Technical Architect

Technical Architect

Location: Boston, MA

6-12 Months Contract

Visa: Independent

15+ years of experience.

We are seeking a Technical Architect to lead the end-to-end architectural design and technical oversight of a major modernization initiative. This role is central to the strategic replatforming effort transitioning from a legacy C/C++ system to a scalable, robust, and cloud-adaptable Java-based architecture.

You will define the Target State Architecture and Blueprint, ensuring alignment with enterprise-wide objectives and technical best practices. As a hands-on and visionary architect, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams across infrastructure, security, development, and operations to shape a secure, high-performance, future-ready platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Architectural Leadership
• Drive the creation of the Target State Architecture and Blueprint, including system interaction models and integration flows.
• Define and validate architecture diagrams, technical patterns, and component interaction models across tiers.
• Provide final sign-off and governance over all architectural deliverables and designs.
• Strategic Implementation Oversight
• Ensure the accurate translation of architecture into implementation throughout the SDLC and production rollout.
• Collaborate with project management, development, QA, and DevOps teams to ensure consistency and technical integrity.
• Lead architecture reviews, risk assessments, and mitigation planning for the modernization program.
• Cross-functional Technical Collaboration
• Act as the primary architectural liaison between platform engineering, web services, security, data, and deployment teams.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to engineers and solution designers involved in the migration.
• Discovery & Migration Planning
• Participate in the Technical Discovery & Blueprint Design phase, defining the platform s long-term architectural roadmap.
• Oversee migration strategies during the Application Migration of Messaging Layer phase, especially around technologies like Apache Kafka.

Required Qualifications

• Professional Experience
• 12+ years in software engineering or architecture roles, with at least 5+ years in enterprise-scale architectural leadership.
• Direct experience leading legacy-to-modern technology transformations, ideally in financial services or other high-availability sectors.
• Hands-on architectural experience with Java platforms, C/C++ systems, Oracle 19c, and enterprise messaging systems.
• Technical Expertise
• Deep knowledge of middleware, message brokers (e.g., Kafka, IBM MQ), and enterprise integration patterns.
• Proven track record in designing scalable, fault-tolerant, and secure microservices-based architectures.
• Solid understanding of performance tuning, HA/DR configurations, and low-latency system design.
• Comfortable working with cloud-native and containerized architectures is a plus.
• Communication & Stakeholder Management
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical concepts into business-aligned strategy.
• Experience engaging with senior stakeholders, architects, and cross-functional technical teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience with API gateway, security protocols (OAuth2, TLS, etc.), and observability tooling.
• Exposure to cloud platforms (Azure) and infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform, Ansible).
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance frameworks relevant to financial institutions.