Strong understanding of modern application architecture, including APIs, integrations, cloud and/or containerised architectures, CI/CD and modern software delivery practices
• Experience providing technical leadership to software development teams, including mentoring, coaching and developing technical capability
• Experience working closely with UX, product or design professionals to translate user needs and service requirements into effective technical solutions
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts and make pragmatic architectural decisions
• An understanding of security, privacy, accessibility, observability and responsible AI considerations when designing modern digital services
• Good understanding of accessibility and inclusive design principles, including WCAG, and how these should inform the architecture and delivery of digital services.

Experience in one or more of the following would be beneficial:

• Modern front-end technologies such as React, Angular or similar
• Content management platforms such as Drupal, WordPress or similar
• Kubernetes, Docker and cloud-native technologies
• Relational and non-relational databases, vector databases, enterprise search or knowledge graphs
• Workflow automation and orchestration platforms
• Conversational, assistant or agent-based user experiences
• Scientific, research, data-intensive or information-rich digital services
• Experience establishing architecture patterns, technical standards or reusable digital capabilities across an organisation

Contract length: 3 year fixed-term Staff Member contract, renewable to 9 years. 

Salary: Grade 7 - Monthly salary starting at £4,395 per month after tax but excluding pension and insurance contributions. Plus, generous benefits.

Next steps: This vacancy has a scheduled closing date of Tuesday, 17th November, and we welcome your application as soon as possible. 

Please submit the up-to-date CV and supporting cover letter outlining your transferable skills and experience and motivation for applying.

Where Can I Find Out More?

• EMBL-EBI’s ITS Digital Experience Team
• Geetika Malhotra - Digital Experience Team Lead

Why join us

Do something meaningful
At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.
 

Join a culture of innovation
We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.  Watch this video to see how EMBL-EBI makes an impact.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements - including hybrid working patterns 
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition public holidays
• Relocation package including installation grant (conditions apply)
• Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
• Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
• Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here. 

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Please take a look at our International Applicants page for further information.  
• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.
• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.
• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date