JOB TITLE: Solution Architect – Retail Applications and Digital Solutions
JOB OVERVIEW
Location: Niles, IL
Duration: 6 Months - CONTRACT ([POSSIBLE EXTENTION] / [NO BENEFITS])
Work model: Hybrid, onsite 3 days per week (Tuesday to Thursday)
JOB SUMMARY: This role defines and guides the architecture of retail applications and digital solutions. The architect works closely with customer stakeholders, in-house technology teams and offshore delivery teams to design scalable, secure, reliable and maintainable solutions aligned with business requirements.
The architect provides technical leadership across application development, system integrations, cloud platforms, data architecture and application modernization, ensuring consistent solution design and adherence to enterprise technology standards. The architect owns end-to-end design, integrations and modernization of retail and distribution systems, sets technical standards, runs design reviews, and works with customer teams and offshore developers.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Solution Architecture and Design
- Define end-to-end solution architecture based on business requirements, existing systems and enterprise standards.
- Translate functional and non-functional requirements into technical architecture, design specifications and implementation guidelines.
- Evaluate solution options, assess feasibility, and recommend appropriate technologies and architectural patterns.
- Define application components, integration patterns, data flows, security mechanisms and deployment architecture.
- Ensure solutions are scalable, resilient, secure, maintainable and cost-effective.
Application and Integration Architecture
- Design solutions involving web applications, APIs, cloud services, databases, workflow automation and enterprise systems.
- Define integration approaches across applications, data platforms and third-party systems.
- Establish standards for API design, authentication, error handling, logging, monitoring and exception management.
- Guide application modernization, re-platforming and migration initiatives.
- Ensure effective integration with existing retail and distribution systems.
Technology Leadership and Governance
- Provide technical guidance to development teams, and review solution designs, code quality and implementation approaches.
- Establish reusable architectural patterns, technical standards and best practices.
- Conduct architecture and design reviews at key stages of implementation.
- Identify technical risks, scalability constraints, performance bottlenecks and architectural gaps.
- Ensure adherence to security, compliance, availability, performance and disaster recovery requirements.
- Guide technology selection and evaluate trade-offs involving cost, complexity, maintainability and business value.
Performance, Reliability and Operational Excellence
- Define non-functional requirements and measurable acceptance criteria for performance, availability, scalability and security.
- Review performance test results and recommend architectural improvements where required.
- Define monitoring, logging, alerting, backup and recovery approaches.
- Support root-cause analysis of complex production issues and recommend long-term architectural solutions.
- Promote design practices that improve application stability, reduce recurring incidents and simplify maintenance.
Stakeholder and Delivery Collaboration
- Work with business analysts, project managers, product owners and customer technology teams to validate solution requirements.
- Collaborate with onsite stakeholders and offshore development teams to ensure consistent understanding of architecture and design decisions.
- Provide technical estimates, identify dependencies and support delivery planning.
- Review implementation progress and resolve architecture-related blockers.
- Communicate technical options, risks and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- 12 or more years of experience in software engineering, application architecture or technology solution delivery, with demonstrated experience in solution architecture.
- Strong experience designing enterprise applications, APIs, integrations and cloud-based solutions.
- Experience with Microsoft Azure services and cloud architecture.
- Experience with Angular, .NET/C#, SQL Server, REST APIs and enterprise integration patterns.
- Understanding of identity management, single sign-on, role-based access control, application security and data protection.
- Experience with performance engineering, scalability, availability, monitoring and production support.
- Familiarity with CI/CD, source control, automated testing and DevOps practices.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, technical documentation and stakeholder communication skills.
DESIRABLE SKILLS
- Experience with Microsoft Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power Automate and Dataverse.
PREFERRED DOMAIN EXPERIENCE
- Retail, consumer goods, beverage distribution or supply chain applications.
- Point-of-sale (POS), demand forecasting, inventory management, order management, sales operations and distribution systems.
- Enterprise application integrations and cloud-based digital transformation.
- Application modernization and migration from legacy or low-code platforms to web-based solutions.
KEY DELIVERABLES
- Solution Architecture Document: end-to-end architecture, components, technology choices and design rationale.
- High-Level and Low-Level Designs: component designs, data flows, APIs, integration patterns and implementation details.
- Architecture Diagrams: application landscape, deployment topology, integrations and data-flow diagrams.
- Non-Functional Requirements: performance, scalability, availability, security and recovery requirements with measurable acceptance criteria.
- Integration Specifications: API contracts, authentication, error handling, retry mechanisms and interface dependencies.
- Technical Standards and Guidelines: reusable patterns, coding guidelines, security standards and architecture principles.
- Technical Risk and Dependency Register: architecture risks, constraints, dependencies, mitigation actions and ownership.
- Architecture Review Outcomes: design review findings, decisions, action items and resolution tracking.
- Performance and Reliability Recommendations: assessment findings and actionable improvements for identified bottlenecks or operational issues.
- Modernization Roadmaps: recommended architecture improvements, migration approach, sequencing and indicative effort where applicable.
SUCCESS MEASURES
- Solutions meet agreed functional and non-functional requirements.
- Architecture decisions and technical dependencies are identified early, reducing rework and delivery delays.
- Applications show improved performance, scalability, reliability and maintainability against agreed baselines.
- Reusable components and integration patterns reduce duplication and implementation effort.
- Architecture reviews and technical standards improve consistency across applications.
- Production issues caused by architectural weaknesses are reduced over time.
- Solutions align with business priorities, enterprise standards, and agreed cost and delivery constraints.
