Solution Architect – 2 Year Fixed Term Contract
Post Consult International Role - An Post Subsidiary
About Post Consult International (PCI)
PCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post, providing specialist IT Strategy, Management and Development services across every aspect of An Post IT infrastructure. Alongside An Post IT staff, they collectively form the internal IT function known as Group Technology Solutions (GTS).
Role Purpose
In An Post Group Technology Solutions (GTS), we are looking to recruit a Solutions Architect to join our existing team working across a large and diverse multi-year Digital Transformation and Technology Modernisation programme.
The Solutions Architecture team works closely with other cross-functional teams and key stakeholders within GTS and across the An Post business to devise and design solutions to ensure successful delivery against the organisation’s overall strategic objectives. These include becoming an organisation which positions data and digital capabilities at the very core of its product and service delivery competency. A multi-year technology modernisation roadmap and innovation agenda which is heavily focused on Cloud, Advanced Data Analytics and AI has been developed to help realise this ambition and is now in-flight.
The GTS Solutions Architecture team is a very experienced, highly skilled and high performing team, critical to the success of the organisation’s goals. We are seeking to recruit an equally qualified and accomplished individual to join this impactful and dynamic team.
Responsibilities
The key responsibilities associated with this role include but are not limited to the following:
Provide insight, analysis and design thinking to support the development of best in class technology solutions that meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards.
Work with product owners and other key stakeholders to interpret needs and translate business and technical requirements into architectural blueprints to achieve business objectives. and comprehensively document all solution architecture design and analysis work.
Support product managers in end of life product decisions to maintain, refresh or retire services and supporting IT systems including applications, infrastructure and processes.
Understand emerging technology trends and disruptions and their practical application to enable new and evolving business and operating models.
Analyse the business-IT environment to detect critical deficiencies, legacy, and technical debt and recommend solutions for improvement.
Evaluate, design and analyse the implementation of solutions architecture across a group of specific business applications and technologies as determined by the Enterprise Architecture and Programme Management planning functions.
Work with the programme management office (PMO) to ensure the execution of plans corresponds with what is being promised throughout the project or product lifecycle.
Help to provide deliverables such as standards definitions, reference models, reference architectures and repeatable design patterns to support overall architectural governance.
Create deliverables for managing the organisations portfolio of "to be" and "as is" solutions to enable and drive targeted business outcomes. Provide outputs from solution ideation and technology assessment and input into project sizing (T-Shirt / ROM / Budgetary) as part of feasibility analysis, and participate in RFT and vendor / supplier evaluation and selection to guide business and technology decision making and prioritisation of project pipeline.
Create high level solution design artefacts, including architecture diagrams and design documentation and ensure they address both functional and non-functional requirements such as Information Security, Privacy, Performance, Health Monitoring, Trouble Ticketing, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
In-project support to other technical teams including Project Management, Software Development, Test / Quality Assurance, DevOps, Information Security, Cloud / Platform and Service Management.
Ensure An Post’s Information Security and Data Privacy standards and best practice are pervasively applied throughout all phases of the project lifecycle from inception to production delivery ensuring full compliance with international and industry standards including ISO 27001 and PCI DSS and regulations including GDPR and PSD2 where applicable.
Collaborate with An Post’s Digital and Data Analytics teams along with external suppliers to enhance Customer Experience platforms.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
A Bachelor’s degree-level qualification in Computer Science or an equivalent field along with a minimum of three years’ experience as a Solution Architect is required. The ideal candidate will have design experience in infrastructure, application, security and database / data modelling as well as integration patterns and platforms.
Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies, platforms, and processing environments as well as experience of developing and supporting implementation of Public Cloud and Hybrid Cloud architectural solution designs with Microsoft Azure is essential.
Experience using Visual Modelling tools including Visio or Draw.IO to represent architectural design in diagrams covering multiple perspectives including Infrastructure, Data Modelling, Application/Software, Process and Security and UML sequence diagramming is a must.
You will have experience working with both Agile and Waterfall Software Development Lifecycle methodologies using tooling such as Atlassian Jira and Confluence for product/project development lifecycle management and documentation.
Experience with and detailed knowledge of the Microsoft technology stack, including on premise and cloud technologies such as .NET Framework, .NET Core, C#, Windows Server, SQL Server Database, SQL Azure, Web Apps, Function Apps, Logic Apps, APIM, KeyVault, Storage Services, Service Bus, VNET Infrastructure using NSGs and Private Endpoints, Azure CDN, Azure Front Door, Application Gateway, DevOps CI/CD and GitHub is required.
Experience with the Oracle technology stack including Oracle Database and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is desirable.
Critical Competencies:
(The following competencies are critical to the delivery of results and/or to superior performance in this role:)
Technical & Professional Knowledge
Problem Solving & Analysis
Communication
Pro-Active & Results Driven
Benefits
Hybrid & flexible working arrangements
Work Life Balance supports
Direct Contribution Pension backed by generous Company funding
A well-funded training programme
A culture that focuses on employee well-being and career development
Support schemes for health including Employee Assistance Plans for Wellness and Mental Health and other supports including vision care & a vaccination programme
Occupational sick pay exceeding statutory minimum
Health Insurance Group schemes
Employee discounts for a variety of An Post products & services
State of the art headquarters
How to Apply?
We welcome all interested candidates to submit a detailed CV to talent@anpost.ie by 5.00pm on 21st June 2024.
The An Post Group is an equal opportunity employer, celebrating diversity and championing inclusivity. If you require any reasonable accommodations to assist you in participating in the employee selection process, please simply let us know. We heartily encourage all interested parties to apply!
