Systems Architect - London

Our client, a global Insurance organisation, has a requirement for a Systems Architect (SA) to have overall technical authority for one or more programs/Agile Release Trains (ARTs) within a portfolio, with accountability for product outcomes and solutions delivered by Engineers and Business Analysts. The SA works closely with an Enterprise Architect, Development Managers, and the Transformation delivery team (PMs, BAs, etc.) to ensure ongoing alignment of technical and business outcomes. They also work with Technical Architects, as needed, to ensure architectural outcomes are within required guardrails.

The SA owns the creation, maintenance and communication of the Architectural Runway, along with oversight through implementation by one or more development teams. The SA is an expert and champion of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) architectural design and development, incrementally building the associated mindset and behaviours across stakeholders with which they work, but can also operate efficiently in a Waterfall delivery model.

Responsibilities

• Builds and continually refines detailed Architectural Runway and Vision, and Enabler Epics in collaboration with various stakeholders, for applications, data or infrastructure architectures.
• Contributes to and influences the program roadmap, backlog and prepares architectural outcomes for program increment planning.
• Incrementally builds and shepherds the scaled agility mindset, values, principles, and practices across teams.
• Owns measurable velocity, specifically around overcoming hurdles, implementing new designs, and implementing best practices.
• Provides expert knowledge to, and participates in, weighted shortest job first prioritisation of deliverables.
• Guides and negotiates with Developers/Engineers, Business Analysts, Business Relationship Directors, Project Managers & Transformation team to ensure architectural alignment.
• Engages with Technical Architects as needed for support and guidance, working with them and Enterprise Architects to ensure technical standards, procedures and methodologies are adhered to and/or provide feedback where changes are needed.
• Actively engages in all ART events, collaborating, coaching and guiding stakeholders to ensure ongoing alignment with the Architectural Vision.
• Influences and creates the ongoing requirements for maintaining and stabilising delivery of application changes and pipelines; including upgrades of technology, frameworks, and infrastructure.
• May have management responsibility for the performance and development of subordinate staff, including resource planning, hiring, talent, performance, and career development.
• Presents Architectural Overview at program increment planning, socialising and enabling delivery teams to successfully complete associated changes.
• Negotiates scope adjustments, as needed, and accepts them as they are completed.
• Ensures technical guardrails are enforced via designs.
• May perform additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree (preferred) in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related discipline; or equivalent work experience.
• Typically, a minimum of 10 years work experience in technical delivery, including experience with systems architecture methodologies, concepts and frameworks like TOGAF.
• Typically, a minimum of five years work experience with architecture in some of the following technology platforms (Java, .Net, Python, Tiered Architectures, Cloud Architecture).
• Experience with insurance or finance based products.
• Applicable certifications preferred – ARCH, ASE, SDP.
• Preferred experience with use of Jira, Confluence, and LucidSpark.

Required Skills

• Expert knowledge of design and implementation of enterprise workflow systems, distributed architecture, intranet/internet architecture, and communication architectures.
• Senior level knowledge of the system development life cycle, along with system and application program development technological alternatives and architecture methodologies for multi-platform environments.
• Solid understanding of coding principles and practices, experience managing code quality through pull requests and other processes.
• Extensive experience at highest technical level of all phases of system architecture design using state of the art architecture, object oriented component analysis and development and proficiency in web-based systems architecture, service-based architecture and enterprise application architecture.
• Strong knowledge of contemporary technology and business trends that allows architecture to solve problems in a creative and cost effective manner.
• Expert understanding of SAFe/Agile, architecture, SDLC, Waterfall delivery, and testing practices with experience incrementally building and shepherding the scaled agility mindset, values, principles, and practices across teams.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills. Able to communicate, collaborate and consult effectively with vendors, clients, peers, and IT management and staff.
• Strong analytical, problem solving and negotiations/conflict resolution skills. Able to balance technical excellence with business results.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to coach, influence, guide and mentor teams, peers, clients and leadership in cross functional teams.
• Extensive experience developing strategic system architecture plans and/or architectural runways and decomposing architectural initiatives into deliverables.
• Extensive experience with information processing fundamentals, understanding of current and emerging best practices.
• Proven experience identifying, analyzing and resolving system problems.