IT Architect, Perm role in Cleveland, OH

Lead Integration Architect

The Lead Integration Architect is part of the Enterprise Digital Platform Services organization and is responsible for leading the design of Digital Integration solutions and the optimal information flow between systems across the enterprise. The incumbent is skilled at Cloud Native Integration middleware platforms, modern Integration patterns and technologies that support the patterns.

The Lead Integration Architect's role is to Architect, plan, coordinate and supervise all the activities in support of a Digital Integration Layer product for the Enterprise. Responsible for developing and maintaining Integration reference architectures ensuring patterns and associated technology choices are appropriate and modern. Proven communication skills, problem-solving skills, and knowledge of integration patterns, methodologies and best practices are critical to successful performance in this role.

The Lead Integration Architect will utilize an extended broad range of technical and functional process knowledge to deliver architectures and design support across multiple initiatives, as well as consultative technical and functional leadership across the organization, from strategic decision making to project planning to architectural governance and oversight. Expected be a reliable technical professional that can handle job responsibilities autonomously. Engage key stakeholders across the enterprise as well as vendor partnerships; be highly collaborative; drive communication to the application, architecture, and software delivery teams; and apply analytical and problem-solving skills to help identify and design solutions to systems problems.

Essential Functions

Strategy & Planning

• Develop standards and guidelines to guide Digital product and platform teams in the use of the right and modern Digital Integrations

• Client down the roadmap for the Digital Integration Layer Technical product and help Enablement groups to build re-usable technical products for seamless adoption by the Enterprise

• Take responsibility for driving the Digital Transformation in the Integration space and avoid roadblocks for adoption.

• Develop strategies and plans for breaking Integration platform components into reusable technical products

• Provide leadership, direction, and accountability for strategic architecture plans, system design, and implementation standards.

• Provide consulting and technology recommendations to modernize technology, help mature existing capabilities, or enable new capabilities.

• Work in synchronization with the Sherwin-Williams overall architecture practice to coordinate the integration by interpreting, modifying and/or producing documented integration frameworks or architectures for a global over-all fabric of integrated systems, in alignment with responsibilities as defined by a published Architecture Job Family.

• Ensure that integration projects meet business requirements and goals, fulfill end-user requirements, and identify and resolve systems issues.

• Ensure that integration planning and practices are aligned with strategic business goals and the company's overall strategic vision.

• Facilitate the process of defining and publishing standards, best practices, capabilities, and roadmap synchronized with the overall enterprise future state architecture.

• Drive competencies in the integration towards cloud-based and iPaaS solutions to more sharply focus enterprise value delivered in the IT stack.

• Collaborate with other development teams across the organization to share technical approaches, recommended tools, and subject matter expertise

• Mentor and coach developers, Professional Apprentices, or other team members.

• Supports Work on complex and diverse projects, which can include several applications, cross-functional teams and hybrid, mix of technologies.

• Identifies and evaluates industry trends in application technologies, to serve as a source of information and advice for upper management. Research tools to identify those that can best help serve the needs of clients.

Acquisition & Deployment

• Prepares the collection of metrics, prepares ROI analysis and budget proposals to initiate the acquisition of appropriate tools, applications, and services.

• Plans and organizes tasks, reports progress, manages and coordinates with consultants for implementations.

• Build relationships with software development and engineering teams to gain an understanding of application architectures and required functionality.

• Develops processes, guidelines and framework for rapid development and deployment of services.

• Provide strategic consultation to peers in defining and designing capabilities, processes, functions, and organizational structures.

• Plan, coordinate and implement security measures to safeguard information against accidental or unauthorized damage, modification, or disclosure.

• Conduct proof of concepts for potential solutions and facilitate evaluation of integration tools with vendors.

Operational Management

• Lead efforts to develop and maintain the architectural assets for the department.

• Participate as a member of Architectural Review Boards that ensures that technology decisions are properly vetted.

• Synchronization with other Architect roles through participation and collaboration with the Architecture Community is critical for the success of this role.

• Provide regular, clear, and consistent communication (written and oral) on the status of projects, issues, and deliverables to representatives from the customer/vendor.

• Provide guidelines on operational processes to ensure projects and RTB activities held to appropriate frameworks.

• Develop and maintain understanding of key processes, schedules, cycles, profiles, etc. for the technical systems in use by business.

• Partner with vendor technical support to facilitate analysis of and resolution to technical issues for customers.

Incidental Functions

• Assist with projects as may be required to contribute to efficiency and effectiveness of the work.

• Proven ability and initiative to learn and research new concepts, ideas, and technologies quickly.

• Facilitate meetings and follow up with resulting action items.

• Maintain current knowledge of the technology workspace in terms of current state, future possibilities, forthcoming technologies, and their relevance and impact.

• Act as a Technical Expert in the discovery and investigation of critical production problems as required.

• Conduct research into new applications, tools, components, and frameworks.

• Make presentations to management, clients, and peer groups as requested.

• Up to 25% travel as required (domestic and international).

• Work outside the standard office 7.5-hour workday as required.

Position Requirements

Formal Education & Certification

• Bachelor's degree (or foreign equivalent) in a Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Information Technology field of study (e.g., Information Technology, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Computer Systems Management, Mathematics) or equivalent experience.

Knowledge & Experience

• 12+ years IT experience.

• 8+ years of architecture experience in system and software design.

• 8+ years of experience in Integration and Integration Architecture, or related technologies.

• Comprehensive experience with event / message brokers, preferably cloud-native.

• Comprehensive experience with EDA (Event Driven Architecture) and platforms such as Kafka, Azure Integration Services, Confluent, Solace etc.

• Significant experience handling Pub/Sub models especially in a cloud environment

• Thorough understanding of Distributed Systems architecture, REST-API's/Web Services, XML and API Security

• Experience with microservices / API's

• Experience handling logging, error handling, security, monitoring in a distributed system design

• Experience with designing and developing complex interfaces using various integration platforms.

• Experience with modern integration patterns, techniques, and technologies

• Experience with cloud technology and platforms

• Demonstrated ability to analyze existing technical architectures and recommend and implement alternatives about tools, technologies, and approaches to their use.

• Adept at IT operations, Agile Methodology, Software Development Lifecycle, LEAN, and Systems Architectures.

• Experience with Boomi, OIC, Azure, Azure API, Oracle SOA suite, IBM IIB/MQ, Talend/ODI, Application servers, or similar platforms.

• Experience in analyzing functional system requirements and designing and developing solutions that fulfill business requirements.

Preferred Knowledge

• Knowledge of database canonical data models and metadata management tools is a plus

• Knowledge of data warehouse, data lake and search data store in support of a data management layer

• Knowledge of identity and security solutions or other implementation methodology

• Strong experience in project management and system architecture methodologies, Agile or Lean training.

• Exposure to application security technologies and approaches.

• Understand and execute the IT processes of Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, and Configuration Management.

Personal Attributes

• Excellent written and oral communications skills.

• Exceptional systems/process orientation with demonstrated analytical thinking, organization and problem-solving skills.

• Exceptional ability and initiative to learn and research new concepts, ideas, and technologies quickly.

• Ability to work in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

• Ability to present ideas in user-friendly language;