Solution Architect

Job Description - Solution Architect (16000888D20240910)

Solution Architect (Job Number: 16000888D20240910)

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London, UK

We invent the new to help the world move forward. Combining powerful analytics and deeper insights with bigger ideas and innovative solutions, we free up our clients’ potential, thereby fulfilling our own. Take it seriously. Make it fun. Know it matters.

As we develop an enterprise-wide data and digital strategy that moves us toward greater focus on the use of data and data-driven insights, we are seeking a Data & Digital Solutions Architect. The Data & Digital Solutions Architect is a hands-on, execution-focused role helping translate the data and digital strategy to architecture and to execution. In this role, you will have an understanding of our data and analytical systems at a granular level and function as organizational data and digital architecture subject matter expert for our various projects.

Your expertise in Discrete Data, API & Modular Design will help guide solutions for: distributed, domain-driven, event-driven, and microservices data architectures; enterprise and canonical data models for data domains and events; mediating event, API and microservices communication; reusable common data and digital services (e.g. document management, OCR, NLP, search); and internal and external consumption of our APIs and personalized experiences.

• Understanding of AXA XL’s existing architecture
• Understand user requirements (desired output & outcome) and existing environments (current state), and translate these into an architecture and road map
• Collaborate with customers, analysts, other architects, modelers, developers, testers, partners, and vendors
• Guide the full lifecycle of a Solution, including:
• Understand the Business Capabilities that are required and translate this to Technical Capabilities and Solution Architecture
• Assist the customer (and business solutions analysts) to define and declare non-functional requirements for building out solution capabilities
• Design AXA XL’s architecture and solutions to meet business requirements in a manner that balances architectural standards, and implementation and operational risks, with restricted parameters such as budget and time
• Document solution interactions and relationships, along with basic infrastructure and application onboarding requirements
• Assist in the creation of cost estimates including implementation as well as total cost of ownership
• Ensure the future-state solutions have been fully vetted, are performant and scalable, enable agility, can be supported, are cost-effective and highly available, and meet the robust needs of the business
• Ensure security by design to meet Information Security policies, Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Regulatory requirements, and industry best practice
• Assess vendor tools based on required capabilities, future capabilities, and architecture drivers, and document justification for tool selection
• Be hands-on to demonstrate tools, patterns, security, performance, scalability, etc. in a lab environment when necessary
• Work with quality assurance team to ensure the testing approach is appropriate for the given architecture and solution
• Lead design reviews (pre-development) and implementation reviews (post-development) to ensure principles and standards are followed, and that technical debt is managed
• Create a feedback loop for those who are implementing and interacting with the solutions
• Participate in the definition of adoption and experience metrics for the solution to measure the success of the solution
• Present architecture decisions, explain the end-to-end solution, educate others how they can contribute, and provide guidance on tool usage
• Extract best-practice knowledge, reference architectures, and patterns for sharing with the broader community of Architects at AXA XL and/or AXA Group
• Document cost and performance metrics for different design patterns, and provide project teams the ability to decide the most appropriate pattern for their requirements, timeline, and budget
• Participate in the definition and maintenance of Architecture principles and artifacts
• Engage with tool vendors on their roadmaps and appropriate usage of their tools
• Engage with industry experts to validate the architecture and designs, and understand industry trends
• Document data flow and storage mechanisms and provide examples to data developers when necessary
• Work with data modelers to ensure modeling approach is appropriate for the given data architecture and solution
• Good to have experience with enterprise API and Event driven architecture

You will report to the Principal Solution Architect – Integration and Interoperability.

We’re looking for someone who has these abilities and skills:

• Receive general direction with clear accountability
• Guide and mentor project & team colleagues and provides advice on strategic issues
• Work on complex issues/problems or assignments of large scope, impact, and importance where business acumen, leadership, or ingenuity are required to maintain strategic alignment
• Resolve problems requiring application of advanced skill, training, and education
• Well established experience within relevant architecture roles
• Possess broad insurance and deep architecture expertise and knowledge
• Understand & be able to communicate business problems & technical solutions in appropriate terminology
• Awareness & consideration of business dynamics/political sensitivities
• Excellent presentation, communication (oral & written), and relationship building skills, across all levels of management
• Strong Organizational skills with attention to detail and ability to handle change
• Excellent problem solving and analysis skills
• Must be able to work well under pressure and consistently meet deadlines
• Ability to work as part of a team or to be self-directed as required
• Practiced at working as part of a global team (including outsourcing) spanning multiple time zones
• Knowledge and active use of Agile, SCRUM and Continuous Delivery
• Understand cultural differences and be effective working in a diverse environment
• Passion for learning and prepared to go the “extra mile”
• You care about what you do, and what we do
• Passion for data and experience working within a data driven organization
• Hands-on experience with architecting, implementing, and performance tuning of:
• Data Lake technologies (e.g. Delta Lake, Parquet, Spark, Databricks)
• API & Microservices
• Message queues, streaming technologies, and event driven architecture
• NoSQL databases and query languages
• Data domain and event data models
• Data Modelling
• Logging and monitoring
• Container and Container Orchestration
• UX and UI
• Azure cloud platform environment
• Data access control and security
• Integration and Data Pipeline/ETL/ELT technologies
• DevOps and CI/CD

AXA XL, the P&C and specialty risk division of AXA, is known for solving complex risks. For mid-sized companies, multinationals, and even some inspirational individuals we don’t just provide re/insurance, we reinvent it.

How? By combining a comprehensive and efficient capital platform, data-driven insights, leading technology, and the best talent in an agile and inclusive workspace, empowered to deliver top client service across all our lines of business − property, casualty, professional, financial lines and specialty.

With an innovative and flexible approach to risk solutions, we partner with those who move the world forward.

AXA XL is committed to equal employment opportunity and will consider applicants regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and origins, marital status, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

At AXA XL, we know that an inclusive culture and a diverse workforce enable business growth and are critical to our success. That’s why we have made a strategic commitment to attract, develop, advance and retain the most diverse workforce possible, and create an inclusive culture where everyone can bring their full selves to work and can reach their highest potential.

• Five Business Resource Groups focused on gender, LGBTQ+, ethnicity and origins, disability and inclusion with 20 Chapters around the globe
• Robust support for Flexible Working Arrangements
• Enhanced family friendly leave benefits
• Named to the Diversity Best Practices Index
• Signatory to the UK Women in Finance Charter

At AXA XL, Sustainability is integral to our business strategy. In an ever-changing world, AXA XL protects what matters most for our clients and communities. We know that sustainability is at the root of a more resilient future.