The Job holder will work closely and continuously with the business / client to focus on meeting business / client requirements and incorporating broader aspects such as overall product costs/revenue, data privacy & sovereignty, business continuity, information security, integration with other systems.
A solution architect can work across multiple projects with varied stakeholders. He/she sets architectural direction, builds consensus, and mediates conflicts providing technical leadership and advisory services to the business.
He/she anticipates needs and potential objections and helps to create an environment which solicits positive contributions from all participants: Solution and Technical Architects, engineering teams, product manager, project managers, product analysts, test and project teams, Information Security and Operations.
Key responsibilities
The solution architect creates innovative and practical designs that account for the end-to-end technical solution of a system, in line with the business strategy and objectives.
He/she is key in identifying, defining and implementing reusable assets and standards. The solution architect is also responsible for adherence to these standards and consumption of reusable assets across products and portfolios.
He/she ensures relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices are applied correctly across Technology programs/projects and products.
Prior to kicking off a project as part of a product life cycle the solution architect develops solution plans intended to support business investment decisions which means they must hold the appropriate balance between costs, risks and quality of the product.
He/she also contributes to the development of architecture governance structures, methodologies and compliance activities.
He/she works with vendors to assess vendor products, understand vendor’s delivery models and assist in implementing them.
He/she cultivates lasting relationships across business, IT and vendors / industry analysts to maintain insight into the broader enterprise as well as industry trends.
He/she recognizes industry technology trends and emerging technologies, understands how they apply to the Company and can drive their adoption into our organization.
He/she evangelizes and encourages importance of technical quality, emerging technologies, sharing & experimentation across the org through mentoring, hackathons, communities etc.
He/she drives an ongoing communication plan to educate stakeholders on the purpose and benefits of solution architecture.
He /She guides others in resolving complex issues in solution architecture and solves complex, escalated aspects of a project.
Analytical and Decision-Making Responsibilities:
Converts business and technical requirements into technology solutions.
Considers the art of the possible, compares various architectural options based on feasibility and impact, and proposes actionable plans.
Assesses and manage multiple technical challenges simultaneously.
Ensures architectural deliverables meet schedules and estimates.
Applies judgment when implementing application development/engineering methodologies, processes, and practices, to meet all project requirements; including product design, information security, code maintainability and reliability.
Anticipates project issues and risks before they occur, and work with teammates to identify and implement solutions or mitigations with relevant stakeholders.
Demonstrates strong analytical and technical problem-solving skills.
Skills and attributes Requirements:
Has an expert understanding of solution architecture.
Can adopt and relate new technologies to the set of problems while adhering to security and other standards.
Can communicate solutions, ideas, suggestions to a variety of (business) stakeholders effectively and comprehensibly.
Possesses strategic business acumen and understanding of organizational strategy.
Understanding of latest cloud computing and data technologies, business drivers, emerging computing trends, and deployment options.
Excellent project management, collaboration, interpersonal and communication skills.
Strong collaborator – willingness to share ideas, documentation and leading practices.
Conceptual and analytical thinker – ability to extract, analyze, and document complex business and technical requirements/strategies.
Experience:
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Engineering, Computer Science, IT, Mathematics, Economics.
Minimum of 5+ years in a solution or technical architect role using service and hosting solutions such as private/public cloud IaaS, PaaS and SaaS platforms.
Experience in architecting and designing technical solutions for Microsoft-centric solutions based on industry standards using (Azure) IaaS, PaaS and SaaS capabilities.
Knowledge of cloud security controls including tenant isolation, encryption at rest, encryption in transit, key management, vulnerability assessments, application firewalls, SIEM, etc.
Managed the end-to-end lifecycles of a project in solution architect capacity.
Experience with multi-geography, multi-tier service design and management.
Extensive experience in financial management, solution plan development and product cost estimation.
Solid business acumen, management and marketing communication skills.
Significant experience in presenting ideas, products, concept papers to varied audiences.
Experience coaching and mentoring others
Leadership capability and proven ability to manage difficult stakeholders.
Experience supporting peer teams and their responsibilities; such as infrastructure, operations, engineering, info-security.
Software development full lifecycle methodologies, patterns, frameworks, libraries and tools.
One or more programming and scripting languages such as JavaScript, PowerShell, Bash, SQL, .NET, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, PERL, C++, etc.
Visualization tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
Extensive experience in project and/or product management.
Experience in architecting mobile applications that are either independent applications or supplementary addons (to intranet or extranet).
Experience in architecting Data Analytics solutions.
How to Apply:
Applicants who meet the requirements stated above should send their applications and detailed CVs with a day – time Telephone number to the email address:
jobs1@hcsafrica.com with Solutions Architecture on the Subject line.
Candidates MUST indicate their Current and Expected salaries.
