Bank of England
Job Description – Solution Architect – DLT (010046)

Solution Architect – DLT – ( 010046 )

Primary Location UK-ENG-London

Job Banking Operations

Organisation Job Posting 14-Dec-2023, 9:11:38 AM

The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank. Our mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.

The Bank of England is a diverse organisation. Each of its 4,000 plus people are committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.

Department Overview

This role is in the CBDC and Fintech Directorate, which comprises two functions: the CBDC Unit and the Fintech Hub.

The Fintech Hub acts as the Bank’s centre of expertise on fintech, guiding our explorations on how innovation and technology might support or challenge our mission. Our current priorities are: supporting the safe adoption of artificial intelligence in UK financial services; analysing risks to our objectives from the cryptoasset ecosystem; and supporting practical technology experimentation.

Like other central banks, the Bank of England is actively exploring whether it should develop and issue a retail CBDC. We call the UK version of CBDC ‘the digital pound’. A potential digital pound would – like banknotes – be a form of money issued by the central bank for everyone to use for day-to-day spending but, as the name implies, in a digital format. No decision has yet been taken on whether to issue a digital pound. More information on the Bank’s CBDC work can be found at .

The CBDC Unit is responsible for analysing the opportunities and challenges presented by CBDC and developing the design of a digital pound. The Unit’s activities include macroeconomic analysis, work on functional design, exploration of technology options, and engaging private-sector and international counterparts.

We are developing a “DLT lab”.This will build the capabilities and mechanisms to increase our technology expertise, and to enhance our ways of working with DLT providers.In particular, it will:

• Lead exploratory technology research, through a set of visible practical technology experiments with fintechs, financial institutions and technology vendors.
• Perform theoretical and practical analysis of the potential use cases, risks, and benefits of DLT and blockchain.
• Collaborate domestically and internationally through engagement with industry and other central banks.
• Research and experiment to further understand the technology design choices and impacts for different DLT implementations.

We are looking for a Solution Architect that can use their domain expertise to help us further our understanding of DLT, acting as a passionate and inquisitive leader for this exciting next phase of research.

You will perform a highly adaptive role that will provide the flexibility to make it your own. You will be responsible for guiding future research into DLT and ensuring that high quality outputs are produced as a result of our research. This may be through hands-on technical experimentation or more conceptual research in collaboration with internal and external technologists. The successful applicant will be the technical lead on key technology choices for experimentation, and will be expected to use documentation and specifications to ensure that your technical vision for specific experiments comes to fruition. We will encourage the successful applicant to design, build and manage our technical work on DLT, providing the autonomy and freedom to be creative and adventurous.

While the role will be as a de-facto solution architect, there will be opportunities to do some programming to help build proof of concepts and prototypes. The role will also involve collaborating with colleagues on the regulatory, policy and economic impacts of different technology choices. You may also perform a mentoring role for more junior technologists, using your technical experience to support the expansion of DLT knowledge in the Bank.

Role Requirements

Minimum Criteria

• Deep understanding of the DLT/blockchain ecosystem and hands-on experience of developing solutions and applications with one or more DLT platforms
• Minimum BSc degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or a related subject, or equivalent qualification / professional technology experience
• Interest in DeFi, Web 3, digital assets, CBDC and the future of money.
• Experience of working as the conduit between business and technology functions, demonstrating excellent written and oral communication skills to assure a clear translation of business requirements into functional outcomes, and can articulate complicated technology concepts to non-technical colleagues
• Proven interpersonal skills and a collaborative working style
• Demonstrable experience of working on sophisticated pieces of work with minimal direction
• Comfortable recommending solutions to specific problems, and explain and justify design choices, especially when multiple options are available. Understanding when, and when not, distributed ledger technology would be an appropriate solution for to address various requirements.
• Broad exposure to software development projects within a financial or regulatory environment
• Sound understanding of financial and, in particular, central bank infrastructure
• Experience in broader areas such as API development, cryptography, data science or internet of things
• Awareness and interest in trends in across wider technology e.g. fintech, regtech, cloud, data

You should not be put off applying if you do not meet/ have all of these criteria – we would encourage you to get in touch to discuss what support you might need to close any gaps and/or any other skills you might have which you think could be helpful in role.

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we’re working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We’ve also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they’re needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we’re proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme. You can find more information on what this means here . If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

This specific role offers a base salary of circa £69,230 – £87,750 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis. We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. (Note that for the Benefits year 2023/24, this will increase to 8%)
• 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank’s Privacy Notice at Privacy and the Bank of England Bank of England.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully . click apply for full job details