Chief Architect

Description Title: Chief Architect Advisory Digital Key responsibilities Architecture strategy and roadmapOwn target-state enterprise architecture for distributed, cloud-native platforms and products across multiple business units.Define and govern reference architectures, blueprints, and standards for multi-tenant SaaS, microservices, and event-driven systems.Establish architecture metrics and outcomes tied to business objectives (e.g., lead-time reduction, reliability, cost).Platform engineering and IDPLead design and rollout of Internal Developer Platforms to standardize golden paths, improve developer experience, and accelerate delivery.Define platform SLAs/SLOs, golden templates, and paved roads for services, data, observability, and security.Cloud architecture and vendor neutralityArchitect solutions across AWS, Azure, and GCP with a vendor-neutral mindset; leverage managed services where it creates strategic advantage.Define multi-cloud landing zones, tenancy models, and portability patterns (12-factor, containers, IaC).Multi-tenant SaaS at scaleDesign and operate secure, scalable, cost-efficient multi-tenant architectures including tenant isolation, entitlements, billing/quotas, and data protection.Establish patterns for regionalization, data residency, and compliance controls (GDPR, PCI, SOC 2 as applicable).Security, identity, and compliance by designEmbed security and privacy controls into architecture (Zero Trust, IAM, secrets management, KMS/HSM, network segmentation).Partner with security and risk teams to implement governance, threat modeling, and continuous compliance automation.DevSecOps and engineering excellenceDrive CI/CD, GitOps, policy-as-code, and SRE practices; improve DORA metrics and engineering productivity.Introduce AI-driven SDLC accelerators and guardrails to reduce cycle time and increase quality.Integration, APIs, and service connectivityDefine API strategy (gateway management, versioning, monetization) and service connectivity (service mesh, mTLS, traffic management).Establish event streaming and data-in-motion patterns for real-time use cases.Data and AI platform architectureGuide modern data architectures (lakehouse, streaming, governance) and AI/ML platforms for model training, deployment, and monitoring.Partner with data and product teams to operationalize ML/GenAI responsibly at scale.Governance and operating modelLead architecture governance across a matrixed enterprise; run ARBs, standards councils, and technology guardrails.Build and mentor a high-performing architecture community of practice; scale via accelerators, reusable IP, and knowledge assets.Stakeholder leadership and communicationTranslate complex technical concepts into clear business narratives for executives and non-technical stakeholders.Minimum qualifications 15+ years in software engineering and architecture with significant time in senior/principal/chief architect roles.Deep expertise in cloud-native and distributed systems: microservices, event-driven architectures, CQRS, caching, resiliency patterns.Proven experience designing and operating multi-tenant SaaS platforms at enterprise scale.Strong hands-on experience on Azure,Security and identity: OAuth2/OIDC, SSO, SAML, RBAC/ABAC, secrets management, KMS, network policies, and zero trust principles.Container orchestration and connectivity: Kubernetes, Helm/Kustomize, service meshes (e.g., Istio/Linkerd), and API management (e.g., Apigee, Kong, Azure/API Gateway).DevSecOps and automation: CI/CD, GitOps (Argo CD/Flux), IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep), policy-as-code (OPA), and supply-chain security.Data and AI: familiarity with lakehouse platforms (e.g., Databricks, BigQuery, Snowflake), event streaming (Kafka/Pulsar), and AI/ML platforms (SageMaker, Vertex AI, Azure ML); understanding of MLOps and responsible AI practices.Experience leading architecture governance in large, complex enterprises; established ARB processes and standards.Background in regulated industries (banking, insurance, public sector) or large enterprise SaaS products.Demonstrated ability to communicate crisply with executives and non-technical stakeholders and to influence cross-functional teams.Preferred qualifications Prior responsibility for technology strategy across multiple products or business units and for P&L- or portfolio-impacting decisions.Track record building platform engineering functions/CoEs and internal developer platforms.< .