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Photon

Cloud Architect | Onsite

Photon · Dallas, Texas, United States · $64K–$224K/yr

IT Services and IT Consulting · 5,001-10,000 employees

2 d ago
Principal (10+ yrs) Full-time Contractor United States
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About the role

The Cloud Architect will own the end-to-end architecture for the digital banking platform, including solution, cloud, integration, and security layers. They will act as the technical authority, chairing design reviews and ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and the Azure Well-Architected Framework.

What they look for

Azure Cloud architecture Microservices API management AKS Solution architecture Security architecture DevSecOps Infrastructure as code Identity management Zero trust PCI-DSS Integration architecture Event-driven architecture Azure DevOps BFF

Requirements

Candidates must have 15+ years of software engineering experience with at least 5 years in solution or cloud architecture. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field and deep technical expertise in Azure, security, and integration patterns are required.

Benefits

Medical insurance Vision insurance Dental insurance 401k retirement plan Variable pay Incentives Paid time off Paid holidays

Full description

Cloud Architect AKA solution architect

Own the end-to-end architecture for UNFCU's Azure-based digital banking platform — spanning solution, cloud platform, integration, and security architecture. Translate business outcomes into a secure, scalable, integration-ready, production-grade platform, and act as the single technical authority (architecture gate owner) from design through production readiness and operational transition.

Boundary: partners with the Front End Architect, who owns the client tier (React Native/web app architecture, component library, design system). The Solution Architect holds final authority on platform, backend/microservices, integration, cloud, and security decisions, and owns the BFF contract.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. End-to-end architecture ownership

  • Own conceptual, logical, and physical architecture across application, platform, integration, and infrastructure layers.
  • Author architecture decisions, reference architectures, and guardrails (ADRs); chair architecture/design reviews and the architecture sign-off gate.
  • Ensure alignment with UNFCU enterprise architecture and the Azure Well-Architected Framework.

2. Solution & integration architecture

  • Define cloud-native, API-first, event-driven, microservices, and domain-driven patterns; own the Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) contract for mobile and web channels.
  • Lead integration architecture across Fiserv DNA core banking, MuleSoft APIs, and near-real-time core data sync (CDC) via Oracle GoldenGate over ExpressRoute.
  • Define resiliency, observability, and scalability patterns across the application landscape.

3. Cloud platform architecture (Azure)

  • Design and govern AKS, API Management, Azure Functions/Durable Functions, Service Bus, Event Grid, Azure SQL/Storage, Azure Monitor & Application Insights.
  • Define hub-and-spoke networking, ExpressRoute, private endpoints, DNS, and secure connectivity.
  • Establish environment strategy (Dev/QA/UAT/Prod) and deployment topologies.

4. Security, compliance & resiliency

  • Define security architecture with identity/security teams: Microsoft Entra External ID (CIAM), OAuth 2.0, OIDC, JWT; Zero Trust, encryption, secrets management, and Key Vault integration.
  • Own PCI-DSS scope definition, cardholder-data trust boundaries (CDE), tokenization strategy, and QSA coordination.
  • Design HA/DR, failover, and operational-readiness (monitoring, logging, alerting).

5. DevSecOps & delivery enablement

  • Define CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code (ARM/Bicep, Azure DevOps) direction; guide deployment/release strategy and production readiness.

6. Technical leadership & stakeholder collaboration

  • Provide direction to engineering, QA, DevSecOps, and integration teams; resolve cross-team dependencies.
  • Present architecture, trade-offs, and recommendations to leadership; collaborate with UNFCU and vendors (Fiserv, MuleSoft) through delivery and hypercare/handover.

7. AI-enabled engineering

  • Direct enterprise-approved AI tools across the SDLC with human review, secure prompt/data handling, traceability, and governance; define AI guardrails and adoption practices and own architecture-level review of AI-generated design/code.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • 15+ years in software engineering, incl. 5+ years in solution and/or cloud architecture.
  • Bachelor's in Computer Science / Engineering / Information Systems, or equivalent experience.
  • Proven end-to-end delivery (architecture → production) in Agile, cross-functional, distributed teams.

REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS

  • Azure: AKS, API Management, Functions/Durable Functions, Service Bus, Event Grid, Azure SQL, Storage, Monitor, Application Insights.
  • Architecture: cloud-native, microservices, API-first, event-driven, domain-driven design, BFF, enterprise integration patterns.
  • Security & identity: Microsoft Entra External ID, OAuth 2.0/OIDC/JWT, Zero Trust, secrets management, encryption.
  • Platform engineering: ARM/Bicep, Azure DevOps/CI-CD, architecture governance (ADRs, reviews).
  • Networking: VNets, ExpressRoute, private endpoints, DNS, secure connectivity.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

  • Digital banking / credit union / regulated financial-services domain.
  • Fiserv DNA, MuleSoft, Oracle GoldenGate; Thales CipherTrust (CTVL) and/or Akeyless (secrets).
  • PCI-DSS-compliant Azure platforms; Azure AI Foundry / Azure OpenAI / AI Search.
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

SUCCESS PROFILE

  • Takes full ownership from concept to production; balances speed with security, quality, and compliance.
  • Strong communicator across technical and executive audiences; drives clarity across complex multi-system landscapes; enables teams with reusable patterns and guardrails.

Compensation, Benefits and Duration

Minimum Compensation: USD 64,000

Maximum Compensation: USD 224,000

Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.

Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full-time employees.

This position is available for independent contractors

No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post.