Solutions Architect

Job Description

<p>I am hiring a Solutions Architect for a permanent position on behalf of a well-established and well-known brand with offices in Toronto, Calgary and Nova Scotia.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In your new role as a Solutions Architect, you will be involved in following:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Architecture: Design & Implementation </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Maintain and evolve solution architecture for loyalty and personalization platforms, ensuring alignment with enterprise and domain standards.</li><li>Translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and cloud-native technical designs using Azure services, event-driven patterns, and API-first principles.</li><li>Define and document integration patterns, system interactions, and data flow diagrams for core capabilities.</li><li>Develop and review architectural deliverables, including solution blueprints and high-level design documents (HLFDs).</li><li>Ensure code quality through design reviews, reusable patterns, and performance optimization.</li><li>Assess trade-offs between architecture options considering scalability, performance, cost, and maintainability.</li><li>Contribute to discovery phases, proposals, and project charters by providing architectural input.</li><li>Support estimation, dependency mapping, and technical feasibility assessments across related initiatives.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Cross-Functional Collaboration </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Collaborate with product owners, delivery leads, developers, DevOps, data, and security teams to ensure a shared architectural vision.</li><li>Partner with internal and external architects to align integration and governance strategies.</li><li>Act as a technical authority in stakeholder discussions, translating business needs into solution architectures.</li><li>Advise on process improvements and support change management efforts as needed.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Innovation & Strategic Influence </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Evaluate vendor platforms and define transition strategies toward in-house, cloud-native capabilities.</li><li>Lead or participate in vendor evaluations and proof-of-concepts (POCs) for modernization opportunities.</li><li>Research and assess emerging technologies (AI, personalization engines, headless loyalty solutions) to support future platform evolution.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Governance & Standards </strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Coach and mentor technical leads and developers on architectural principles and best practices.</li><li>Drive governance around reusability, scalability, observability, and technical debt management.</li><li>Define and enforce standards for API design, data contracts, security, identity, and deployment.</li><li>Ensure non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as high availability, performance, and compliance are incorporated into all designs.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Must-Have Qualifications </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>8+ years of experience in backend application development (Node.js, JavaScript), systems integration, and solution architecture in cloud-native environments.</li><li>5+ years of hands-on experience with <strong>Microsoft Azure</strong> services (Cosmos DB, Service Bus, Blob Storage, Event Grid, Application Gateway, App Services, Azure Functions, API Management, ACR, Key Vault).</li><li>3+ years of experience designing and optimizing <strong>non-relational databases</strong> (preferably Cosmos DB).</li><li>5+ years of experience with <strong>microservices, REST APIs, and event-driven architecture</strong>.</li><li>Strong knowledge of <strong>security best practices</strong> in cloud and application design.</li><li>Experience with <strong>Docker, containerization, and Kubernetes</strong>.</li><li>4+ years of experience in <strong>frontend development (Next.js, JavaScript)</strong>.</li><li>Proven ability to architect for scalability, resilience, and flexibility in ambiguous environments.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Good to Have </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Experience influencing multiple delivery teams without direct authority.</li><li>Ability to simplify complex technical concepts and balance short-term needs with long-term scalability.</li><li>Experience working in <strong>Agile/Scrum</strong> and <strong>SAFe</strong> environments.</li><li>Familiarity with <strong>loyalty platforms</strong> and <strong>personalized offer systems</strong> is a strong plus.</li><li>Exposure to <strong>CI/CD pipelines</strong>, <strong>Infrastructure as Code</strong> (Bicep, ARM, Terraform), and <strong>container orchestration</strong> (Kubernetes, ARO).</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Preferred Qualifications </strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert</strong> (strongly preferred).</li><li><strong>Bachelor's degree</strong> in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.</li><li><strong>TOGAF</strong> or equivalent enterprise architecture certification.</li></ul>