Senior Solution Architect

About the position:

The solution architect role involves designing and overseeing the implementation of home-grown and commercial-off-the-shelf IT solutions using Microsoft Azure and their integration with various systems and applications. The role involves collaborating with stakeholders, evaluating technology options, and guiding development teams to deliver scalable, secure and efficient solutions. The expectation for this role is 8+ years of relevant experience.

Key responsibilities:

Architectural Leadership:

Serve as the Azure Solution Architect with specific sector knowledge, setting the direction for cloud architecture and ensuring alignment with the organizations technical strategy and O&G industry standards.
Uphold industry best practices and standards specific to the O&G sector.
Technology Roadmap:
Construct and continuously update an Azure-focused technology roadmap, aligning with the organizations long-term goals.
Explore and identify cutting-edge Azure services and features that can propel technological advancement. Strategically plan and implement upgrades to bolster the organizations competitive position and enhance the scalability of Azure-based solutions.

Solution Design:

Take the lead in design and architecture complex Azure solutions, with a strong focus on ensuring scalability, robust security, and cost-effectiveness and alignment with nuanced demands of the O&G industry.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Work in tandem with various service lines, such as engineering divisions and business stakeholders, to align Azure architectural strategies with the core business objectives and ensure the designs are in sync with the businesss forward direction. Possess the ability to effectively communicate Azure technical strategies to non-technical stakeholders, thereby facilitating their participation in informed decision-making.

Mentorship and Guidance:

Offer Azure technical leadership and mentorship to solution squads.
Cultivate an environment of innovation, continuous improvement, and technical prowess across the organization.
Compliance and Best Practices:
Guarantee Azure solutions meet regulatory demands and O&G-specific standards, including those related to safety, environment, and operations.
Risk Assessment:
Proactively identify and assess technical risks linked with Azure infrastructure and applications. Collaborate with multifaceted teams to formulate and implement measures to alleviate the detected risks. As a Solution Architect, it is crucial to pinpoint potential risks during the solution development phase and devise comprehensive risk mitigation plans for all solutions crafted.

Industry Expertise:

Stay informed about emerging technologies, trends, and standards in the oil and gas industry. Evaluate the potential impact of new technologies and provide recommendations for adoption both in upcoming solution designs as well as enhancement of solution architectures.
Vendor Management:
Engage with external vendors and technology associates to scrutinize third-party offerings compatible with Azure. Integrate these third-party solutions effortlessly, ensuring they complement and reinforce the broader Azure architectural strategy and the business objectives.

Required Qualifications:

Master s (or) Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Information Technology or a related field (or equivalent experience).
8+ years of prior experience as a solution architect, preferably in the oil and gas industry or 8+ years of prior experience as a software engineer or similar role. Extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, including knowledge of industry-specific challenges and opportunities.
Technical Expertise: Strong experience should have an in-depth understanding of Azure services and architecture, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS solutions. They should be adept at designing and implementing complex cloud infrastructure, ensuring scalability, reliability, and security. Also, strong experience in multi-cloud environments like AWS, GCP and their application migrations and management in O&G specifically.
Advanced Problem-Solving: They must possess strong analytical skills to troubleshoot and resolve high-level technical issues. This includes the ability to perform root cause analysis and implement long-term solutions to prevent recurrence.
Strategic Planning: The architect should be capable of developing strategic plans for cloud adoption and migration, aligning with the organizations goals. They should be able to evaluate and recommend new technologies and approaches to drive continuous improvement.
Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills are essential for translating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, facilitating clear and effective discussions between cross-functional teams, and presenting proposals and progress reports to senior management.
Client Engagement: Capable to work closely with clients (internal clients) to understand their business requirements and constraints, ensuring that the cloud solutions designed meet their needs and expectations.
Innovation: With extensive experience, they should be at the forefront of innovation, exploring new cloud technologies and methodologies, and integrating them into the organizations practices to gain competitive advantage.
Leadership and Mentorship: As a seasoned leader, the Senior Solution Architect should set the technical direction and make pivotal decisions that define the organizations cloud strategy, while also serving as a mentor to uplift junior architects and engineers. They must lead by example, inspiring teams through complex initiatives and fostering professional growth by imparting knowledge, best practices, and constructive feedback to nurture the next generation of technical experts.

Preferred Qualifications:

Must have Master s or Bachelor s degree in computer science engineering or information technology or Relevant field.
Relevant certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or similar.
Microsoft AZ900 Certification & AZ 305 Certification
TOGAF or ArchiMate or Zachman or equivalent architecture frameworks experience
Experience in automation using Python, Gen AI, AI Ops, etc.
Experience with data integration, data warehousing, and big data technologies.
Experience with containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., any 2 of following: Docker, OpenShift, Kubernetes, ECS, GKE, AKS, EKS, Rancher, Apache Mesos, Nomad, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes).
Understanding of the O&G sectors operational workflows, including the intricacies of exploration, extraction, refining, and distribution activities, to tailor cloud-based solutions that complement the industrys unique needs.
Competence in tackling technical hurdles specific to the O&G domain, such as efficient asset management in isolated areas, processing extensive seismic datasets, and ensuring compliance with strict regulatory frameworks.
Proficiency in leveraging Azure cloud technologies to enhance the O&G Industrys operational effectiveness, utilizing tools like IoT, advanced data analytics, and machine learning for better results
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks (e.g. CircleCI, Jenkins, TeamCity, Travis CI, Bamboo, Bitbucket, etc.)
Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

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