Solutions Architect

1. JOB PURPOSE STATEMENT

We are looking for a Solutions Architect to join our vibrant and exciting team to further develop our information systems. . The Solutions Architect will manage and grow a team of Senior developers and their teams who are responsible for designing, developing, installing, maintaining and supporting new and existing systems. 

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• You will be responsible for providing leadership & subject matter expertise with respect to client engagements; focusing on complex & innovative products and reusable assets 
• Prior to kicking off any project, as part of a product life cycle, you will develop high level solution plans intended to support business and product strategy decisions which means that they must display the appropriate balance between costs, risks and product quality 
• You will be expected to constantly create innovative and practical designs that account for the endto-end technical solution of a system, in line with the business strategy and objectives and within the context of iPay’s technology environment. 
• You will work closely and continuously with the business/client to focus on meeting business/client requirements and incorporating broader aspects such as overall product costs/revenue, data privacy, business continuity, information security, easy integration with other systems, etc. 
• You will ensure that relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices are strictly applied correctly across our technology programs/projects and products to ensure quality assuarance standards are met. 
• We would also expect you to actively contribute to the development of architecture governance structures, methodologies and compliance activities 
• You will work with our vendors to assess their products, understand their delivery models and assist in implementing them at iPay. 
• As a solution architect you will work across multiple projects with varied stakeholders. You will set architectural direction, build consensus between different teams, mediate conflicts, whilst providing technical leadership and advisory services to the business. You will anticipate needs and potential objections and helps to create an environment which solicits positive contributions from all participants: Solution and Technical Architects, engineering teams, product managers, project managers, product analysts, test and project teams, Information Security and Operations. 
• It is expected that you have demonstrable excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills that would be required to operate as a leading member of a global, distributed team to deliver quality services and solutions. 
• We would expect you to be keen to recognize industry technology trends and emerging technologies, and understand how they could potentially apply to iPay and can drive their adoption internally. 
• He/she evangelizes and encourages importance of technical quality, emerging technologies, sharing & experimentation across the org through mentoring, hackathons, communities etc. 
• You will also guide others in resolving complex issues in solution architecture and in solveing complex, escalated aspects of a project 

3. MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

• BSc in Computer Science or a related degree 
• 7+ years as a hands-on Software Developer or Architect in the Payment industry 
• Additional 3+ years as a Technical Lead, hands-on Team-Lead or a Lead Technical Architect 
• Great at providing focused coaching and mentoring, able to separate the important from the unimportant so your coaching is clear and productive 
• Committed to high standards - Continuously push to improve your teams’ performance  Experience with writing and maintaining automated test scripts 
• Expert level experience in one or more Payment sub-domains 
• Strong computer science fundamentals in system design, data structures, algorithms 
• Demonstrable business and/or partners relationship development and management skills 

3.1. Our preferred technology:

• React and Vue.js 
• Golang 
• PHP 
• Java 
• Python 

3.2. Top skills & proficiencies

• Minimum of 7+ years overall IT industry experience 
• Minimum of 5+ years in a solution or technical architect role 
• Experience in the above stated preferred technology as (stated above) 
• Managed the end-to-end lifecycles of a project in solution architect capacity 
• Experience with mission critical technology components with DR capabilities 
• Experience with multi-geography, multi-tier service design and management 
• Extensive experience in financial management, solution plan development and product cost estimation 
• Solid business acumen, management and marketing communication skills 
• Significant experience in presenting ideas, products, concept papers to varied audiences 
• Experience coaching and mentoring others 
• Leadership capability and proven ability to manage difficult stakeholders 
• Experience supporting peer teams and their responsibilities; such as infrastructure, operations, engineering, information security A high level of personal integrity and adherence to high ethical standards are expected of you 

To apply, send your CV to hr@ipayafrica.com with the subject: Solutions Architect Application