Solution Architect – Integration Platform

Job Introduction

Are you looking for a new challenge that gives you the chance to get creative and use your knowledge of Platform integration and take our IT Team at Selfridges to the next level?  Looking for a company that wants to help further your career as well as provide you with an exciting, inspiring and fun place to work?  

If the answer to all of these questions is ‘yes’ then you’re just the kind of person we’re looking for! 

Role Responsibility

The Solution Architect – Integration Platforms is accountable for the baseline and target definition of the integration architecture and strategy and its continued evolution. This includes supporting projects in where new integration patterns are required and assuring the architecture and design of these.

This role contributes strongly to the strategic vision, leading the definition of the transition states for integration architecture, integration patterns and supporting the definition of the roadmap for change.

They also work closely with the relevant Enterprise Architects to ensure solutions are aligned to the IT strategy, business design principles, enterprise architecture principles and transition / target state architectures.

In addition, they will also support our evolution to cloud platform architecture and engineering, evolving our strategy and developing our understanding and use of the technologies across our cloud platforms.

Key accountabilities and responsibilities include:

Integration Architecture

• Working closely with Solution Architects, Information Architect and information systems stakeholders where new patterns may be required to define these and add them to our standard patterns where appropriate
• Support integration options evaluation for specific projects, analysis of application and technology impact as well as the cost, risks, benefits and support implications of each option;
• Provide support to our Integration Competency Centre to enable them to design appropriate integrations and assure those designs;
• Working with the Enterprise Architects to ensure that new / amended integration solutions align with the IT strategy, principles, enterprise architecture and integration principles;
• Define and maintain the roadmap to achieve the target integration architecture, aligned to the overall programme.
• Keep knowledge of new integration technologies and patterns up to date and evaluate where these should be embraced within our own integration technologies or designs.

Platform Architecture

• Evaluate technology choices to make impactful decisions about their suitability and use within our estate based on functionality, security and lifecycles.
• Architect services and solutions infrastructure in our cloud platforms (AWS) with a strong emphasis on standardisation and reusability
• Partner with our product managers, architects and engineering partners to identify patterns and platform enablers across our business;
• Support the evolution of our CI/CD and DevOps capability
• Evolve our AWS platform and create presentations to share knowledge and promote understanding of cloud services, best practices and solutions
• Effectively communicate our cloud strategy, benefits of the technology and platform capabilities to our business partners, stakeholders and senior management.

Project Delivery

• Work closely with Enterprise Architects, Information Architect, Solution Architects, Programme Managers, and Workstream Leads to define the key platform and integration architecture patterns to be used.
• Identifying risks exposed by proposed integration solutions, identifying mitigating actions and following them through to closure;
• Participating in project governance, approving solutions and designs and conducting quality assurance as required;

Knowledge Sharing & Thought Leadership

• Ensuring that all relevant information about the baseline, transition and target integration architecture as well as plans and roadmaps is captured in an appropriate format, stored and controlled to promote re-use and consolidation into a single view of the truth;
• Providing a deep knowledge of integration architecture solutions and acting as an informed “challenger” to ensure alternatives have been considered rather than “just doing what we’ve always done”;
• Ensuring that all activities are performed at a consistently high standard with minimal risk to the Selfridges and Co. business and that opportunities to improve services and processes are identified and actioned.
• Provide expert knowledge and guidance on new platforms, technologies and patterns in a way that is easily digested and understood by a wider technical audience
• Providing input into required governance and technical strategies for the relevant technologies, creating papers for presentation at relevant governance forums

Provide thought leadership around CI/CD and DevOps to enable the maturing of the capability and drive its increasing usage in our IT development and management

The Ideal Candidate

• Relevant qualification in systems analysis and design (e.g. BCS Solution Development Diploma or equivalent)
• Awareness of enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g. TOGAF, Zachman)
• Oracle SOA Suite certification
• Cloud architecture experience and/or certification especially in AWS
• Significant experience as an Integration Architect, Integration Designer or equivalent role within an omni-channel retail organisation or a leading Management Consultancy. This will include the definition and delivery of major change using the following integration types: ETL, Web Services, and API’s.
• Exposure to Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Micro Services approach. This will include a deep understanding of the key SOA principles.
• Experience of defining integration design patterns, standards and principles.
• Extended experience in at least two IT disciplines (such as business analysis, application development, middleware, information analysis, technical architecture, service delivery);
• Experience designing and engineering interfaces for applications, both packaged and bespoke, in particular mission critical business applications, distributed and multi-tier applications;
• Experience in supporting project delivery involving both in-house and third-party design, development, testing and project management;
• Experience using modelling tools and techniques to document and manage business, information, applications & technical architectures, e.g. UML, BPMN, Archimate or similar;
• Experience of different delivery lifecycles and service delivery methods will be beneficial, e.g. RUP, Agile, TDD, Waterfall, Prince2, ITIL and similar;
• Experience designing integrations for common retail applications will be beneficial, e.g. Oracle Retail Suite, Retek, WebSphere Commerce / Sterling, Oracle ATG / DOO / GOP, PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials, Hyperion, etc.
• Experience in architecting cloud services and solutions in a complex environment, AWS preferred;
• Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments;
• Experience in CI/CD and DevOps operations and driving adoption;
• Experience with Cloud-native architectures, AWS, VPC, Security Groups, IAM, Docker, Encryption, TLS Certificates, API Gateway, Lambda, application security, domain segmentation, authentication, data protection, and automation of processes;

Technical Skills

• Awareness of the key business functions within a specific domain (e.g. eCommerce, buying & merchandising) of a modern omni-channel retailer, the major processes and information flows, how they combine to produce value and the role of information systems in supporting them;
• Awareness of common strategies, challenges and business models relevant to retailers and the influence they have on technology strategy and decision-making;
• Ability to define all aspects of integration and technology architecture necessary to effectively meet a business need;
• Ability to manage the selection and evaluation of vendors and software / hardware procurement, in collaboration with the Project Manager and the IT procurement team;
• Ability to identify and plan for the information management, security, performance, capacity, availability, reliability, flexibility and supportability aspects of integration solutions across a diverse variety of technologies and topologies;
• Exposure to IBM IIB, MQ, Oracle SOA Suite, Oracle Data Integrator, Mashery API Gateway
• Experience working with DevOps technologies

Personal Attributes/ Behavioural Skills

• Motivated self-starter, enthusiastic, resilient, personally effective, pro-active and with a flexible attitude to work;
• Strong strategic and analytical problem-solving skills, has a keen attention to detail and a good commercial sense;
• Quickly builds strong relationships and credibility with both the business and within Information Systems;
• Excellent person/people management skills, especially in developing consensus across diverse groups;
• Makes customer-oriented decisions and shares great stories of exceptional customer service;
• Remains visible to customers (business and IS) as one of the faces of IS to listen to their concerns and share these with others;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with an ability to handle difficult or sensitive situations;
• Communicates information in a relevant and concise fashion, mindful of and tailored to the audience;
• Proactively identifies areas for improvement, shares lessons learned with colleagues and encourages others to do the same;
• Ability to continually question current customs and practice, think laterally to resolve project issues and initiate quality improvements;
• Prioritises work and remains focussed on the most critical tasks, ensuring time and resources are used efficiently and effectively;
• Confident, able to make tough decisions and stick to them when questioned.
• Strong sense of ownership and ability to follow tasks through to completion;
• Ability to work as part of an effective and highly skilled team;

About the Company

Our Creative Spirit 

We are more than a shop. We are a social space where culture and commerce collide to release an energy that we call the Selfridges spirit. We are here to make our world brighter, and everyone is welcome. 

Our Awards Cabinet 

We’re not ones to brag, but since you asked...Selfridges has won the award for The World’s Best Department Store an unprecedented four times at the IGDS awards, with an additional award for the Best Sustainability Campaign.  

Our Future 

Since 1909 we have been at the forefront of retail and today our stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham – alongside selfridges.com and the Selfridges App – continue to redefine the way we shop and socialise. As a Selfridges team member, you will learn what it takes to consistently drive innovation, success and amazing customer experiences. 

Everyone is welcome

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive working culture, and we see this as key to our success and our working culture. Here at Selfridges, everyone is welcome - irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or disability, we stand by equal opportunities for all. We are diverse, we are inclusive, we are Selfridges.

The Fun Stuff  

There are lots of reasons to be excited about joining Team Selfridges – from our fantastic team member communities to volunteer days and behind-the-scenes Selfridges experiences throughout the year. 

Other benefits and rewards include:

• Generous bonus and/or commission scheme 
• Discounted gym memberships 
• Pension contributions  
• Annual travel pass and cycle to work schemes 
• A volunteer day for all team members 
• Access to a wide range of training programmes to help your career development

Selfridges