Chief Software Architect

Job Title: Chief Software Architect
Tech-Res Ref: 13183
Work Location/s: Bucks, Surrey & home based (with some overseas travel)
Contract Duration: 6 months, with consideration for permanent staff appointment thereafter
Start Date: ASAP

Our client is an established, but rapidly expanding, part of a huge FTSE100 group, employing almost 200K staff in over 100 countries. They have recently acquired several software businesses to offer a comprehensive portfolio of B2B SaaS solutions to their global clients. They’re now embarking on a large transformation project to integrate these products and deliver them through a single point of access to their clients.

The Chief Software Architect will define and oversee the entire product design and architecture for an integration framework that enables the software products from 5 different operating businesses to collaborate effectively, whilst offering a clear, single point of web access to their clients. Their existing products are all 3 tier, web enabled, thin clients, but experience of moving legacy systems to the cloud would also be useful.

You will be working closely with Business Analysts, Team Leads and other internal / external resources to ensure the requirements defined by the product owners are translated into an implementation plan that ensures continued quality and stability of the entire product line.
• Create, communicate and own a common technical vision.
• Define and document a common architecture for each aspect of the product line.
• Identify suitable frameworks and technologies on which to build the product.
• Ensure that everyone follows the architectural guidelines.
• Identify and define suitable measures for the success of the system architecture, considering: Fulfilling client requirements; Performance; Stability; Scalability; Sustainability; Quality.
• Ensure the architecture continues to grow and evolve as company strategy demands.
• Monitor the preparation of appropriate systems documentation to ensure ongoing maintainability of the product line under all circumstances.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of all technologies in use.
• Provide a central point of knowledge for the entire product line, understanding where the expertise lies, and how to access it, within the larger development group.
• Drive evaluation of new directions and new ideas.

You will also be directly responsible for the quality delivered by the development teams (both internal and external resources), which will include:
• Defining and monitoring appropriate quality measures
• Accountable for ongoing improvements and consistent maintenance of those measures, by influencing and monitoring implementation against defined architectural best practices
• Ensuring that appropriate code reviews are in place and are appropriately followed
• Directly responsible and accountable for the following product metrics:
o Code quality
o Critical issue generation
o Creation and maintenance of appropriate architectural documentation
o Resolve architecture related conflicts within the development teams

Mandatory Skills and Experience:
• At least 5 yrs’ experience as a Chief / Lead / Senior Software Architect
• Experience delivering software integration projects for enterprise scale clients
• OpenSource, Microsoft, .NET & Java

Desirable Skills
• Experienced migrating legacy systems to the cloud
• Oracle, Cassandra, SQL, MySQL, HTTP REST
• An understanding of data mining / warehousing, rather than purely high-volume transactional systems
• Agile Scrum experience

This really is a terrific opportunity to help shape the future of this rapidly expanding group, through a period of considerable technology led change, with the opportunity to join them as a permanent staff employee after the initial 6-month contract assignment.

Technology Resourcing is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.