Software Architect (ECM) - Pontiac, MI

Role Overview

Here’s what I need: I want an architect who can help us transform how departments manage documents, information, and electronic workflows. I do not want someone who simply takes an existing paper process and recreates it electronically in Laserfiche; I need someone who starts with the business problem, challenges the current process, redesigns it where appropriate, architects the workflow end to end, integrates the necessary systems, and then determines the right technology to support it.

Top 3 Required Skills / Qualifications

• Broad enterprise document management / electronic workflow expertise
• Strong experience with enterprise document management and electronic document workflows.
• Must understand the broader EDMS/ECM space—not just the products we currently use.
• Needs meaningful experience across multiple document-management technologies and approaches.
• I do not want someone who has spent their entire career working with only one platform.
• Laserfiche experience is useful, but Laserfiche alone is not enough.
• Business process analysis and redesign
• Must be able to work directly with business departments and understand what they are actually trying to accomplish.
• Needs to determine where information originates, who uses it, where it goes, what decisions and approvals are required, what systems are involved, and where data could be captured earlier.
• Must be willing to challenge the existing process: Why are we collecting information this way? Can we eliminate steps? Can data come directly from another source? Can we eliminate the document entirely?
• The goal is process transformation, not simply digitizing an inefficient paper workflow.
• End-to-end solution architecture and systems integration
• Must be able to architect the complete workflow from beginning to end.
• Needs experience with solution architecture, systems integration, document capture, metadata/indexing, workflow automation, and business requirements gathering.
• Must understand how the document-management component fits with the other applications and systems a department uses.
• Should be able to recommend the appropriate technology rather than automatically implementing whatever tool is already in place.
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What I Need This Architect to Accomplish

A number of our departments are still heavily dependent on paper. Historically, our approach has essentially been to take the existing paper process, run the document through Kofax, extract fields for indexing, send it into Laserfiche, and reproduce the same workflow electronically.

That is exactly the mindset I want to move beyond. We have sometimes electronified the paper without improving the underlying business process.

I want this architect to:

• Start by understanding the actual business requirement.
• Analyze the existing process before selecting technology.
• Determine where information originates and where it needs to go.
• Understand who consumes the information and what decisions or approvals occur.
• Identify unnecessary steps.
• Determine whether information can be captured earlier in the process.
• Determine whether data can come directly from another system or source.
• Identify opportunities for automation.
• Determine whether the document itself can be eliminated.
• Determine how the workflow should integrate with other applications.
• Decide whether Laserfiche is appropriate or another technology would be better.
• Architect the complete business and technology workflow.
• Only then determine where document management belongs within the overall solution.
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Existing Solutions Are Also in Scope

This is not just about designing new workflows. I also want this person to look at solutions we have already implemented.

Historically, many followed the same pattern: receive a document, process it through Kofax, extract index fields, and put it into Laserfiche. I now recognize that this does not always produce the best overall solution.

The architect should be able to evaluate existing implementations and determine:

• What should stay as-is.
• What needs to change.
• What should be broken apart.
• What could be automated differently.
• What should integrate with another application.
• Where Laserfiche may not be the right answer.
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Technology Background

Multiple Platforms Matter

I specifically want someone with experience across multiple tools. Experience matters more than having a particular title or being an expert in only one platform.

Technologies discussed as relevant backgrounds included:

• Laserfiche
• Kofax / Tungsten Automation
• Hyland OnBase
• OpenText
• IBM FileNet
• SharePoint
• Power Automate
• DocuWare
• M-Files
• Adobe Acrobat Sign
• DocuSign

These were discussed as technologies that could appear in the background of this type of candidate; they were not all stated as individual requirements.

Kofax / Tungsten Automation

Kofax is part of our current document-ingestion process. It examines documents, identifies information within them, and extracts specific fields that can then be used as indexing information.

I do not necessarily need someone whose career has been centered on Kofax, but someone strong in this field should understand what Kofax is, understand document capture, and understand how it fits into an EDMS workflow.

Strong Kofax/Tungsten Automation experience would be an added benefit. Candidates may still list Kofax on their resumes because the Tungsten branding is newer.

Differentiating / Preferred Skills

Candidates will stand out if they bring:

• Experience across multiple EDMS/ECM/content-management platforms.
• Laserfiche experience.
• Strong Kofax / Tungsten Automation experience.
• Experience with platforms such as OnBase, OpenText, FileNet, SharePoint, Power Automate, DocuWare, or M-Files.
• Experience redesigning business processes rather than simply migrating or digitizing documents.
• Experience evaluating existing EDMS implementations and recommending a different architecture where appropriate.
• The ability to work with business departments while also having the technical depth to architect integrations and workflows.
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Candidate Mindset / What Separates the Right Person

The right person needs to think business process first, architecture second, technology third.

They should naturally ask questions such as:

• What problem are we actually solving?
• Why does the process work this way today?
• Why are we collecting this information this way?
• Can we capture the information earlier?
• Can another system provide the data directly?
• What steps can we eliminate?
• Can we eliminate the document entirely?
• What systems need to communicate?
• Does this belong in Laserfiche?
• Would another EDMS/ECM technology be better?
• Does the solution even require a traditional document repository?