Solution Architect-Intermediate - VF

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nWHO WE ARE:\nFounded in 2007, DTI (Diversified Technology, Inc.) is a successful African American owned IT Consulting/Staffing firm based in Chicago's Loop.\n\nWHAT WE DO:\nWe focus on providing delivery, staffing, and supported services such as enterprise integration/implementations including, but not limited to, CRM, EAM, ERP, PMO, and QA. We service clients in SLED (state/local gov't & education), financial services, fortune, public utility, as well as regularly partnering with Big 4 SI partners.\nSolution Architect\n\nPosition Overview\n\nWe are seeking an experienced Solution Architect to serve as the architecture lead and primary technical design authority for assigned projects and initiatives. This role is responsible for developing end-to-end solution designs from discovery through implementation and transition to operations.\n\nThe Solution Architect will work closely with business stakeholders, Enterprise Architecture, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Data, Integration, Application, Operations teams, and external partners to ensure solutions are secure, scalable, supportable, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise standards.\n\nThe ideal candidate has strong experience in solution architecture, application and integration architecture, cloud and on-premises environments, technical design documentation, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and cross-functional technical leadership.\n\nKey Responsibilities\n\nSolution Delivery & Architecture Leadership\n\n \n Serve as the architecture lead and primary technical design authority for assigned projects and initiatives.\n \n \n Own the end-to-end solution design from discovery through implementation and transition to operations.\n \n \n Lead architecture discovery sessions, technical design workshops, and solution reviews.\n \n \n Evaluate solution options based on business value, risk, cost, complexity, maintainability, and supportability.\n \n \n Identify and communicate architecture decisions, dependencies, risks, assumptions, constraints, and exceptions.\n \n \n Ensure solutions can be effectively implemented, operated, maintained, and supported.\n \n\nTechnical Discovery & Business Translation\n\n \n Participate in business workshops and project meetings to identify technical requirements, dependencies, constraints, risks, and opportunities.\n \n \n Translate business objectives, processes, requirements, and decisions into technical requirements and solution components.\n \n \n Identify technical impacts related to integrations, data, security, environments, infrastructure, licensing, performance, support, and regulatory compliance.\n \n \n Ask probing questions, challenge incomplete assumptions, and engage technical specialists when needed.\n \n \n Explain technical options, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to both business and technical audiences.\n \n\nSolution Design & Documentation\n\n \n Develop, maintain, and coordinate approval of Solution Design Documents for assigned initiatives.\n \n \n Create architecture artifacts including:\n\n \n \n System context diagrams\n \n \n Application architecture diagrams\n \n \n Integration diagrams\n \n \n Data flow diagrams\n \n \n Environment diagrams\n \n \n Deployment diagrams\n \n \n Network diagrams\n \n \n \n \n Document design decisions, assumptions, constraints, dependencies, risks, exceptions, unresolved issues, and ownership.\n \n \n Maintain traceability between business requirements, non-functional requirements, architecture decisions, and solution components.\n \n \n Ensure designs provide sufficient detail for implementation, security review, provisioning, testing, deployment, and operational transition.\n \n \n Update solution designs when requirements, implementation decisions, or technical conditions change.\n \n\nApplication & Integration Architecture\n\n \n Design solutions involving new and existing applications, SaaS platforms, cloud services, on-premises systems, and third-party technologies.\n \n \n Define application interactions, integration patterns, data exchanges, and technical dependencies.\n \n \n Apply approved API, middleware, event-driven, managed file transfer, batch, and data integration patterns.\n \n \n Evaluate interoperability requirements across cloud, on-premises, and partner-hosted environments.\n \n \n Ensure application and integration designs align with enterprise standards, reference architectures, and target-state direction.\n \n \n Identify opportunities to reuse existing capabilities, reduce duplication, and support application rationalization.\n \n\nInfrastructure, Environment & Technical Readiness\n\n \n Define requirements for development, testing, QA, UAT, training, production, and disaster recovery environments, as applicable.\n \n \n Identify hosting, compute, storage, database, middleware, network, cloud service, and platform dependencies.\n \n \n Document technical network requirements including firewalls, ports, protocols, DNS, certificates, proxies, load balancing, routing, allowlists, and private connectivity.\n \n \n Identify service accounts, privileged access, authentication, authorization, single sign-on, and identity lifecycle requirements.\n \n \n Define monitoring, logging, alerting, backup, recovery, availability, performance, capacity, and resiliency requirements.\n \n \n Identify provisioning lead times, prerequisites, sequencing, dependencies, and accountable teams.\n \n \n Validate technical readiness before build, testing, deployment, and production transition.\n \n\nCybersecurity & Risk\n\n \n Engage Cybersecurity early to identify security architecture, risk, privacy, and compliance requirements.\n \n \n Document trust boundaries, data classifications, authentication methods, access models, encryption, secrets management, logging, and security monitoring requirements.\n \n \n Ensure security findings, controls, and remediation requirements are incorporated into solution designs.\n \n \n Coordinate resolution or formal acceptance of design-related security risks and exceptions.\n \n \n Ensure third-party connectivity and access are appropriately designed, reviewed, and documented.\n \n\nPartner & Technical Design Oversight\n\n \n Lead technical discovery sessions with system integrators, managed service providers, software vendors, and internal technical teams.\n \n \n Establish technical design expectations and the required level of detail for delivery partners.\n \n \n Review partner-produced architecture, configuration, deployment, integration, and technical design documentation.\n \n \n Identify omissions, inconsistencies, unsupported assumptions, ownership gaps, and conflicts with enterprise standards.\n \n \n Challenge recommendations when alternatives may improve security, reliability, supportability, cost, or maintainability.\n \n \n Ensure partner designs are incorporated into and consistent with the overall Solution Design Document.\n \n \n Track open technical questions and drive them to resolution.\n \n \n Confirm post-implementation support responsibilities across internal teams, vendors, and service providers.\n \n\nArchitecture Collaboration & Governance\n\n \n Work with Enterprise Architects to align project solutions with technology strategies, target-state architectures, approved standards, and portfolio direction.\n \n \n Engage Infrastructure Architects on initiatives requiring specialized cloud, hosting, network, platform, resiliency, capacity, or infrastructure design.\n \n \n Coordinate contributions from Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Data, Integration, Application, and other technical specialists.\n \n \n Resolve cross-domain design conflicts, gaps, dependencies, and decisions.\n \n \n Escalate decisions requiring enterprise direction, policy exceptions, or changes to established standards.\n \n \n Prepare solution materials for architecture governance reviews and coordinate required approvals.\n \n \n Maintain accountability for the completeness and consistency of the overall project solution design.\n \n\nOperational Readiness & Transition\n\n \n Define solution support requirements, ownership boundaries, escalation paths, and operational dependencies.\n \n \n Ensure monitoring, alerting, logging, backup, recovery, disaster recovery, service continuity, and support procedures are addressed.\n \n \n Partner with application support, infrastructure, service management, and operations teams to prepare for production support.\n \n \n Ensure technical documentation and knowledge-transfer requirements are completed before operational handoff.\n \n \n Support implementation, testing, cutover, stabilization, and resolution of design-related issues.\n \n\nNon-Functional Requirements\n\nEnsure appropriate stakeholders define, validate, and document non-functional requirements related to:\n\n \n Availability, resiliency, scalability, performance, and capacity\n \n \n Cybersecurity, privacy, identity, and access\n \n \n Maintainability, observability, monitoring, and supportability\n \n \n Backup, recovery, disaster recovery, and service continuity\n \n \n Data retention, records management, and regulatory obligations\n \n \n Accessibility, interoperability, and user experience\n \n \n Deployment, release, and environment management\n \n\nKey Deliverables\n\n \n Solution Design Documents\n \n \n System context and end-to-end solution architecture diagrams\n \n \n Application, integration, data flow, environment, deployment, and network diagrams\n \n \n Architecture decisions, assumptions, constraints, dependencies, risks, and exception documentation\n \n \n Environment and technical readiness requirements\n \n \n Non-functional requirements and operational readiness inputs\n \n \n Technical design review findings and resolution of open issues\n \n \n Architecture governance review materials and approval coordination\n \n \n Implementation, cutover, and operational transition recommendations\n \n\nRequired Qualifications\n\n \n Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience.\n \n \n Minimum 8 years of Information Technology experience with emphasis in solution architecture, application architecture, software engineering, systems integration, infrastructure, or technical delivery.\n \n \n Demonstrated experience creating comprehensive Solution Design Documents and end-to-end architecture diagrams.\n \n \n Experience designing solutions across cloud, SaaS, on-premises, and third-party environments.\n \n \n Experience with application integration technologies, APIs, middleware, event-driven architectures, managed file transfer, and data exchange patterns.\n \n \n Working knowledge of networking concepts including firewalls, DNS, routing, proxies, ports, protocols, certificates, load balancing, and private connectivity.\n \n \n Experience defining application environments, infrastructure dependencies, deployment requirements, and operational support needs.\n \n \n Experience reviewing technical designs developed by system integrators, managed service providers, and software vendors.\n \n \n Experience identifying non-functional requirements and translating them into actionable solution designs.\n \n \n Experience coordinating contributions from infrastructure, cybersecurity, data, integration, application, and operations specialists.\n \n \n Ability to identify technical requirements and risks from business-focused discussions.\n \n \n Understanding of cybersecurity principles, secure solution design, identity and access management, and data protection.\n \n \n Strong communication, facilitation, influence, negotiation, critical-thinking, and stakeholder-management skills.\n \n \n Ability to challenge incomplete designs, resolve ambiguity, and drive cross-functional technical decisions to closure.\n \n \n Ability to manage multiple assignments and effectively prioritize work.\n \n\nPreferred Qualifications\n\n \n Experience with application portfolio management, application rationalization, modernization, or cloud migration.\n \n \n Experience with Azure Integration Services, MuleSoft, Boomi, Informatica, or comparable integration platforms.\n \n \n Experience with microservices, container platforms, and modern cloud-native architectures.\n \n \n Experience applying Agile, DevOps, and IT service management practices.\n \n \n Experience supporting large-scale technology transformation programs.\n \n \n Experience in utility industry systems and business processes.\n \n \n Experience with architecture repositories and diagramming tools.\n \n \n TOGAF, Azure Architecture, AWS Architecture, SAP Architecture, CISSP, or related architecture certifications.\n \n\nExpected Outcomes\n\n \n Complete, accurate, and implementation-ready Solution Design Documents.\n \n \n Technical requirements and dependencies identified early enough to prevent avoidable delivery delays.\n \n \n Clear architecture decisions, risks, assumptions, exceptions, ownership, and approval status.\n \n \n Consistent integration of application, integration, infrastructure, network, cybersecurity, data, and operational requirements.\n \n \n Partner and provider technical designs reviewed for completeness and alignment.\n \n \n Solutions aligned with enterprise standards and approved target-state direction.\n \n \n Fewer design-related issues during testing, deployment, and production transition.\n \n \n Effective transition of implemented solutions to accountable support and operations teams.\n \n \n Architecture artifacts maintained throughout implementation and stored in appropriate repositories.\n \n\nPay rate: $\n\nPlease click on the link below for our company benefits\n is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under Illinois state or federal law. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, and employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and business needs.