Lead Solution Architect/Sr. Solution Architect - Java with Microservices, Any cloud, Kubernetes & Kafka

We are seeking a highly experienced, hands-on coding person and a technically versatile Lead/Senior Cloud Architect to drive the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and resilient cloud-native solutions. This role is pivotal in shaping the architecture of a major enterprise commerce platform, with a strong preference for Microsoft Azure but open to candidates with production-grade experience in AWS or GCP.

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the development of cloud-native systems using microservices and event-driven paradigms
• Design and implement solutions that leverage Kubernetes (preferably AKS) and service mesh technologies like Istio
• Define and enforce architectural standards, patterns, and best practices across engineering teams
• Drive performance optimization initiatives through end-to-end performance testing to ensure system scalability, responsiveness, and reliability across complex, distributed architectures
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment between business goals and technical solutions
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Create and maintain architectural diagrams and documentation with industry-standard tools (e.g., Miro, Gliffy, Draw.io)
• Guide teams through cloud adoption, modernization, and optimization initiatives
• Stay current with emerging technologies and evaluate their applicability to business needs

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in cloud architecture, with a strong preference for the Banking domain
• Proven experience with at least one major cloud provider (Azure, AWS, or GCP) in production environments
• Deep expertise in Kubernetes and container orchestration; Istio or other service mesh experience is a strong plus
• Hands-on experience with NFR, architecture governance, documentation, system design and architectural design. Trade-off
• Databases: CosmosDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, Oracle
• Messaging/Eventing: Kafka, EventHub
• Strong understanding of cloud networking, IAM, security, and infrastructure as code (Terraform, ARM, Bicep)
• Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines. GitHub Actions a plus
• Experience that delivers operational communications (and/or Customer Communication Management (CCM)) in complex, regulated financial services environments
• Ability to produce clear comms “architecture”: define audience segmentation, message intent, channel selection, timing/trigger logic and handoffs between operations, contact center, digital and product teams
• Demonstrated ability to lead architectural discussions and influence technical direction
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in diagramming tools to convey architectural concepts effectively

Nice to have

• Experience with hybrid or multi-cloud environments
• Familiarity with FinOps, observability, and cloud governance
• Background in support of production workloads with high availability and disaster recovery considerations
• Hybris e-commerce