Application Architect (Fixed Term Contract)

Job description

About the Role

Join Oxford University Press and play a pivotal role in shaping the technology that powers some of the world's most trusted language resources, including the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Oxford Languages Premium, and the platforms that support them. As an Application Architect, you will work across a diverse portfolio of content, editorial, API and integration platforms, helping to design and evolve solutions that enable customers, editors and product teams to access language content securely, reliably and at scale. Working closely with Product Owners, engineering teams and stakeholders, you will translate business requirements into practical technical solutions, guiding the architecture of new products, enhancements, migrations and platform improvements.

This is a highly collaborative role where you will provide technical leadership across internal teams and external delivery partners. You will define and assure application, API, integration and data-flow designs, ensuring that security, accessibility, performance, resilience and maintainability are considered from the outset. You'll be a trusted advisor who can communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and accessible way, helping stakeholders make informed decisions while supporting delivery teams with architecture guidance, technical roadmaps and best practice throughout the development lifecycle.

We're looking for an experienced architect with a strong background in modern software engineering, cloud-hosted applications, APIs, integrations and DevOps practices. You will be comfortable working across both modern and legacy technology environments, identifying opportunities to simplify, standardise and modernise platforms while supporting long-term strategic goals. If you enjoy solving complex technical challenges, influencing technology direction and coaching teams to deliver high-quality solutions that make a real impact for a global audience, we'd love to hear from you.

This is an 18-month fixed term contract. We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.

About You

We are looking for strong technical expertise across application architecture and software engineering, including API design, integrations, data flows, content platforms and enterprise digital systems. You should be experienced in guiding development teams, applying architecture principles, and working within agile delivery environments and will bring a broad knowledge of modern technologies and cloud platforms, with the ability to define and assure best practices across coding, security, accessibility, documentation and operational standards.

Previous experience:

• Experience providing technical leadership to development teams, acting as a trusted technical authority and coach.
• Experience designing, reviewing, and assuring application architectures, integrations, and cloud-hosted solutions.
• Experience working with Agile delivery teams, including Scrum and Kanban methodologies.
• Experience shaping and delivering solutions within agreed quality, budget, and timescale constraints.
• Experience working with external suppliers and distributed development teams is desirable.
• Technical development, architecture, or equivalent professional experience.

Skills and attributes:

• Strong application architecture and software engineering skills, including APIs, integrations, cloud platforms, and enterprise applications.
• Ability to translate business requirements into practical, secure, and maintainable technical solutions.
• Knowledge of modern engineering practices, including DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, and infrastructure as code.
• Strong understanding of security, resilience, performance, accessibility, and operational support considerations.
• Ability to review technical designs and delivered solutions, providing clear guidance and constructive challenge.
• Skilled communicator, able to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Trusted advisor with a collaborative, solutions-focused approach, and the ability to balance short-term delivery with long-term architectural outcomes.

Benefits

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days' holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.

This role comes with the added benefit of a discretionary annual payment.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.

Queries

Please contact [email protected] with any queries relating to this role.

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.