Automation Architecture Lead at Network Rail, London, 6 Months, £Contract Rate

What You 'll Be Doing

• Lead the design and governance of end-to-end Intelligent Automation and Agentic AI solutions.
• Define scalable, secure and reusable architecture patterns aligned to enterprise architecture principles and technology strategy.
• Develop architecture standards, reference architectures and integration frameworks for industry-wide adoption.
• Design low-code and pro-code automation solutions using modern Microsoft and cloud-native technologies.
• Create reusable architecture capability products, implementation blueprints and technical design standards.
• Review and assure solution designs, providing architectural governance and technical leadership across delivery teams and partners.
• Assess emerging technologies and lead proof-of-concepts to support the adoption of innovative automation and AI capabilities.
• Drive architecture consistency, technical quality and long-term sustainability across the automation portfolio.
• Coach and mentor architects and engineers, helping build a mature and enduring Intelligent Automation capability.
• Collaborate with industry partners, suppliers and multidisciplinary delivery teams to accelerate automation at scale.

What We 're Looking For

Essential Experience

• Significant experience designing enterprise-scale Intelligent Automation, AI Automation or Solution Architectures.
• Strong experience designing hybrid low-code and pro-code solutions.
• Experience building and integrating operational copilots, AI agents and automation platforms.
• Strong knowledge of API-led, event-driven and integration architecture patterns.
• Experience applying architecture governance, design assurance and enterprise architecture principles.
• Experience working within Agile multidisciplinary delivery environments.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills.
• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or equivalent experience.

Technical Expertise

Experience across several of the following technologies:

• Azure AI Foundry
• Azure OpenAI Service
• Copilot Studio
• Azure Integration Services
• Azure Logic Apps
• Azure Functions
• Microsoft Fabric
• Microsoft Graph
• Azure DevOps
• GitHub
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Terraform
• Python
• C#
• JavaScript / TypeScript
• LangChain
• LangGraph
• CrewAI

Desirable

• Experience within rail, transport, infrastructure or other regulated environments.
• Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
• Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate certification.
• TOGAF certification.
• Experience working across federated organisations and large-scale transformation programmes.