Current Accounts Jr. Architect

Role Title: Current Accounts Jr. Architect
Location: Knutsford- 2-3 days onsite/week
Duration: 31/12/2026
Rate: £492/Day(Inside IR35)

Job Description:
Expertise in Current Accounts, specifically Packaged Accounts/Paid-for Accounts, who has worked on large-scale UK retail banking platforms such as Nationwide, Santander, Lloyds, or similar Tier-1 banks. The ideal candidate brings end-to-end architecture experience across customer onboarding, eligibility, benefits management, charging, servicing, and account life cycle scenarios. The role requires domain knowledge, solution design capability, and hands-on engagement with engineering and product teams across a multi-platform environment.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture and solution design for Current Account and Packaged Account journeys across originations, servicing, charging, and account maintenance. Develop high-level and low-level architecture artefacts aligned with Barclays' enterprise standards. Work closely with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Engineering Leads, and Platform SMEs to define functional and non-functional requirements. Drive modernisation of Legacy account platforms into strategic systems and APIs. Review existing architecture and propose improvements for scalability, compliance, and performance. Support regulatory and compliance initiatives including FCA requirements, packaged account suitability, disclosure, and fee-related rules. Provide architectural governance, ensuring adherence to security, data, and integration standards. Partner with downstream/upstream platforms such as payments, statements, digital channels, fraud/risk, and customer communications. Guide engineering teams during build phases and ensure strong alignment to architectural intent.

Required Skills & Experience

Overall experience in banking technology with 3+ years in architecture roles. Strong expertise in Current Accounts domain, including: Packaged/Paid-for accounts Monthly charging rules Benefits eligibility Account life cycle events Overdrafts, mandates, account switching (CASS) Must have worked with UK retail banking platforms such as Nationwide, Santander, Lloyds, HSBC, RBS/NatWest, etc. Experience delivering large-scale transformations involving: Core banking platforms Customer onboarding systems Account servicing channels API-based integration Ability to translate business needs into scalable and secure architectural solutions. Strong understanding of modern architectural patterns: Microservices Event-driven architectures Cloud-native principles (nice-to-have if Barclays context requires) Experience working in Agile delivery environments with cross-functional squads. Excellent communication skills to engage senior stakeholders, explain design decisions, and influence technical direction. Nice to Have Experience with Barclays platforms, processes, and architecture frameworks. Exposure to compliance, financial crime, and regulatory requirements related to retail account products. Understanding of UK market packaged account frameworks (eg, travel insurance, breakdown cover integrations).