Solutions Architect | Wellington City

Job Description

Job title: Solutions Architect

Role type: Full time, permanent

Location: Wellington City

Salary band & range: BTIS – C $130,021 to $174,428 depending on skills and experience

About the Role - Kōrero mō te Tūranga

As the Solutions Architect, you will work closely with business teams and technical stakeholders across the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to define solution architectures for a diverse range of technology related projects. Your work will ensure solutions are well designed, pragmatic, and aligned with organisational goals, enabling successful outcomes across MPI's broad and visible work programme.

You will be responsible for defining, maintaining, socialising and sponsoring solution architecture designs through the required Architecture Governance boards. You'll bring a strong delivery focus, balanced with practical decision-making around data, privacy and security.

This role offers the opportunity to shape exciting change initiatives, including MPI's transition to cloud platforms and modern infrastructure. Your architecture solutions will contribute to realising MPI's mission to ‘Grow and protect New Zealand's primary industries to create value for New Zealanders.'

In this role, you will:

• Define, maintain, and communicate solution architecture designs
• Work constructively and collegially with a wide range of stakeholders
• Apply architecture skills and thinking across varied technology platforms and domains
• Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Build strong, trusted relationships quickly across business and technical teams
• Present and advocate for architectural designs to governance forums
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear plain English
• Apply sound understanding of application development and technology lifecycles
• Draw on experience from software, cloud, network, or infrastructure engineering (or similar disciplines)
• Bring initiative, innovation, adaptability, and an outcome-focused approach to delivery

About You - Mōu

You will bring significant experience in solution architecture and an ability to deliver successful outcomes across diverse projects, platforms, and change initiatives. Your expertise will enable design solutions that meet business requirements while aligning with organisational goals, particularly within the context of a large and complex government environment.

You will be confident engaging with stakeholders at all levels, tailoring your communication to suit both technical and non-technical audiences. You will create clear models and documentation that define target states and transitional pathways, and bring an adaptable, innovative mindset to your project engagements. You will thrive in a role where delivery focus is balanced with practical judgement.

You're a constructive and collegial team member who brings solid applied solution architecture experience across a range of engagements. While cloud and AI experience is desirable, your strength lies in your broad technical knowledge, sound understanding of application development and technology lifecycles, and your ability to adapt to new opportunities and challenges. No specific tertiary qualifications are required but attitude, initiative, and strong architecture experience matter. Candidates from the private sector will be considered where they can demonstrate the qualities expected of a NZ Government Solution Architect.

You will have:

• Six years relevant experience, or equivalent capability demonstrated through previous roles as a successful Solution Architect within a large and complex New Zealand government agency

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build constructive, collegial relationships
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including tailoring messages for non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated ability to create clear models and documentation defining target and transitional states
• Broad experience across technology domains, with cloud (AWS or Azure) and AI exposure being desirable
• A self-starter mindset with high levels of initiative, adaptability, and a pragmatic delivery focus
• Comfort presenting and advocating for designs to architecture governance forums
• A sound understanding of application development practices and technology lifecycles
• Background experience in software, cloud, network, or infrastructure engineering (or equivalent) is desirable

About the Team - Mō tō mātou Rōpū

You will join a team of experienced Solution Architects who bring strong architecture capability alongside specialisations across key technology domains.

About MPI - Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) partners with New Zealand's food and fibre sector to be the world's most trusted provider of high-value food and fibre products.

Benefits of working at MPI - Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua

• Additional MPI leave days
• Ability to purchase extra annual leave
• Annual Wellness payment

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/about-mpi/careers/working-mpi/benefits/

Are you ready to make a difference? - Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi whaitake?
We are committed to being a good partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes working closely with iwi, hapū, whānau and hāpori.

We aspire to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to making Manatū Ahu Matua Ministry for Primary Industries a great place to work for all.

In your cover letter we'd like to know about you, your values; your interest and motivations for this role; the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation, which may have also been gained outside of the workforce.

To view the position description and/or apply online, please click “APPLY FOR THIS JOB” or visit the MPI Careers Site. To apply, you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it – click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.

Applications close at 11.59pm on Sunday, 15 February 2026   

If you have any questions about the role, please email Sophie.Hallett@mpi.govt.nz 

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