Enterprise Solutions Architect

Enterprise Domain/Solutions Architect Infrastructure

Client: Fortune 500 Utility Client

Location: Houston, TX

Employment Type: Contract to hire hybrid

Compensation: DOE

Job Summary

The Enterprise Domain Architect for Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in defining and driving the enterprise-wide infrastructure architecture vision, strategy, and framework to support our client's business objectives. This role focuses on designing and optimizing infrastructure solutions across on-premises environments, cloud hosting, networking, integration, data storage, and data lakes ensuring scalability, security, and alignment with business goals.

The architect collaborates closely with business stakeholders, IT teams, and solution architects to create a cohesive infrastructure architecture aligned with the TOGAF framework, emphasizing the technology domain. This role establishes governance standards, integration patterns, and reusable components to enable efficient, resilient, and future-ready infrastructure solutions.

Additionally, this position anticipates industry trends, evaluates emerging technologies, and provides thought leadership to continuously optimize CenterPoint s technology ecosystem. The Enterprise Domain Architect guides domain, platform, and solution architects, fostering reusability and consistency across design and delivery. They lead proof-of-concept initiatives for new technologies and communicate findings to shape the enterprise roadmap. Success requires strategic vision, excellent communication skills, and the ability to balance technical expertise with business acumen to deliver measurable business value.

Essential Functions:

• Define and maintain the enterprise infrastructure architecture strategy, covering on-premises, cloud hosting (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), networking, integration, data storage, and data lakes, in alignment with business objectives.
• Oversee enterprise infrastructure roadmaps and ensure alignment with TOGAF technology domain principles and business goals.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into modern, scalable technical solutions.
• Develop and maintain high-level infrastructure reference models, including network topology, cloud architecture, storage frameworks, and data lake designs.
• Establish and enforce governance processes for security, compliance, and performance optimization in line with TOGAF standards.
• Lead architectural reviews to ensure adherence to standards, best practices, and enterprise policies.
• Optimize the infrastructure landscape by reducing redundancies, enhancing integration, and improving system performance and accessibility.
• Promote reuse of infrastructure components, configurations, and patterns to accelerate deployments and improve efficiency.
• Evaluate and lead proof-of-concept initiatives for emerging technologies (e.g., hybrid cloud, software-defined networking, lakehouse architectures, edge computing) to inform the enterprise roadmap.
• Maintain enterprise architecture tools and repositories (e.g., LeanIX, iServer) to support governance and portfolio management.
• Act as a liaison between domain, platform, and solution architects to ensure strategic alignment.
• Drive the Architecture Community of Practice to promote thought leadership, share trends, and foster cross-team collaboration.
• Develop and document infrastructure architecture standards and guidelines, including TOGAF-aligned best practices.
• Communicate strategic infrastructure initiatives and business drivers to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Manage the infrastructure portfolio, including identifying upgrade needs, cloud migrations, training, and new technology initiatives.
• Support the Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) by ensuring infrastructure reliability and availability during critical operations.
• Provide guidance through Technology Innovation Reviews, Architectural Review Boards, and Engineering Reviews to enforce standards.
• Influence consistent design and implementation practices to maintain quality across deployments.
• Identify and address areas for improvement, such as performance bottlenecks or legacy system constraints, and integrate these enhancements into future plans.

Education:

• Bachelor s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field from an accredited college or university required.
• Master s degree preferred.

Professional Experience:

• Minimum of 12 years of IT experience, including at least 7 years in enterprise infrastructure architecture.
• Deep expertise in infrastructure architecture, spanning on-premises data centers, cloud hosting (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), networking (e.g., SD-WAN, VPNs), integration (e.g., APIs, middleware), data storage (e.g., SAN, NAS, object storage), and data lakes/lakehouse architectures.
• Proven ability to architect and manage enterprise infrastructure roadmaps aligned with business objectives and TOGAF standards.
• Strong knowledge of TOGAF standards and their application to infrastructure architecture and governance.
• Expertise in infrastructure governance, security, and compliance (especially within regulated industries).
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions (e.g., business units, application teams, data, security) to deliver integrated solutions.
• Experience with enterprise architecture tools (e.g., LeanIX, iServer) and infrastructure management platforms (e.g., VMware, Terraform, Kubernetes).
• Strong knowledge of cloud-native architectures, hybrid cloud strategies, and containerization technologies.
• Familiarity with compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, utility-specific regulations) related to infrastructure.
• Hands-on experience with infrastructure modeling tools and methodologies (e.g., Visio, ArchiMate) and enterprise architecture frameworks.
• TOGAF certification required; cloud certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert) highly preferred.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to resolve complex infrastructure challenges and make strategic decisions.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.
• Experience in the electric and gas utility sector or other regulated industries strongly preferred.

Brooksource provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, citizenship, disability, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.