Solution Architect

We’re Kingfisher, a team made up of over 74,000 passionate people who bring Kingfisher - and all our other brands: Castorama, B&Q, Screwfix, Brico Dépôt and Koçtaş - to life. That’s right, we’re big, but we have ambitions to become even bigger and even better. We want to become the leading home improvement company and grow the largest community of home improvers in the world. And that’s where you come in.

At Kingfisher, our customers come from all walks of life, and so do we. We want to ensure that all colleagues, future colleagues, and applicants to Kingfisher are treated equally regardless of age, gender, marital or civil partnership status, colour, ethnic or national origin, culture, religious belief, philosophical belief, political opinion, disability, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.

At Kingfisher, we value the perspectives that any new team members bring, and we want to hear from you. We encourage you to apply for one of our roles, even if you do not feel you meet 100% of the requirements.

In return, we offer an inclusive environment, where what you can achieve is limited only by your imagination! We encourage new ideas, actively support experimentation, and strive to build an environment where everyone can be their best self.

We offer a competitive benefit package and plenty of opportunities to stretch and grow your career:

• Private medical healthcare at LUXMED (including dentalcare) for you and your family
• Medicover sports card (Fit&More package)
• Life insurance financed by the employer
• 30-minute lunch break included in the 8-hour working day
• Work in a highly professional and stimulating atmosphere
• Training & Buddy programme that will allow you to quickly adapt to your new role
• Wellbeing programme for employees
• Co-financing of monthly tickets for the public transport in Krakow
• Comfortable working environment in the office and the possibility of home office
• Language courses, accounting courses, access to LinkedIn Learning and the possibility of co-financing studies and certification
• Employee referral programme

What's the job

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced Solution Architect to join our team and help shape technology solutions that support our business and engineering ambitions. In this role, you will work directly with the Castorama Poland team, collaborating closely with business, product and engineering stakeholders to understand their needs and translate them into effective technology solutions.

You will take ownership of key architectural decisions and high-level designs, evaluate and select technologies, and provide technical leadership throughout delivery. You will also have the opportunity to promote modern cloud-native and AI technologies and contribute to the continued development of our architectural practices.

If you're looking for an exciting opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and make a real impact building better software, this is the job for you!

Responsibilities

• Own the creation and documentation of architecture decisions, ensuring they align with both business objectives and technical requirements and have been through the right level of governance.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to produce clear end-to-end high-level designs that integrate well with existing systems, meet business goals, and align with architecture standards and principles.
• Conduct thorough analysis of existing systems and technology, recommending improvements and exploring innovative solutions.
• Lead and manage the product selection process, ensuring that the most suitable products and technologies are chosen to meet business capability requirements and align with architecture principles and technology strategy.
• Provide technical leadership to project teams, guiding the implementation of architectural solutions, promoting the use of cloud-native and AI technologies, and recognising appropriate architecture patterns to solve problems.
• Serve as the main point of contact between technical and business stakeholders, facilitating clear communication, navigating conflicting stakeholder views, and ensuring a clear understanding of project requirements and outcomes.
• Work closely with product, engineering and end-user communities to ensure the delivery of cohesive, high-quality solutions.
• Contribute actively to the development and improvement of the Architecture chapter by refining architectural practices and methods.

What you'll bring

• Strong understanding of architecture frameworks, principles and reference architectures, with the ability to apply them effectively in practice.
• Experience of architecting solutions across multiple domains, including business, data, applications and technology.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering solutions within both Agile and Waterfall delivery environments.
• Good understanding of cloud technologies, including how to effectively leverage cloud-native integration patterns when designing solutions.
• Understanding of AI technologies and how they can be applied in a practical way to drive measurable business outcomes.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the technical aspects of IT, combined with the ability to translate and communicate technical concepts clearly to non-IT specialists.
• A broad interest in a diverse range of IT technologies and an understanding of how they can be effectively applied to support business needs.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels across both IT and retail businesses.
• A collaborative approach and strong team-player mindset, with a focus on celebrating and contributing to team achievements rather than individual success.
• An imaginative and creative approach to problem-solving, with the ability to explore different options and identify effective solutions.
• Experience of working collaboratively with multiple third-party solution providers and managing relationships across different technology partners.
• Experience in architecting and integrating solutions across cloud providers, third-party SaaS applications and in-house solutions, ideally gained within a retail environment.
• Excellent command of Polish and English (written and spoken)