Digital Solutions Architect

About This Role

General Job Description

The Digital Solutions Architect leads the end-to-end architecture and governance of smart city digital solutions delivered on a centralized digital platform. The role ensures that solution designs from multiple vendors align with defined reference architectures, cloud-agnostic standards, security and compliance requirements, and platform service catalogs.

Working with government entities, telecom providers, and sector stakeholders, the architect translates business outcomes into actionable solution blueprints, ensures integration with shared platform services (identity, observability, data, APIs), and guides delivery through design reviews, implementation assurance, and operational readiness. The role also supports scalable and reusable patterns for repeatable onboarding and deployment.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Own solution architecture for assigned portfolios/use cases and ensure alignment with platform architecture and standards
• Translate business requirements into target-state solution designs, including capabilities, data flows, trust boundaries, and non-functional requirements
• Lead architecture governance including design reviews, architecture decision records (ADRs), standards compliance, and exception management
• Define solution onboarding approaches (environments, connectivity, identity, monitoring, CI/CD, infrastructure as code)
• Drive cross-vendor integration consistency (APIs, events, data contracts, observability, shared components)
• Ensure cloud-agnostic design principles with minimal vendor lock-in
• Collaborate with cybersecurity and data governance teams to embed security and privacy by design
• Validate vendor deliverables through architecture assurance, testing alignment, and release readiness
• Support operational readiness including runbooks, SLAs/SLOs, support models, and transition to operations teams

Skills & Abilities

• Strong end-to-end solution architecture capabilities across applications, data, integration, security, and operations
• Ability to govern multi-vendor environments while maintaining delivery efficiency
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across business and technical teams
• Strong understanding of non-functional requirements such as scalability, performance, resilience, and observability
• Structured approach to documentation and decision-making (ADRs, reference architectures, roadmaps)

Potential Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or related field (Master’s preferred)
• 10+ years of experience in solution or enterprise architecture for large-scale digital platforms (smart city, government, telecom, or critical infrastructure preferred)
• Experience delivering cloud and hybrid solutions including Kubernetes, APIs, identity, and observability
• Proven experience in architecture governance (design authority, architecture boards, standards and exception handling)
• Experience working with system integrators/vendors under RFP-driven delivery models
• Familiarity with TOGAF/ADM or similar architecture frameworks and agile delivery methodologies

Preferred Tools & Soft Skills

Tools:

• Architecture modeling: ArchiMate, Sparx EA, Visio, Draw.io
• API & Integration: OpenAPI/AsyncAPI, API Gateways (Apigee, Azure APIM, Kong)
• Delivery & DevOps: Azure DevOps, Jira/Confluence, Git (GitHub), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep)

Soft Skills:

• Strong facilitation and design review leadership
• Pragmatic decision-making and prioritization
• Clear, executive-level communication and documentation
• Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Ownership mindset with focus on delivery outcomes