Job Description

Systems Architect
Duration: 12 months
Location: Midrand
Key Role Responsibilities

• Intentional Architecture design and Emergent Design:
• Define a set of purposeful architectural strategies and initiatives which enhance solution design, performance and usability
• Provide guidance for inter-team design and synchronise architectural implementation activities of systems
• Designing architecture that enables testability, deployability and releasability
• Provide the technical basis for a fully evolutionary and incremental implementation approach helping developers and designers respond to immediate user needs allowing the architectural design to evolve.

Architecting for DevOps and Release on Demand:

• Ensuring solutions are architected for continuous deployment and delivery by decoupling deployments from releases
• Defining a Minimum Viable (just enough) Architecture supporting the creation and evolution of systems and systems interfaces
• Fostering architecture as code through common naming conventions, attributes and annotations
• Build quality in by automating architectural compliance checks
• Promoting and building trust in the Continuous Delivery Pipeline for Agile Release Trains to independently explore and test ideas in a true production environment

Support Alignment:

• Collaborating with Solution Architects to ensure discrete solutions created by ARTs and Suppliers fit into and support the larger capabilities of the overall solution
• Participate in backlog refinement and prioritisation sessions
• Define enabler capabilities and NFRs
• Participate in regular Architect Sync sessions to ensure consistency in emerging designs and managing trade-offs across all ARTs and Shared Service teams
• Participate in Pre- and Post-PI Planning to work with relevant stakeholders and define the architectural approach and high-level objectives for the upcoming PI planning
• Participate in regular System Demo sessions to demonstrate new implemented approaches and assessing fitness for purpose
• Collaborate with Product Managers and the Release Train Engineer to assess releasability of elements of the solution in line with the Release Strategy
• Actively working with Agile Teams to ensure that emergent design choices minimise technology complexity and avoid unnecessary duplication of capabilities

Essential

• 10+ years technical background inclusive of systems architecture, systems design, software development lifecycle
• Experience in design and architecture of large, complex, business critical infrastructure and systems
• Design and Architecture of cloud services and cloud computing

Desirable

• A hands-on system architect capable of sharing best principles and practices with the Architecture Team
• Ability to mentor/coach developers and other architects in architecture principles
• Strong business acumen and leadership mindset with the ability to communicate and influence others
• Has demonstrable knowledge and experience in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies
• Science/Computer Science/Engineering related degree or equivalent work experience
• Certification in Solution Architecture, TOGAF, Cloud expertise is desired
• Domain experience in Financial Services and Financial technologies will be an added advantage