Lead Power Platform & AI Architect

The Lead Power Platform & AI Architect is a delivery-focused technical role responsible for the complete Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) of a solution – from requirement gathering to production and beyond, including implementation of intelligent solutions that support the Company’s editorial and operational workflows. 

The candidate will be able to architect compelling solutions utilising all aspects of the Power Platform and the wider Microsoft Ecosystem of Microsoft 365 and Azure. Utilising best ALM practices to deliver solutions in a timely manner to key stakeholders. The Lead ensures that all pieces come together on schedule by actively managing timelines, mitigating risks, coordinating contributors, and governing the internal Power Platform Center of Excellence (CoE). 

This is a full-time role, with the ability to work from home anywhere in the UK, and the option to work from the London office. Normal working hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm. 

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & Technical Leadership 

• Manage and complete the discovery, design, build, testing and deployment of solutions utilising the Power Platform and the wider Microsoft Ecosystem. 
• Seamlessly integrate AI capabilities into business applications, utilising, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry and direct API access to different AI providers and models. 
• Translate editorial and operational needs into scalable, secure, and user-centric system designs. 
• Leverage large language models and AI‑enabled services to design intelligent solutions, and support secure integrations with existing and third‑party systems (e.g. content management and publishing platforms) as required. 

Project & Delivery Management 

• Lead multiple concurrent AI and automation projects from conception through to production delivery. 
• Own end-to-end project execution: manage timelines, set technical priorities, mitigate project risks, and report status to senior leadership. 
• Coordinate internal resources, cross-functional teams, and act as the central point of accountability for project success. 

AI Agent Strategy & Prompt Engineering 

• Architect intelligent AI agents and AI Builder prompts, utiliszing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool invocation, and task orchestration. 
• Design, test, and optimize system prompts to ensure accuracy, editorially appropriate tone, and minimal hallucination risk. 
• Ensure all agents are strictly grounded in trusted, approved Company data sources. 

Governance, Standards & CoE Leadership 

• Establish and lead the internal Power Platform Center of Excellence (CoE). 
• Create and maintain essential documentation, required by the ALM process and standards, prompt engineering guidelines, and operating procedures. 
• Ensure all solutions strictly comply with The Company’s Responsible AI frameworks, GDPR, data privacy, and editorial standards. 

Stakeholder & Vendor Management 

• Coordinate closely with editorial teams to ensure solutions directly align with newsroom business requirements and usability needs. 
• Serve as the technical lead and project manager for external vendors and contractors developing AI or Power Platform components. 
• Review, validate, and sign off on all vendor-built deliverables prior to production deployment. 

Managing people and overseeing contractors where needed. 

• Provide line management, technical guidance, and mentorship to internal staff, and oversee external contractors and vendors, setting clear expectations, reviewing outputs, and ensuring all work meets technical, security, editorial standards, and alignment with project timelines and business objectives. 

Perform any other reasonable duties as necessary to meet the needs of the business. 

Requirements:

Education & Experience 

• Extensive experience in solution architecture, technical project management, or delivering solutions using the Power Platform suite of tools. 
• Demonstrated track record of delivering end-to-end technical projects, managing timelines, and coordinating cross-functional teams. 
• Relevant experience with managing people. 

Technical Skills 

• Deep expertise in the Microsoft Power Platform (all types of Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio, AI Builder, Dataverse, Power Pages and Power BI) and architecture best practices. 
• Strong understanding of AI Agents, orchestration concepts, Copilot Studio, and Azure AI Foundry. 
• Experience integrating LLMs from major providers (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc) via APIs, including model selection, grounding strategies, safety controls, and performance optimisation. 
• Practical experience with prompt engineering, system prompting, and RAG architectures. 

Core Competencies 

• Delivery Focus: Exceptional ability to manage project timelines, mitigate delivery risks, and drive execution. 
• Systems Thinking: Ability to design cohesive architectures across low-code platforms and AI services. 
• Communication: Clear, effective communication with both technical and non-technical editorial stakeholders. This is required to engage with stakeholders to understand requirements, provide regular updates, take-on feedback, and train. 
• Editorial Responsibility: Ability to balance technical innovation with strict journalistic and data governance standards. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience operating within media, publishing, or fast-paced newsroom environments. 
• Familiarity with Responsible AI or AI governance frameworks. 
• Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals; PL-600: Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect; PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant; Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.