POSITION SPECIFICATION ENTERPRISE ARCHITECT UK&I THE POSITION The Enterprise Architect will be supporting the Experian Consumer Services UK&I Architecture functions and processes. The Enterprise Architect will be responsible for defining IT strategy, evaluating technologies, defining standards, designing solution and reference architectures, and documenting and managing the implementation of multi-year roadmaps that solve stated business problems. The Enterprise Architect is responsible for providing thought-leadership, advocacy, articulation, assurance and maintenance of the Enterprise Architecture program. The Enterprise Architect coordinates the development of architectural frameworks and leads the population of these frameworks with coherent and consistent architectural views Acting as mentor, advisor and consultant, the Enterprise Architect will drive the architectural consistency and efficiency of all engineering deliverables from concept through production. Acting as the advisor to the Chief Architect, Enterprise Architect will ensure the technical and delivery team s strategy and roadmap is aligned with business needs and objectives. Enabling an environment that allows for innovation and novel product designs through continuous improvement in technology and process design play a key role in assuring overall efficiency of the development process and helping to assure the products that are built provide world-class scalability, performance and extensibility as well as an exceptional end user experience is a primary objective for the position. The position will be located in Costa Mesa and will require coordination between ECS UK & I and US technology groups and reach out to Experian Global and other businesses to understand global technology roadmaps and find opportunities where beneficial to the UK&I business to support the development and production of the ECS UK&I products in line with the strategic roadmap of the business.
This individual will be a strong, conscientious leader with hands-on experience and pragmatic approach in creating strategy and having the ability to work, plan, build and run environments. OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES The Enterprise Architect is responsible for design, prototyping, vendor selection and improvements of current solutions of core technology architecture. The position will report to the Chief Architect, UK&I within the office of the CTO UK&I. UK&I Technology organization consists of approximately 180 direct and 45 shared staff and managers. In this capacity the Enterprise Architect will also lead a small group of solution architects. Responsibilities will include the following: Lead the definition of an architectural vision, roadmap, assumptions and guidance for Experian Consumer Services. Presides as the internal Go-To to determine product and infrastructure technical strategies. Mentor, act as role model, and design the architecture organization Ensure applications and technology infrastructure are designed and built to scale, perform smoothly and remain highly available. Ensure all teams are provided with the technical structure and guidance they need to properly implement solutions. Advise and support the Chief Architect and peers to architect organization and processes that meet business objectives. Assist in mentoring and growing the overall technical team by working closely with the product lines in the company. Support program management in planning and rolling out changes, transitions and transformations. Identify opportunities for both incremental and transformational improvements to engineering productivity (software deployment, designing, writing and testing production code, creating unit and automated regression tests, etc.) and advocating and implementing solutions. Partition large systems into subsystems and components which can be handled by a single engineer or team of engineers or other architects. Create an environment that maps to a philosophy of Architecture as a Service and a Shared Services model that works at the behest of the various technology teams minimizing inefficiencies. Understand, advocate, and augment the principles of technology strategies; guiding engineering and infrastructure teams toward common and compatible methodologies. Analyze enterprise business drivers to determine business information and technical architecture requirements. Analyze current information technology environment to detect critical deficiencies and recommend solutions for improvement.
Stay up to date with technologies to ensure the correct toolset serves ECS presently and into the future. Analyze emerging industry and market trends in the field of software engineering of world class online systems and determine potential impact upon the enterprise. Provide the business with plans and alternatives to meet business objectives through first and third party software solutions perform buy vs. build analysis. Internally sell the architecture process, its outcome, and ongoing results through effective communication and influencing skills. Define the principles to guide technology decisions for the enterprise that manifest in sound and complete architecture concepts and assure consistent platform and user experience across all product deliverables. Design and lead the implementation of an enterprise-wide technical architecture based on enterprise business requirements and information technology strategies endeavoring to strive for simplicity and efficiency in order to enable volume adoption in a large scale environment while encouraging innovation, risk taking and creativity. Innovate product architecture while maintaining integrity of existing products and observing maintenance constraints. Design and direct the governance activities associated with ensuring compliance with the enterprise architecture. Oversee technical architecture implementation and modification activities including architecture review processes and risk assessments. Oversee the evaluation and selection of hardware and software product standards, and the design of standard configurations. Document all technical architecture design and analysis work. Drive discussions around product content, working closely with Product Management to define product strategy and roadmap Lead the UK&I solution architects located in the US and UK CANDIDATE PROFILE The ideal candidate will be, first and foremost, a person that typifies strong personal integrity and places significant value on his/her specific business responsive contributions and upgraded information technology tools. He/she will possess outstanding interpersonal skills, and the intellectual agility to prioritize and make decisions. The candidate will be an optimistic, high-energy, self-confident and empowering leader who can thrive in an ever-changing, environment. Strong technical skills and passion for research and solving problems are expected, and an optimistic personal orientation is critical. Additional characteristics we seek in the selected candidate will include the following:
Significant experience (10+ years) in software engineering, product development, Dev-Ops/Tech-Ops with at least 5 years in technology architecture within a high-transaction, services-oriented, global, business with strong leadership experience as a hands on architect in a large, complex, fast paced and dynamic company. Passion for technology, particularly tools and languages. Driven to launch new initiatives, communicate new solutions, adjust the solution to meet the needs of the organization, and mobilize teams by continuously communicating the vision and working with staff to ensure that their feedback is captured and solutions are optimized and improved overtime. Extensive and current experience and knowledge in design and application of software and information systems design patterns and best practices for large scale web based products especially in the area of ecommerce. Experience in designing or redesigning architecture and related processes in a very complex environment that is constantly evolving; applying best practices which produce enhanced operating results. Knowledge of software development and project management processes, application lifecycle management tools, continuous integration and DevOps Proficiency in a wide variety of enterprise software, cloud service, application technologies, programming languages and relevant frameworks. Proficiency in web development including.net, HTTP, REST, APIs, Event processing especially in consumer-facing sites with scale. Proficiency in large data sets, SQL databases, and in optimizing database access. Experience with integrating application components across technology stacks and platforms.
Commitment to and interest in code and product quality through efficiency and excellence in process and automation PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS The successful candidate will be a highly intelligent, self-confident leader. He/she will bring a proven track record of success in a collaborative and participatory management style; and possess the ability to work closely with the professional and support staff as well as vendors and partners. Additional character traits sought include: An influencer one who leads and empowers people, creates followership, removes roadblocks and acts as an advocate for their team. Facilitates change management continuously improving outcomes. An iterative / complex thinker, comfortable with ambiguity, informal and high-influence leadership style, A sincere interest in the Company s history, present business, and future goals. Respectful of the Company's Core Values and Standards of Conduct. Models the company s Guiding Principles and Values with credibility. Culturally conscious and able to lead, influence and partner with Experian associates in all functions on a global basis. Drives change and accountability. Ability to use independent judgment in performing all duties of the position. A leader who focuses not only on relentless execution to a strategy but also on the development of a small team of people who enable the company to achieve these ends an executive with considerable experience leading transformational change within technology organizations. The breadth of this change experience should span people and process as well as technology, and be driven by a goal of Operational Excellence. Strong service provider and business partner orientation. A visible and accessible leader to both the IT organization and the rest of the company. inherently dissatisfied with status quo constantly seeks increased speed, performance, results and timeliness; always at lower costs. Strong partnership and collaborative style with outstanding communication skills: written, verbal and presentation. Ability to communicate effectively and understand the needs of non-technical internal clients as well as different global cultures. Engaging, informative, brief, to the point. Able to thrive and lever opportunities derived from being a member of a dynamic executive team where organizational reporting structure and hierarchy do not dictate effectiveness or ability to have an impact.
Fast mover, nimble and decisive with as demonstrated entrepreneurial approach to business process, balancing control with flexibility, procedure with simplicity, and willingness to innovate and change while creating an environment of rigor and discipline. excellent listening skills. outstanding internal and external communication skills with a demonstrated ability to connect with people on operational issues Good Coach and Referee. Effects change through personal and professional influence. Operates well in a matrix. High levels of initiative, drive, and poise coupled with qualities of maturity, flexibility, and patience. Thick skinned, a strong sense of self, a quick intellect, entrepreneurial skills, and a good sense of humor. High attention to detail as well as an ability to achieve results through delegation. Strong analytical skills with an ability to drive change using data. Execution oriented individual with an eye toward planning, directing and building toward a desired outcome as opposed to sustaining status quo. EDUCATION The successful candidate should possess at minimum a University degree; preferably in Engineering and/or Computer Science. An advanced degree is highly desirable. Certification in the area of IT and Architecture such as TOGAF a plus