Application Architect

Role Overview

The Application Architect is responsible for defining, managing, and advancing the enterprise application architecture to ensure that all applications, integrations, and technology selections align with business capabilities, digital strategies, and the target architecture framework. This role steers architecture decisions related to application modernization, solution design, and portfolio rationalization.

Main Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain comprehensive application portfolios, architectural views, reference architectures, and lifecycle roadmaps.
• Evaluate applications for suitability, technical debt, duplication, integration interdependencies, and consistency with business goals.
• Define future-state application architecture, provide recommendations for rationalization, and outline transition plans.
• Review solution designs, architecture documentation, and non-functional requirements to ensure compliance with Enterprise Architecture (EA) principles and standards.
• Collaborate with solution, data, infrastructure, security, and integration teams to deliver cohesive end-to-end architectural designs.
• Create and maintain traceability between business capabilities, processes, applications, data entities, interfaces, and underlying technologies.
• Support initiatives in application modernization, cloud adoption, package selection, and migration by providing architecture guidance.
• Contribute actively to architecture governance, conduct design reviews, manage exceptions, uphold standards, and ensure the quality of the EA repository.

Qualifications and Experience

• Possess a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or related fields.
• Have a minimum of five years of relevant experience in application architecture, solution architecture, systems analysis/design, or application portfolio management.
• TOGAF certification is mandatory or highly preferred; additional certifications in ArchiMate, cloud architecture, integration, ITIL, or related platforms are beneficial.

Technical Expertise

• Proficient understanding of application architectural patterns, API-led integration, service-oriented architecture, and application lifecycle management.
• Practical experience with TOGAF and ArchiMate application-layer modeling to generate actionable architectural views.
• Skilled in evaluating application portfolios, identifying technical debt, assessing application health and fit-for-purpose, and spotting rationalization opportunities.
• Knowledgeable about cloud computing, security, data management, and integration considerations within enterprise solutions.
• Strong abilities in stakeholder management, analytical thinking, documentation, and conducting design reviews.

Key Outcomes and Deliverables

• Assessments of application portfolios including lifecycle and health evaluations.
• Develop current and target-state application architecture views.
• Define application reference architectures, standards, and design principles.
• Create roadmaps for application rationalization and modernization.
• Maintain traceability linking applications to business capabilities, data, and integration points.