Principal Solutions Architect, UAE

Lab49 is hiring a Principal Solutions Architect for an exciting opportunity in one of the world's most dynamic business hubs. Advance your career with a unique opportunity and become part of our pioneering team, setting new benchmarks for innovation and growth. Seize the moment to fuel your career and apply today.

The Principal Solutions Architect will lead the design and implementation of complex IT solutions, ensuring they meet business requirements and are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives. This role involves working closely with stakeholders, including business leaders, IT professionals, and external partners, to deliver scalable, robust, and innovative solutions. The ideal candidate will have a strong engineering background with experience in large integration projects for financial services, be delivery-focused and an outgoing personality. We are looking for a strategic, resilient, natural self-starter. The Principal Solutions Architect will have a passion for solving complex problems and driving digital solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

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Solution Design and Architecture: 

• Develop high-level architectural solutions that align with business needs. 
• Create detailed design specifications and documentation for proposed solutions. 
• Capable of building an in-depth understanding of the customers Architecture, resiliency, RPO, RTO requirements to meet business goals and strategy. 

Stakeholder Collaboration: 

• Stay abreast of current and emerging trends, unique opportunities and challenges of the space/markets and geographies in which the clients operate, and how it affects clients’ business and initiatives
• Work closely with business leaders to understand their requirements and objectives. 
• Collaborate with development teams, Infrastructure, DevOps, IT operations, and other stakeholders to ensure successful implementation. 
• Communicate architectural visions, goals, and designs effectively to all stakeholders. 

Client Interaction:  

• Engage directly with clients to gather requirements, present solutions, and ensure alignment with their business goals.
• Develop strong relationships with customers as a strategic partner and technical advisor, contributing to expanding our footprint and securing follow-on work.

Technical Leadership: 

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other architects and technical teams. 
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends to ensure the organization's architecture remains up-to-date. 
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and processes. 

Security  

• Foundational Security: Integrate the end-to-end security for the overall solution and architecture 
• Broad Experience: experience in security and expertise around related technologies and concepts such as Zero Trust, threat management, SOC monitoring (SIEM / SOAR), and Extended Detection & Response (XDR) + SIEM, Cloud Security, and Identity. 

Project Management: 

• Lead architecture-related projects, ensuring they are delivered on time and within budget. 
• Manage and mitigate risks associated with technical solutions. 
• Oversee the implementation of solutions, ensuring they meet the specified requirements and quality standards. 

Governance and Standards: 

• Establish and enforce architectural standards, guidelines, and best practices. 
• Conduct architectural reviews and audits to ensure compliance with standards. 
• Develop and maintain architectural artifacts, including models, diagrams, and documentation. 
• Risk and Opportunity Management: Proactively identify risks and opportunities in the enterprise architecture landscape. Develop strategies to mitigate identified risks and capitalize on opportunities. 

Performance and Optimization: 

• Monitor and optimize the performance of IT solutions.e.g.: reduce latency of overall transaction time, cost optimization for cloud" 
• Identify areas for improvement and implement enhancements to increase efficiency and effectiveness. 

Universal Engineering: 

• Demonstrate expertise across a wide range of technologies. Experience in Corporate/ Institutional Banking is a must. Experience in other domains is a benefit.
• Integrate diverse technologies and platforms to create comprehensive solutions. 

Front-End Renovation: 

• Lead and oversee front-end renovation projects to enhance user experience. 
• Ensure front-end solutions are modern, intuitive, and aligned with current design trends. 

Personality and Delivery Focus: 

• Possess an outgoing personality, capable of building strong relationships with stakeholders. 
• Maintain a strong focus on delivering high-quality solutions on time and within budget. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred. 
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in IT, with at least 5 years in a solutions architect role. 
• Proven track record of designing and implementing complex IT solutions. 
• Experience in front-end renovation and enhancing user interfaces.
• Experience in Commercial/Institutional Banking, financial markets/products is a must. Consulting experience is highly desirable. 
• A good understanding of transaction banking, trade finance and treasury platforms. 

Skills:

• Strong knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks and methodologies. 
• Extended experience with various programming languages, databases, and cloud platforms. Proficiency in at least one programming language is a must. 
• Expertise in cloud technologies, preferably Azure. Strong AWS experience may also be considered.
• Experience with common patterns such as CQRS and Event Sourcing 
• Experience in DevOps CI/CD and Configuration management 
• Proficiency with Kubernetes (K8s) and service meshes like Istio or Linkerd.
• Experience in API Management.
• Strong programming skills in Java/Spring and Node.js/TypeScript.
• Familiarity with Kafka for distributed streaming.
• Proficient with GitHub and GitHub Actions for version control and CI/CD.
• Knowledge of Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, such as Ping, Okta, Microsoft Entra or similar.
• Basic understanding of front-end frameworks like React and React Native is a plus.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills. 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Ability to lead and work collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Outgoing personality with a strong focus on delivery and execution. 

Certifications (preferred):

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect 
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) 
• TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) 

Lab49/ION is committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We respect the varied identities, abilities, cultures, and traditions of the individuals who comprise our organization and recognize the value that different backgrounds and points of view bring to our business. 

Lab49/ION adheres to an equal employment opportunity policy that prohibits discriminatory practices or harassment against applicants or employees based on any legally impermissible factor.