Senior Solutions Architect Contract

Role: Senior Solutions Architect
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 12 Months (Extendable Contract, Long-term with Marc Ellis)

Job Summary:

The Senior Solution Architect works in a matrix structure, supporting both architecture leadership and the delivery head of the digital product domain being served (e.g., Wealth, Corporate Assisted Banking, Payments, etc.). The role requires deep technical expertise, strong architectural skills, proven security experience, and a solution-oriented mindset. The architect will design secure, resilient, high-quality digital products across web, mobile, APIs, and microservices within a modern cloud-native ecosystem.

Domain Competencies:

• Develop and maintain architecture standards, guidelines, reusable patterns, and best practices.
• Design and implement end-to-end solution architectures for digital product requirements.
• Lead solution design for web applications, mobile applications, microservices, APIs, and related components.
• Ensure designs align with internal development standards, user journeys, wireframes, and approved architectural patterns.
• 5+ years of experience designing applications (web & mobile), microservices, and APIs.
• 5+ years of experience with cloud-native technologies such as containers, service mesh, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and virtualization.
• Experience integrating applications with surrounding ecosystems including event streams, message brokers, and cloud services.
• Experience working within Agile delivery structures (Tribes, Squads, Sprints, Features, Epics, Stories, Acceptance Criteria).
• Domain exposure to digital products in financial services, payments, settlements, wealth, or similar areas (preferred but not mandatory).

Security Competencies:

• Minimum 3+ years of experience in Cyber / Information Security.
• Strong all-round knowledge of security in the context of software engineering and architecture.
• Deep understanding of core security concepts including:
✓ Authentication & Authorization
✓ Encryption, Key Management, Secret Management
✓ Application Security (OWASP Top 10)
✓ Cloud Security controls
✓ Infrastructure Security fundamentals
✓ Security Logging, Monitoring & Alerting

• Experience integrating security controls into digital product designs, including:
✓ Data Classification
✓ Regulatory Security Requirements (PCI-DSS, GDPR, regional regulations)
✓ Threat Modelling
✓ Security lifecycle practices: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover

• Exposure to offensive/defensive security concepts (advantageous).
• Ability to ensure solution designs uphold Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of information across all system components.
• Experience designing secure APIs, microservices, mobile apps, and cloud-based workloads.
• Ability to collaborate closely with security teams to ensure secure solution delivery and compliance.

Technical Competencies:

• Ability to create end-to-end solution designs balancing User Experience, Performance, Reliability, Resiliency, and Security.
• Strong understanding of architectural design principles and patterns, with ability to articulate trade-offs.
• Experience implementing distributed architectures using:
✓ Microservices
✓ Event-driven systems
✓ API Gateways
✓ Container ecosystems

• Proficiency with cloud platforms (OpenShift, Azure, AWS, OCI).
• Good experience with architecture tools (Enterprise Architect) and data-modelling tools.
• Preferred exposure to AI-related concepts (Machine Learning, Generative AI, RAG, LLMs, vector databases, agentic architectures).

Behavioural Competencies:

• Delivery-focused while maintaining balance between business needs, performance, security, reliability, and customer experience.
• High energy, passion, and motivation to drive architectural excellence.
• Excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.
• Strong stakeholder, communication, and expectation-management skills.
• Ability to make autonomous architectural decisions with minimal supervision.
• High learning agility with ability to coach and mentor junior architects.

Core Objectives & Key Results (OKRs):

Business Delivery Enablement
• Deliver complete and self-sufficient architecture documents within agreed timelines.
• Improve solution-design workflow through reusability, automation, and standardisation.
• Contribute to building reliable, resilient, and secure digital platforms.

Team & Practice Enablement
• Deliver training, knowledge-sharing sessions, or architecture workshops.
• Conduct peer reviews and contribute to architectural governance.
• Ensure new solutions follow or evolve reusable blueprints and reference architectures.

Personal Development
• Continuously enhance technical and soft skills through certifications, learning programs, and hands-on assignments.
• Improve depth in both Solution Architecture and Security Architecture disciplines.