2 jobs found

Solutions Architect - On Prem Design 2 Positions Available 7 month contracts 96.36 per hour (Inside IR35) 2-3 Days a week - Preston We are seeking a highly experienced architect to join a team to design and implement a complex on-premises solution within a defence environment. The ideal candidate would have experience delivering solutions involving virtualised environments spanning multiple countries, virtual desktop solutions, and enterprise collaboration applications from Microsoft and others. Typical duties include : Architect & Design: Work within a team on the technical design and architecture of on-premises hosted VMWare-based platforms tailored for defence applications. Consultancy & Advisory: provide input to the lead architect on approaches for design and implementation of core elements of the solution, owning specific areas to create designs for those areas within a team of architects Implementation & Migration: Experience of delivering technical solutions within secure data centres including technologies such as VMWare Cloud Foundation, Microsoft enterprise collaboration applications, and virtual desktop solutions (including support for engineering tools e.g. CAD, PLM) Security & Compliance: Experience of working with a team following a secure-by-design methodology. Performance Optimization: Troubleshoot and enhance system efficiency. Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with contractors, government agencies, and IT teams to align solutions with mission-critical objectives. Knowledge : Enterprise Architecture Knowledge: Understanding of how systems fit into a wider enterprise environment, and how to design solutions to deliver within a larger enterprise. Ability to work directly with an enterprise architecture team to reflect solution architecture into wider enterprise architecture and vice versa. Along with over 5 years of relevant experience, we are looking for a candidate with the following set of technical and soft skills, as both are essential to perform in this role. Technical Skills : Extensive Expertise With On-Premises Solutions: Proven experience in data centre design (compute, storage, networking), WANs, VMWare, Microsoft enterprise collaboration applications (on-premises versions); design, build and management of virtual desktop infrastructure solutions, including to support engineering applications such as PLM, CAD tools. Defence Sector Experience: Strong understanding of security protocols, working at different security classifications, and supplier assurance. Leadership & Strategy: Able to set direction for wider areas of the platform, and work with a product owner to define a roadmap and approach. Ability to direct the work of other architects to produce high quality work products, and fit designs into a wider context. Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills. Communication: Excellent stakeholder management and presentation skills. Ability to clearly communicate approach and challenges to, as well as eliciting high quality feedback from, an international set of industry and government stakeholders. Soft Skills: Communication: Ability to clearly explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Experience creating and maintaining technical documentation. Collaboration & Relationship Management: Proven track record of cross-functional collaboration with product, engineering, security, compliance, and business teams. Strong interpersonal skills and able to build trust and manage stakeholder expectations. Able to adapt to diverse working styles and team dynamics. Ability to work as part of a distributed international team. Analytical Thinking & Problem-Solving: Strong analytical skills for troubleshooting complex data flow and infrastructure issues. Ability to juggle multiple priorities and adapt to dynamic workloads. Detail-oriented with a commitment to high-quality delivery.

Product Lifecycle Manager (Engineering / IT) Engineering IT / PLM Manager Cambridge/Hybrid £70-75k & Benefits. The Product Lifecycle Manager is responsible for the ownership, management, optimisation and continuous improvement of Engineering IT systems, with a primary focus on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). The role will act as the key interface between Engineering, IT, PLM users, vendors and wider business stakeholders, ensuring that Engineering IT systems are fit for purpose, effectively supported, and aligned to operational and strategic requirements. RESPONSIBILITIES List key responsibilities and tasks that sit within this role PLM Ownership & Roadmap: Own the lifecycle, configuration, roadmap and continuous improvement plan for PLM and associated Engineering IT applications, including upgrades, enhancements and decommissioning decisions. Application Portfolio Management: Manage core Engineering IT applications that support PLM, CAD integration, data management, reporting and configuration control. PLM Champion: Champion PLM across Marshall Land Systems, promoting effective use of the system and identifying opportunities to improve Engineering delivery, control and efficiency. Strategic Business Support: Identify business opportunities where PLM and Engineering IT systems can improve process efficiency, data quality, reporting, configuration management and programme delivery. Vendor & Contract Management: Manage relationships with PLM vendors, CAD vendors, outsourced service providers and internal IT teams, ensuring performance against support agreements, contract requirements and business needs. Service & Issue Resolution: Act as the escalation point for PLM and Engineering IT issues, supporting incident resolution, root cause investigation, workaround definition and long-term corrective actions. Third Line Support: Provide third-line support where required, working with IT, vendors and users to investigate complex incidents, resolve problems and create knowledge articles to support future incidents. Architecture Oversight: Ensure PLM solution designs, integrations, workflows and system changes meet Engineering requirements, enterprise architecture standards, cybersecurity policies and business needs. Change Management: Manage configuration changes, system updates, upgrades, patches and enhancements to PLM and Engineering IT applications, ensuring appropriate testing, communication and deployment. Governance & Compliance: Ensure PLM and Engineering IT applications meet regulatory, cybersecurity, export control, ITAR and corporate policy requirements, including defence-related standards where applicable. Process Ownership & Improvement: Review, approve and improve PLM processes, procedures, workflows and user guides to ensure they remain effective, controlled and aligned to Engineering ways of working. Data Management & Reporting: Support Engineering data management, reporting, audit activity and business intelligence requirements through effective use of PLM data and reporting tools. Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with Engineering, IT, programme teams, business owners, PLM super users and cross-functional stakeholders to align PLM capability with organisational goals. Budgeting & Forecasting: Support financial planning by providing input on PLM licensing, support costs, maintenance agreements, upgrades, vendor services and future investment requirements. Asset & Licence Management: Coordinate software licence, maintenance agreement and asset lifecycle management activities, including requisition, inventory, installation, maintenance, updates and disposal. System Maintenance & Availability: Ensure appropriate PLM system maintenance, health checks, performance reviews and availability monitoring are in place to support business continuity. Knowledge & Documentation: Create and maintain technical specifications, process documents, user guides, support material, FAQs and knowledge articles to improve user support and reduce repeat issues. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Experience managing, supporting or administering PLM systems within an Engineering or manufacturing environment. Experience working with Engineering teams using CAD and PLM tools. Experience of PLM system configuration, administration, support and continuous improvement. Experience supporting or managing data transfer between PLM and ERP platforms, including IFS Cloud, covering parts, BoMs, documents, change data, lifecycle states and release-to-manufacture processes. Experience managing PLM-related incidents, problems, root cause investigations and corrective actions. Experience working with IT teams, vendors and business stakeholders to deliver system improvements. Experience leading or supporting PLM upgrades, deployments, migrations or process changes. Experience managing a small technical team or leading cross-functional improvement activities. Experience of Windchill would be highly desirable. Experience with CAD tools such as Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD or similar would be beneficial. Experience with Engineering configuration management, change control and product data management would be beneficial. TECHNICAL SKILLS/EDUCATIONS REQUIRED: Degree, HND or equivalent qualification in Engineering, ICT, Computer Science, Information Systems or a related discipline. Equivalent experience in an Engineering IT, PLM, CAD administration or Engineering systems management role would also be considered. Strong understanding of PLM capability, administration and configuration management. Ability to document technical specifications, user requirements, process flows and system changes. Good logical diagnostic skills with the ability to troubleshoot and resolve PLM-related problems. Understanding of CAD integration with PLM, ideally including tools such as Inventor, AutoCAD or similar. Understanding of PLM reporting, data extraction and business reporting methods. Awareness of database queries and reporting tools such as SQL, MS PowerQuery, REST APIs or Query Builder would be beneficial. Awareness of PLM customisation, workflows, XML configuration, Java, JavaScript or Windchill development would be desirable. Understanding of application maintenance, upgrades, testing and deployment activities. Understanding of IT service management processes, incident management and problem resolution. Configuration Management / CMII training would be desirable. Experience of virtualised environments such as VMware would be beneficial. Able to support process improvement and system improvement activities across Engineering IT applications. Strong understanding of IFS ERP is highly desirable. Experience in a regulated industry, particularly aerospace and defence, is strongly preferred. Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.