Solution Architect

JOB DESCRIPTION

Ford Credit Europe (FCE Bank), a vital part of the global Ford Motor Company, is embarking on an ambitious platform modernization journey. Our mission is to transform our business by enhancing customer experiences, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving operational efficiencies through platfrom modernisation. We're rearchitecting our core applications and platforms, migrating to unified, modern, scalable, and secure solutions on Google Cloud.

As Senior Enterprise / Solution Architect, you will be at the forefront of this strategic transformation. You'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Ford Credit Europe by guiding multiple teams through the migration to modern cloud-based platforms. Your expertise in financial services, cloud technology, and enterprise architecture will be crucial in steering our modernization efforts and ensuring a seamless transition for both our business partners and banking customers.

In this role, you'll collaborate closely with engineering product teams and business leaders to define and align technical and business strategies at the enterprise level. You'll have the opportunity to influence the technological direction of our organization, devising innovative solutions that drive growth and efficiency.

Join us, and be a catalyst for change in a dynamic environment where your contributions will have a lasting impact on our business and the customers we serve. Together, we'll build the next generation of financial services on a cutting-edge cloud platform.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Technology Vision / Roadmap: Partner with our Product and Engineering teams to craft and document Ford Credit Europe's long-term technology vision and strategy, ensuring alignment with our overall business goals. We'll look to you to spot opportunities for modernization and innovation, helping us stay ahead of the curve.
• Architecture Design and Governance: You'll design, develop, and maintain our enterprise architecture artifacts, encompassing integration, network, security, and application layers. You'll define and champion architecture standards, principles, and guidelines, ensuring consistency and interoperability across our Product Teams. Lead our Technical Design Authority review meetings, guiding engineering teams to create designs that meet our architectural standards.
• Technology Evaluation and Selection: Collaborate with business teams to evaluate new technologies, solutions, and SaaS platforms. You'll lead RFP assessments and spearhead proof-of-concept projects for promising technologies, ultimately recommending the best architectural solutions. Keeping up-to-date on industry trends and emerging technologies will be key.
• Solution Architecture: Work hand-in-hand with product teams to design and implement robust, scalable, and secure solutions aligned with our enterprise architecture. Mentor and guide other architects and engineers, sharing your expertise to build a strong team.
• Collaboration and Communication: You'll be a key communicator, effectively conveying complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. This role requires strong collaboration skills, working effectively with stakeholders across Europe, India, and North America.
• Documentation and Knowledge Sharing: Maintain comprehensive documentation of our enterprise architecture, including diagrams, models, and standards. Actively contribute to building and maintaining a valuable knowledge base for our IT organization.or the IT organization.

QUALIFICATIONS

Skills & Experience Required

• Experience of leading cross functional teams through large scale technology transformation initiatives within the financial industry
• Proven track record as an Enterprise Architect, experience of helping to implement successful modernisation projects and migrating existing applications to the cloud
• Strong knowledge of cloud computing platforms, specifically Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services and associated best practices
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with strong emphasis on follow through, whilst managing your own workload.
• Proficiency in developing Enterprise / Solution Architecture artefacts using standard architecture frameworks such as TOGAF / Zachman
• Knowledge of modern application technologies and platforms such as SalesForce, AEM, MFEs, Graph, Apollo, React

Skills & Experience Preferred

• Experience in Banking and Financial Regulatory Reporting space.
• Knowledge of Security and identity management architecture standards
• Familiarity with modern software development methodologies, DevOps practices and agile / SAFE frameworks
• Experience in Banking and Financial Regulatory Reporting space.
• Implementation knowledge of common FinTech Core Banking platforms
• Familiarity with financial regulations and privacy standards in EU banking
• Ability to work on multiple projects in fast paced & dynamic environment
• Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and platforms
• Understanding of legacy platforms such as WAS, AS400 and DB2

Qualifications & Background

• Degree in computer science/engineering, data science or related field
• 10+ years experience in Enterprise / Solution / Cloud Architecture
• Google Professional Cloud Architect certification preferred.