My current position

Job Title: Principal Application Architect & Platform Engineering Lead

Department: Technology/Engineering

Reports To: Director of Engineering/VP of Technology

Summary:

As the Principal Application Architect & Platform Engineering Lead, you will be instrumental in defining, designing, and overseeing the implementation of the architecture for our core application. You will be responsible for establishing the technical vision, ensuring adherence to industry standards and security best practices, and building a robust and scalable platform that supports our business objectives. This role combines strategic architectural planning with hands-on platform engineering leadership, ensuring the successful delivery and ongoing operation of our critical application.

Responsibilities:

Architectural Design & Strategy:

• Define and maintain the overall application architecture, including the selection of appropriate architectural patterns (e.g., microservices, monolithic), technologies, frameworks, and integration strategies.

• Develop and document architectural blueprints, standards, and guidelines to ensure consistency and maintainability across the application landscape.

• Collaborate with stakeholders (product owners, business analysts, development teams) to understand business requirements and translate them into technical solutions.

• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and frameworks that can enhance the application's performance, scalability, security, and maintainability.

• Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards and regulatory requirements in the application architecture.

• Proactively identify and mitigate potential architectural risks and challenges.

• Lead the design and implementation of robust and scalable data models and storage solutions.

• Define API strategies and ensure consistent API design and development practices.

Platform Engineering & Implementation Oversight:

• Establish and maintain the underlying platform infrastructure required to support the application, including considerations for cloud environments, containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), and infrastructure-as-code (IaC).

• Define and implement CI/CD pipelines to automate the build, test, and deployment processes, ensuring efficient and reliable software delivery.

• Establish and enforce security best practices throughout the development lifecycle, including vulnerability management, secure coding standards, and security testing.

• Define and implement monitoring, logging, and alerting strategies to ensure the health, performance, and availability of the application.

• Oversee the implementation of the architecture by development teams, providing guidance, support, and ensuring adherence to established standards.

• Conduct regular code reviews and architectural assessments to identify potential issues and ensure code quality.

• Manage and mitigate source code vulnerabilities through appropriate tools and processes.

• Drive the adoption of best practices for software development, testing, and deployment.

• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues related to the application architecture and platform.

Leadership & Collaboration:

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to development teams.

• Foster a collaborative and communicative environment between development, operations, and other relevant teams.

• Communicate architectural decisions and platform strategies effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies in application architecture and platform engineering.

Value You Bring:

By combining these responsibilities, you bring significant value to the organization by:

• Ensuring a stable, scalable, and secure foundation for the critical application.

• Driving efficiency and speed in the software development lifecycle through well-defined processes and automation.

• Minimizing risks and vulnerabilities by proactively addressing security concerns at the architectural level and throughout the development process.

• Promoting consistency and maintainability across the application codebase through established standards and guidelines.

• Facilitating effective collaboration between different teams involved in the application's development and operation.

• Enabling the organization to adapt and innovate by strategically leveraging new technologies and architectural patterns.

• Reducing operational overhead through well-designed and automated platform infrastructure.

• Ensuring compliance with industry regulations by embedding relevant standards into the application architecture.