Springer Nature (SN) is seeking to hire an Enterprise Solution Architect to join our Enterprise Architecture team. 

In close partnership with the solution architects in our Technology and Operations teams, you will provide the thought leadership and the analytical- and design expertise necessary to enable the management of the organisation's portfolio of "as is" and "to be" solutions.  This includes programmes/projects; systems (including applications, technologies, processes, and information); shared infrastructure and cloud services; shared application services; and shared security services across the organisation.

As a member of the Enterprise Architecture team, you’ll build relationships with both business and technology stakeholders.  You’ll participate in our Architecture Community of Practice where you will communicate the value of core architectural approaches.  You’ll also ensure that solutions can meet business needs and align with architectural policies and standards.

In this role, you will:

• Support the Chief Architect and VP of Engineering.  You’ll also work closely with the Enterprise Architecture team in leading the development of solution architectures in business-, technical- and functional domain areas.

• Identify and evaluate alternative architectures and the trade-offs in cost, performance and scalability.  You’ll need to determine and document architecturally significant decisions.

• Support product development-, project- and change initiatives through the preparation of technical plans and the application of approved technical strategies, policies, standards and practices (including security).

• Provide technical guidance and governance on solution development and integration.  You’ll also need to evaluate requests for changes and deviations from specifications and provide recommendations for action.

Springer Nature will operate a “bench rotation scheme” with architects in our business domains for this role.  This will enable you to gain first-hand knowledge and experience working with technical teams from across the organisation by spending time embedded directly with them.  You’ll need to collaborate closely with the architectural community on common initiatives; help drive the alignment and evolution with the necessary guardrails to promote technical consistency and best practice; and provide guidance and coaching from learnings in other domains.

What You Will Be Doing:

Interpreting Business Needs

• Translating business and technical requirements into solution options and architectures that will achieve strategic business objectives (yet also address immediate needs) in accordance with agreed standards.
• Working closely with our business stakeholders to ensure a robust architectural foundation that can support future business requirements throughout the product life-cycle.  You’ll also promote and support a technical strategy that will evolve our architecture into the desired vision.
• Clarifying the impact of technical constraints, trade-offs, or important non-functional decisions to non-technical stakeholders whilst remaining cognisant of, and sensitive to, the product direction established within the business domains

Assessing Technology

• Monitoring the current-state solution portfolio to identify deficiencies and risks associated with ageing technologies and/or misalignment with current business needs.
• Supporting product managers in end-of-life product decision-making, including determinations to maintain-, refresh-, or retire: services, systems, applications, technologies, processes, and/or information.
• Consulting with our Engineering Enablement, Cloud and Infrastructure teams to inform solution architecture plans and, in so doing, incorporate their technical requirements and opportunities for delivering business benefits.
• Engaging with technical leads to review technical options (e.g. tools, practices, principles, etc.) that will inform solution architecture plans.

Applying Technology

• Building and maintaining relationships with programme managers, product owners and other stakeholders (both across and between domains) to support teams in planning, coordinating and rolling out architectural changes.
• Leading the evaluation, design and analysis for the implementation of a solution architecture across a group of specific business applications or technologies.
• Ensuring the execution of plans corresponds with the approved architectural direction throughout the project or product lifecycle.
• Providing teams with technical and architectural consulting support across a broad range of technologies, platforms and vendor offerings.  You’ll also support application architects within agile teams to ensure alignment with the overall enterprise architecture.
• Fostering a safe and collaborative technical community, growing technical knowledge and cultivating knowledge sharing in and across teams

Providing Enterprise Guidance

With the knowledge you gain over time through your work with the business domain/product delivery teams and in close collaboration with the Architecture Community of Practice (CoP) and the Enterprise Architecture and Portfolio team, you will be:

• Identifying practical opportunities to exploit emerging technologies and market trends; assessing potential risks from legacy technologies and technical debt in the current portfolio.
• Defining guiding principles, standards and patterns, in partnership with the Enterprise Architecture team, and directing governance activities to assure compliant solution architectures.
• Developing and continuously adapting a roadmap for the evolution of the enterprise solution portfolio from current to future state, as defined by the solutions architectures.
• Supporting an architectural Community of Practice (CoP), guiding and helping delivery teams and product owners to align with the overall enterprise architecture governance and assurance.
• Working closely with the Portfolio Operations team to ensure a healthy application/solution portfolio.
• Seeking continuous improvement in our product-building capabilities by encouraging closer collaboration across- and between technical disciplines, product teams, and other stakeholders

Skills Required for the Role

Your Experience

• You have a degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, system analysis or a related field, or equivalent experience
• You have a minimum of five years of experience in at least two IT solution development disciplines, including application/software development, infrastructure and networks, Cloud and platform services, database management or others
• You have been exposed to multiple, diverse technologies, platforms, and processing environments in your past career stations
• You have a good understanding of strategic and emerging technology trends and the practical application of existing and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models
• You have a good understanding of product management, agile principles and development methodologies and the capability of supporting delivery teams by providing advice and guidance on opportunities, impact, and risks, taking account of technical and architectural debt
• You have experience developing architecture blueprints, strategies, and roadmaps
• You have experience delivering presentations to senior-level executives and technical audiences

Your Capabilities and Competencies

• In your current and past career stations, you have been a thought leader in the solution architecture space who can influence and persuade business and technology leaders as well as cross-functional product development teams
• You are technology-agnostic in your work and remain unbiased towards specific technologies and neutral to vendor hype (favouring business benefits over personal preferences)
• You are motivated and driven by achieving long-term business outcomes and help develop sustainable solutions for products that our business and customers love
• You are organisationally savvy with the ability to navigate organisational politics
• You have the ability to work effectively in a global team environment and guide cross-functional teams to achieve their objectives within the company policies, standards and guidelines
• In your role, you understand the concepts of business objectives and business outcomes, business capabilities, value-streams, and business processes and their importance in solution architecture.
• You are skilled at influencing, guiding and facilitating stakeholders and peers with decision-making making and you can articulate new ideas and concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
• You understand the big picture and long-term as well as short-term perspectives and you are able to translate future-state business capabilities and requirements into solution architecture requirements
• You can propose and estimate the financial impact of solution architecture alternatives and provide an impact analysis and cost/value view of the different options
• You work analytically as well as creatively to solve business problems and propose adequate solutions with the customer in mind
• You can quickly assess and grasp the functions and capabilities as well as the opportunities and risks of new technologies

Your Experience So Far Includes

• Excellent written and spoken command of the English language
• Excellent written, verbal, communication and presentation skills with the ability to articulate new ideas and concepts to senior-level executives, non-technical business stakeholders and technical audiences alike.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including community building and facilitation.
  • Ability to work with software engineers in an outsourced environment
  • Ability to work with geographically distributed teams in a “remote-first manner”

• You have a degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, system analysis or a related field, or equivalent experience
• You have extensive experience in at least two IT solution development disciplines, including application/software development, infrastructure and networks, Cloud and platform services, database management and others
• You have been exposed to multiple, diverse technologies, platforms, and processing environments in your past career stations
  • Backend development languages like Java, Scala, Kotlin, Python         
  • Database technologies like MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL and MarkLogic
  • Frontend web development languages like JavaScript, HTML and CSS.    
  • Various aspects of a technology architecture like integration, network and security
  • Information principles and processes
  • Solution development life cycle methodologies (such as agile software development, rapid prototyping, DevOps)
  • Knowledge of different modelling languages (e.g. UML and ArchiMate)
  • Understanding of technology standards and controls
  • Excellent understanding of application development methodologies and infrastructure and network architecture

• You have a good understanding of strategic and emerging technology trends and the practical application of existing and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models
• You have a good understanding of product management, agile principles and development methodologies and the capability to support delivery teams by providing advice and guidance on opportunities, impact, and risks, taking account of technical and architectural debt
• You have experience developing architecture blueprints, strategies, and roadmaps
• Experience in the Publishing industry is desirable but not a must.

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