Azure Solution Architect

Description:

The Senior Solution Architect is a key member of the technology organization, responsible for driving solution architecture forward in support of business modernization, transformation initiatives, and simplification of the technology landscape.

The role is accountable for designing end-to-end solutions for business and technology initiatives, with a focus on aligning architecture to business outcomes, target-state direction, and delivery practicality.

This role focuses on the end-to-end solution for a business problem, including both technical and business aspects. Works across applications, platforms, integrations, data, and business processes to ensure that solutions are scalable, supportable, and aligned with enterprise direction..

Core Responsibilities - Architecture

• Leads collaboration with business stakeholders to understand requirements and align solutions with business goals.
• Leads the development of architectures for complex systems, ensuring consistency with IT target architecture and agreed business requirements.
• Develops target designs, architecture roadmaps, and solution direction to support modernization and transformation initiatives.
• Establishes and applies architecture principles, policies, standards, and design patterns to promote consistency and sustainability.
• Communicates complex architecture objectives to business and technology stakeholders and provides oversight through design implementation into a productive solution.
• Ensures the solution meets functional, non-functional, security, and regulatory requirements, particularly within P&C insurance environments.
• Designs overall solution architecture including applications, data, integrations, cloud platforms, and infrastructure, ensuring alignment with strategic goals of the organization.
• Creates conceptual and high-level design documents, architecture diagrams, and implementation views that clearly communicate the proposed solution.
• Reviews detailed solution designs and works closely with delivery teams to ensure the solution is implemented in line with architectural intent.
• Often deals with cross-domain challenges, ensuring different components work together as a cohesive end-to-end solution.
• Provides architecture leadership for Azure cloud application and platform design.
• Contributes to the design of solutions involving Microsoft Dynamics 365 where relevant..
• Supports modernization of legacy systems to align with emerging interoperability protocols and patterns (e.g., FHIR, JSON-LD, GraphQL, Async APIs).

Core Responsibilities – Business and Technology Alignment

• Focuses heavily on how technology supports business outcomes and works closely with business and non-technical teams.
• Responsible for bridging the gap between architecture, delivery teams and business stakeholders.
• Translates business requirements into practical technology solutions and implementation direction for development and integration teams.
• Partners with delivery, infrastructure, platform, data, and security teams to ensure solutions are aligned and executable.
• Supports transformation initiatives by defining transition states and sequencing the evolution from current state to target state.
• Ensures architecture decisions balance strategic direction, delivery feasibility, cost, risk, and long-term maintainability.
• Works closely with respective technical, application, platform, and data architects to ensure alignment across the broader technology landscape..

Knowledge and Skills

• Preferably a University degree in Computer Engineering, IT, or similar qualification.
• 10+ years of experience in delivery of IT solutions, including significant experience in solution architecture or related senior technology roles.
• Strong experience in the P&C insurance industry, with understanding of insurance processes, products, systems, regulatory considerations, and business operations.
• Strong experience designing Azure cloud applications and platform solutions.
• Strong hands-on experience creating conceptual and high-level design documents and architecture artifacts.
• Experience building architecture roadmaps and defining target-state and transition-state architecture.
• Proven experience supporting transformation initiatives, modernization efforts, and large-scale business and technology change.
• Ability to understand and interpret business requirements and convert them into technology implementation specifications for development and integration teams.
• Skilled at effective business engagement and providing technology consulting. Strong communication and presentation skills to articulate technical concepts and solutions to non-technical stakeholders and senior management.
• Strong knowledge of IT architecture principles, enterprise architecture frameworks, application architecture, integration architecture, and cloud platforms.
• Strong experience in application development, data, and systems integration.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 is desirable.
• AWS cloud experience is desirable.
• Proven experience in designing and developing solutions, including consideration for application IT risk, resilience, and security.
• Strong knowledge of cloud-based solutions and emerging technologies, and understanding of how these can be applied to improve processes and business outcomes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with business users, IT teams, vendors, and senior management.
• Ability to foster collaboration and teamwork among cross-functional teams, breaking down silos and encouraging knowledge sharing.
• Thought leadership with the ability to monitor market trends and guide future technology capabilities that increase business value.
• Willingness to mentor and coach junior architects and team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Ability to work in a demanding, high-paced environment, effectively identify priorities, and manage time