WHAT DOES A LEAD ARCHITECT DO?
Published: Jan 08, 2026 - The Lead Architect designs scalable and secure online and mobile IT architectures, applying deep knowledge of cloud platforms, open-source and commercial technologies, and industry best practices. This role involves translating business requirements into technical solutions, integrating complex systems, overseeing product development lifecycles, and driving the implementation of digital capabilities. The architect also evaluates third-party solutions, supports team development, and balances competing priorities to deliver high-performing digital products and services.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Lead Architect
1. Lead Architect Functions
- Software Direction: Assist with the overall direction of the software platform.
- Software Specifications: Develop specifications for new software.
- Team Leadership: Lead a small team of developers locally and overseas.
- Software Development: Perform all functions related to software development, including requirements specification, design, coding, debugging, testing, and documentation.
- Test Environment Setup: Establish test environments to isolate potential software issues.
- Product Support: Support existing products by analyzing reported problems, debugging, and correcting software to resolve customer issues.
- Development Tools: Provide input to the selection of tools and the implementation of an effective development environment.
- Process Improvement: Provide input to the implementation and improvement of Product Development processes.
2. Lead Architect Responsibilities
- Enterprise Architecture: Create L0, L1, and L2 Architectures in keeping with the business, providing a technical solution for customers and colleagues.
- End-to-End Assurance: Provide an end-to-end assurance that satisfies business needs.
- Technology Leadership: Serve as the technology expert whom the business area trusts to realise its aspirations on how best to drive the business forward in helping customers.
- Innovation Mindset: Challenge the status quo by embracing and encouraging new thinking to drive change.
- Brand Stewardship: Provide a fresh perspective that not only protects the brand but also re-energises Barclays as a bank with technology at its heart.
- Architect Collaboration: Continuously collaborate with a team of like-minded architects, encouraging each other to find the right technology solutions for the business areas.
- Platform Ownership: Own the architectural future of multiple technology platforms.
- Strategy Alignment: Ensure that any developments align with the overall Barclays technology strategy.
3. Lead Architect Key Accountabilities
- Revit Project Setup: Revit project setup and delivery on large-scale projects with multiple stakeholders.
- Design Software Proficiency: Design software applications, including AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe, and MS Office suites.
- Complex Project Delivery: Deliver complex projects across residential, luxury hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial uses.
- Building Codes Knowledge: Build codes and standards applicable locally and internationally.
- Authority Submissions: Responsible for authority submissions.
- Client Presentations: Responsible for client presentations.
- Budget Management: Design and delivery to budget.
- Project Specifications: Prepare and review project specifications and review itemised BOQs.
4. Lead Architect General Responsibilities
- Team Leadership: Lead a team of junior and senior architectural designers.
- Architectural Drafting: Produce architectural layouts, plant designs, and sketches using Microstation V8, AutoCAD, and 2-D and 3-D tools for mining projects, including extracting drawings from a 3-D model.
- Construction Drawings: Prepare site plans, floor plans, building elevations, reflected ceiling plans, cross sections, wall sections, construction details, and door and room finish schedules using architectural software.
- Presentation Drawings: Prepare presentation drawings for design-build projects.
- Engineering Coordination: Provide engineers with preliminary foundation plans, foundation detail drawings, and structural steel layout drawings.
- Material Specifications: Develop architectural construction and finishing material specifications.
- Architectural Coordination: Locate all doors, windows, lighting fixtures, and other building architectural materials.
- Quality Assurance: Prepare and review drawings and designs to ensure standards of quality and accuracy are met, including details.
5. Lead Architect Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Material Take-Offs: Prepare MTOs and architectural material specifications.
- Technical Review: Read, understand, and comment on manufacturer drawings and specifications.
- Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Work and collaborate with other discipline teams.
- Engineering Coordination: Work in conjunction with the engineers, following the engineer’s or architect’s directions.
- CAD Drafting: Create CAD drawings in accordance with customer rules and presentation requirements.
- Design Coordination: Coordinate with all disciplines on requirements for the assigned area.
- Space Planning: Coordinate with all disciplines on routing and space allotment.
- Interface Coordination: Coordinate with other offices or companies at interfaces between design areas.
- Vendor Documentation Review: Review specifications and vendor documentation for associated material and equipment.
6. Lead Architect Role Purpose
- Application Support: Support new builds and legacy applications.
- JavaScript Development: Develop applications requiring in-depth knowledge and experience with related libraries, including JavaScript (ExtJS, AngularJS, etc.)
- Server-Side Development: Perform server-side development using .NET and .NET Core.
- ORM Utilization: Utilize ORMs such as Entity Framework, NHibernate (Fluent), etc.
- Database Development: Utilize relational databases (SQL Server) for the back end.
- UI/UX Implementation: Implement user interfaces using good usability and user experience practices.
- Requirements Analysis: Participate in requirements definition to ensure the development team has all necessary information.
- Agile Collaboration: Participate in an Agile project team and help provide input on planning.
- Multi-Project Support: Support multiple projects and client needs to stay aware of team needs, upcoming schedules, long-term support, and new build processes for federal, state government, and commercial clients.
- Technology Innovation: Suggest and explore new tools and technologies to improve processes and meet new challenges.
- Best Practices Development: Establish patterns and practices to be adopted by other team members.
7. Lead Architect Roles
- Data Standards Governance: Define and review the standards that teams should adhere to when working with data.
- Data Tooling Strategy: Understand the landscape of data tooling and work with groups to make buy or sell recommendations.
- Architecture Pattern Development: Capture effective solutions from across the bank and document them as reusable patterns.
- Data Architecture Documentation: Provide documentation to drive a consistent approach to data architecture.
- Data Controls Oversight: Understand key controls affecting data in the company and hold groups accountable for adherence.
- Architecture Leadership: Champion Group Data Architecture within the ASP region by promoting the team’s work, sharing insights, and providing feedback on key topics while demonstrating strong leadership and teamwork.
- Stakeholder Presentations: Present to peers and senior stakeholders on relevant topics.
- Strategic Architecture Direction: Drive the strategic agenda for architecture, clearly communicating strategic changes and decisions to stakeholders.
- Architect Collaboration: Collaborate with a wide range of architects to work on solutions for data problems at HSBC.
8. Lead Architect Overview
- Digital Product Passion: Demonstrate and communicate a passion for digital products and services.
- Platform Expertise: Apply knowledge of online, cloud, and mobile platforms.
- Technical Analysis: Assist with the analysis of how business requirements can be technically implemented.
- System Integration: Integrate large and complex systems.
- Problem Solving: Utilise proactive problem-solving to address challenges and functional concerns.
- Technology Enablement: Help institute superior technology capabilities with diligence, attention to detail, and technical intuition.
- Project Planning: Help implement advanced organisational and planning skills in developmental projects.
- Priority Management: Balance competing priorities while adhering to deadlines and aligning resources with value demands.
- IT Architecture Design: Help design online and mobile IT architecture, drawing on knowledge of open-source and/or commercially available platforms.
- Best Practices Application: Apply industry best practices and design patterns to create scalable and secure solutions with superior technical performance.
- System Implementation: Develop system implementation plans and processes, and oversee development, integration, testing, and product launch stages.
- Digital Process Delivery: Assist in driving the implementation of key processes related to building a product as a digital business.
- Supplier Evaluation: Evaluate third-party suppliers, products, and solutions and engage in or lead collaborative discussions.
- Partner Network Design: Design and establish an accredited third-party supplier network of IT and digital delivery partners.
- Team Management Support: Assist with the hiring, development, and management of a team of system analysts.
9. Lead Architect Details
- Java Team Support: Support Java developer Scrum Teams in resolving the most complex questions related to the product delivery.
- Data Pipeline Design: Help Customer architects with designing data pipeline components, ensuring NFRs and business value goals are met (both greenfield system components and integration with an ecosystem of existing components).
- SAFe Participation: Participate in SAFe as a part of the SA/program team, ensuring an appropriate level of planning is in place for the features.
- Product Owner Collaboration: Work with EIS product owners/program team members.
- Development Collaboration: Collaborate with the EPAM development team during the implementation phase.
- Architecture Documentation: Provide architecture documentation for the features and system parts under design/development.
- Product Initiation: Start new opportunities and products.
- Platform Architecture Support: Support current architecture for existing portals and platforms, including microservices, event-driven, and cloud-native.
- Proof of Concepts: Implement PoCs, some ideas from management.
- Technical Leadership: Lead and guide development teams from an architecture and technical leadership point of view.
10. Lead Architect Duties and Roles
- Solution Architecture: Define customer analytic solution architecture and set technical direction, define component architecture, and review detailed designs for accuracy and overall compliance to the defined architecture.
- Non-Functional Requirements: Confirm and identify non-functional requirements.
- Innovation Adoption: Adopt and communicate new concepts, ideas, techniques, and best practices.
- API Integration Leadership: Provide technical leadership for application integrations via RESTful APIs.
- Technical Troubleshooting: Analyse and troubleshoot complex software problems and provide solutions to overcome those problems using the latest technologies.
- Development Improvement: Review development practices to identify areas of improvement.
- Data Mapping Review: Review data mapping impacts from a technical point of view.
- Real-Time Integration: Define and implement real-time (3rd party) data integration.
- Big Data Architecture: Define and implement big data capabilities.