What Does A Chief Architect Do?

WHAT DOES A CHIEF ARCHITECT DO?

The Chief Architect directs system architecture solutions to manage evolving threats, ensuring integration and performance across various missile defense elements. This role involves coordinating with senior technical levels across the Missile Defense Industry and the Department of Defense, presenting technical findings, and participating in strategic proposals and business development. Additionally, the architect maintains a comprehensive understanding of current threats, technological advancements, and strategic research to enhance system architecture and customer engagements.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Chief Architect

1. Chief Architect Details

Vision Setting: Set and guide the vision for the future state technologies across the currently planned initiatives.
Initiative Launching: Identify and help to launch new technology initiatives on an ongoing basis, to meet the evolving needs of the businesses.
Best-Practice Adoption: Drive adoption of technology best-practice principles and solutions across the group.
Architecture Development: Create a set of evolving reference architectures for individual companies to refer to when adopting new technology solutions.
Consulting Expertise: Provide best-practice consulting expertise across the group for architectural strategy and implementation.
Digital Transformation: Equip the companies with the tools to digitally transform.
Vendor Selection: Contribute to the establishment of a list of preferred vendors to implement the reference architectures.
CoE Development: Help to establish the Enterprise Architecture, IoT and Software Development centers of excellence, devising operating terms of reference and supporting recruitment.
Leadership and Management: Provide personnel, and functional and technical leadership to the Architecture CoE group, and have at least three direct reports (e.g. Cloud Architect, Data Architect, IoT Architect).
Technology Evaluation: Relentlessly assess, evaluate, and advise on emerging technologies that might advance the client's strategic agenda and growth strategy across the companies.
Digital Roadmap Contribution: Contribute to and drive the HQ digital transformation roadmaps and phased approach for execution.
Research and Innovation: Research and evaluate new and/or alternative solutions and technologies to enhance operational effectiveness, reduce costs and/or system risks.
Proof of Concept Oversight: Increase speed to market including overseeing Proof of Concepts/Proof of Technologies.
Stakeholder Management: Communicate to and manage multiple Executive Stakeholders.

2. Chief Architect Responsibilities

Stakeholder Management: Manage stakeholders across multiple purposes in a complex global environment.
Product Design Leadership: Shape and drive the design of the next generation of the company's product portfolio.
Vision and Roadmap Definition: Define and communicate architectural and technological vision, short and long-term roadmaps.
Alignment Creation: Create and maintain alignment between the company's business goals and technology.
Cross-functional collaboration: Work with product management, RandD teams, and other internal and external stakeholders.
Infrastructure Integrity Maintenance: Maintain the integrity of the technology infrastructure and implementation of the roadmap.
Technical Guidance: Provide technical expertise and guidance in functional and non-functional areas.
Technology Evangelism: Evangelize new technologies, best practices, architectural vision, strategy, and principles.
Best Practices Development: Develop and enforce best practices for software design, system architecture, and data management.
Technology Trend Leadership: Keep up-to-date with current technology trends, lead the discovery and evaluations of new technologies, and POC new ideas and concepts by coding prototypes.
Team Management: Manage a team of talented software architects and system engineers.
Integration Leadership: Lead integration with 3rd party products and convergence of acquired technologies into the Cellebrite platform.

3. Chief Architect Job Summary

Innovation and Direction: Develop innovative technical solutions and set product direction to address industry business problems.
Technology Recommendation: Drive recommendations for technology adoption from a total-enterprise perspective, considering all benefits, integrations, and costs.
Research and Prototyping: Direct and participate in research and prototype development to validate solutions and new technologies.
Development Lifecycle Contribution: Contribute across the entire development cycle (presales, requirements gathering, analysis, design, code, test, initial pilot/production launch, and production support).
Analysis and Design Focus: Primary focus on analysis, solution design and mentoring development staff.
Complex Product Design: Perform complex product design activities that may require extensive research and analysis.
Design Leadership: Lead and participate in product design meetings.
Solution Analysis: Review and analyze existing banking solutions and client requirements.
Customization Recommendation: Provide recommendations for extension and customization to team members and clients.
Project Collaboration: Work closely with managers and directors in working with project teams.
Team Review: Review the work of team members.
Strategy and Integration Leadership: Lead the development and strategy for 3rd party application development/integration on the data platform.

4. Chief Architect Accountabilities

Travel and Presentation Skills: Travel to customer sites for meetings, presentations, and architectural sessions.
Workshop and Meeting Attendance Skills: Attend workshops, meetings, and architectural sessions at Phoenix Head Office in London, Ontario.
Software Development Skills: Participate in limited software development (coding) activities at times.
Organizational Strengthening Skills: Lead or participate substantively in non-project-based activities that strengthen the organization.
Interdepartmental Relationship Skills: Developing and maintaining working relationships with other departments which are key to the success of the organization.
Leadership Skills: Leading the Architect team of Solutions Architects.
Mentorship and Governance Skills: Mentoring product architects and implementing a decision-making and architecture governance process.
Performance Management Skills: Preparing departmental goals and evaluating performance based on these goals.
HR Management Skills: Responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, development, salary review, and performance management of departmental staff.
Career Development Skills: Determine and initiate career development for employees in the department.
Cloud Platform Design Skills: Lead the design and development of a cloud-deployed, multi-tenant, highly scalable, B2B SaaS platform.

5. Chief Architect Functions

Team Leadership: Lead the current engineering team allocated to this project, and scale that team to meet upcoming challenges.
Hardware and Software Tracking: Track end-of-life hardware and software to include underlying drivers and firmware resident in the environment and ensure notification is provided.
Remediation Coordination: Coordinate the remediation of any hardware or software, which have reached end-of-life or are otherwise unsupported.
Software Currency and Refresh Facilitation: Facilitate and coordinate the update of the definitions of Software Currency and Refresh with the Integrated Service Providers.
Liaison Role: Serve as the primary liaison to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Engineering Solutions Architecture, Business Analytics Division (ESA-BAD) for the MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) ecosystem.
Software Architecture Establishment: Establish best-in-class software architecture procedures, tools, and templates to facilitate the Cainthus Software Ecosystem.
Technology Roadmap Development: In partnership with leadership and development teams, develop, own, and maintain technology roadmap and evangelize architectural vision in support of future business strategy and market need.
Software Governance: Ensure governance of software architecture and design across Cainthus Products.
Prototype Development: Develop proof-of-concept prototypes in support.
Ethical Standards and Deadline Management: Meet deadlines with the resources provided and never compromise ethical standards.
Professional Development: Seek opportunities for personal and professional development.

6. Chief Architect Job Description

Strategic Planning: Responsible for building the long-term strategic roadmap for all IT systems architecture.
Alignment: Align IT strategy and planning with the company’s business goals and objectives.
Scalability Assurance: Ensure a scalable, extensible technology platform(s) for IT that can be leveraged across various business functions.
Integration: Seamlessly integrate business and service strategy into enterprise architecture roadmap.
Collaboration: Partner with business and technology subject-matter experts to elicit and translate business requirements into technological solutions.
Technical Leadership: Lead the design and modeling of technical architectures for delivery, development, and support of projects.
Policy Development: Develop and maintain policies, standards, and guidelines to ensure that a consistent framework is applied across the company.
Cost Efficiency: Promote the use of a shared infrastructure and application roadmap to reduce costs and improve how information flows.
Performance Analysis: Establish and analyze key productivity metrics to support continuous improvement of efficiency and engineering capacity.
Team Commitment: Commit to working together as one team, exceed service expectations by developing positive relationships and treat others with value and respect.
Quality Assurance: Exhibit an honest and committed effort to delivering as promised, never compromising quality.
Professional Development: Attend all company-required training and actively participate in development conversations with managers.

7. Chief Architect Overview

Product Portfolio Strategy: Shape and drive the design of the next generation of the company's product portfolio.
Vision and Roadmaps Communication: Define, communicate architectural and technological vision, short and long-term roadmaps.
Business and Technology Alignment: Create and maintain alignment between the company's business goals and technology.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with product management, RandD teams, and internal and external stakeholders.
Technology Infrastructure Integrity: Maintain the integrity of the technology infrastructure and implementation of the roadmap.
Technical Expertise Provision: Provide technical expertise and guidance in functional and non-functional areas.
Technology Evangelism: Evangelize new technologies, best practices, architectural vision, strategy, and principles.
Best Practices Development: Develop and enforce best practices for software design, system architecture, and data management.
Technology Trends Leadership: Keep up-to-date with current technology trends, lead the discovery and evaluations of new technologies, and POC new ideas and concepts by coding prototypes.
Team Management: Manage a team of talented software architects and system engineers.
Integration Leadership: Lead integration with third-party products and convergence of acquired technologies into the Cellebrite platform.

8. Chief Architect Details and Accountabilities

Client Communication: Be the client's go-to and starting point for communicating their technology solution needs.
Technical Solution Development: Understand client needs and build technical solutions, work plans, estimates, and proposals.
Team Coordination: Involve and direct existing Virtusa project teams at the client to assist in solution and proposal development.
Solution Guidance: Work with Virtusa competency leads for guidance, solutions, and proposal development.
Leadership Selection: Help select and establish strong technical leaders on awarded projects.
Technical Oversight: Provide technical oversight for existing client projects.
Community Building: Build and foster a thriving technical community of Virtusan at the client.
Trusted Advisor: Establish yourself as a trusted advisor to develop strong client relationships.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with internal and external expectations and regulations.
Cybersecurity Alignment: Ensure technology and architectural alignment with cyber security policies and architecture, in close collaboration with the security team.
Software Management: Establish and maintain the definitions of Software Currency and Refresh for all equipment and software.

9. Chief Architect Tasks

IT Architecture Coordination: Coordinate and facilitate IT architecture management, roadmap planning, and enterprise IT strategy execution across the ITIL-based Service Integration and Management (SIAM) ecosystem/MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) environment, which includes multiple external Service Providers contractors and DoD organizations.
IT Engineering Leadership: Responsible for leading a team of IT engineers to sustain application and infrastructure standards.
Architecture Standards Management: Maintain, manage, and control data, application, and infrastructure architecture standards.
Architecture Evaluation Coordination: Coordinating activities to evaluate and approve architecture changes.
Technical Solution Design: Process customer requests for technical solution designs.
Architecture Communication and Research: Communicating approved architectures and conducting ongoing research of new infrastructure solutions, techniques, and tools to identify candidates to support current and future mission needs.
Tool and Technology Selection Coordination: Coordinate tool and technology selection efforts, including those resulting from capacity, availability, and service improvement campaigns.
IT Trend Analysis: Identify IT trends and multiple uses of alternative products and services such that they become candidates for standard services in the MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) environment and inclusion into the Services Catalog.
Unauthorized Product Monitoring: Monitor the environment and report the introduction and use of unauthorized products and services within the MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) environment.
Technology Planning Facilitation: Facilitate an annual Technology Planning event based on the approved IT Service Strategy, as a mechanism for gathering input from customers and key stakeholders on evolving business needs.
Technology Plan Development and Maintenance: Develop and maintain (updated quarterly) a long-range (rolling 3-year), comprehensive use of technology within the MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) environment with consideration given to the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) IT systems, processes, technical architecture, etc. via the Technology Plan.
Technology Advancement Reporting: Report on technology advances within and outside of existing Service Providers on a twice-annual basis.
Technical Currency Management: Manage an ongoing program of Technical Currency throughout the MHS Enterprise IT Services (EITS) environment.

10. Chief Architect Roles

Software Development Leadership: Lead the software development practice.
Portfolio Management: Manage a portfolio of software development projects.
Technology Thought Leadership: Provide technology thought leadership.
Business Development Leadership: Drive business development and lead the architectural team.
Team Strategy Development: Strategy on team hiring and structure of the team.
Business Opportunity Identification: Help identify and pursue new business opportunities in related areas.
Principal Technology Advisor: Serve as the principal advisor to the president and the management team on emerging technologies and software engineering best practices.
Consultancy and Mentorship: Serve as a consultant and a mentor to project managers and project teams on issues related to solution architecture and development methodologies.
Leadership: Lead internal research and development activities, while developing and maintaining partnerships with technology vendors.
Project Resource Alignment: Work with project managers to ensure resources are properly aligned with project needs and promote best practices among development teams.
Opportunity Leadership: Serve as capture manager, proposal lead, or solution architect for specific opportunities.

11. Chief Architect Additional Details

Anchoring Solutions: Anchoring end-to-end solutions for large complex engagements and business growth pursuits, involving customer, partner, and internal stakeholders
Solution Ownership: Owning architecture, design, and implementation quality of the solution encompassing multiple workstreams
Solution Formulation: Formulating solution propositions for emerging business and technology domains with varying levels of specification and IT maturity
Implementation Participation: Participating in implementation programs, contributing to and overseeing the implementation of the proposed solution
Quality Assurance: Ensuring high-quality software delivery, risk management, strategic alignment, and operational readiness of the delivered solution are key elements of this oversight
Solution Development: Developing industry-specific end-to-end solution ideas by working with domain experts
Talent Development: Contributing to the development of next-generation architects and technology leads in the CTO organization
Relationship Development: Developing relationships with internal practices and technology partners to create joint solution offerings
Asset Development: Anchoring and developing assets to be reused for delivery, business deals, or market thought leadership-oriented initiatives
Collaboration Fostering: Fostering an environment of collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation.

12. Chief Architect Essential Functions

Enterprise Architecture Development: Led the development of the Saab IT Enterprise Architecture framework and Portfolio Management including principles, processes, methods, and templates.
IT Service Portfolio Management: Ensure processes and routines are in place for IT Service Portfolio Management.
Architecture Implementation Oversight: Ensure a holistic view of architecture implementation tying together business objectives and capabilities with information, applications, and technology.
Business and IT Alignment: Identify business drivers and support the alignment of business plans, IT strategy, and technology roadmaps.
IT Governance Support: Support business and Saab IT Governance forums in identifying optimal levels of IT standardization to ensure interoperability and cost efficiency.
Technology Utilization Coordination: Coordinate planning and an integrated approach for how Saab can utilize emerging technologies to increase operational efficiency in the business.
Stakeholder Interaction: Interaction with stakeholders to ensure and validate the desired effects of Enterprise Architecture and Portfolio Management.
Global IT Governance: Ensure global governance structures for architecture decisions and support the creation of the IT strategy and its alignment with Saab’s business plans and business objectives.
Strategy and Business Plan Participation: Participate in strategy development and Saab’s business plan definition, outlining how technology can be a fundamental enabler to realize Saab’s objectives.
Emerging Technology Research: Research and maintain knowledge of emerging technologies and their potential application in the business.
Major Initiatives Engagement: Directly engage with and support or steer major initiatives that have a connection to the Enterprise Architecture development.
Security Architecture Development: Ensure that Saab has an adequate Security Architecture with a zero-trust approach.

13. Chief Architect Role Purpose

IT Strategy Coordination: Coordinate and facilitate IT architecture management, roadmap planning, and enterprise IT strategy execution sessions.
Workshop Leadership: Lead customer solution workshops, capturing IT operation and engineering requirements for incorporation into Task Order statements of work.
Solution Architecture: Architect innovative technology and management solutions based on customer mission needs and operations requirements that drive efficiencies and increase performance.
Performance Measurement Identification: Identify and recommend performance measures and Service Level Agreements.
Proposal Support: Support in the proposal development of individual task orders to include the basis of estimate, level of effort, and skill mix.
Technology Presentation: Present innovative technology and vendor solutions based on customer needs, developing white papers, roadmaps, and solution decks.
Internal Collaboration: Collaborate internally with Task Order leads to transition new task orders to operations and maintenance support.
Team Integration Assurance: Ensure that Group IT Domain Architects and Business Area Architects work together in a virtual team to realize agreed objectives and target architectures.
Architecture Decision Facilitation: Facilitate Domain Architecture decisions within the architecture community.
Stakeholder Liaison: Be the main contact between the leaders of the business, clients, and other teams within the company.
Scalability Assessment: Assess and recommend ways to ensure the scalability of the whole platform on cloud technologies.

14. Chief Architect General Responsibilities

Systems Architecture Development: Guide internal and contract work to define system architecture solutions to address changing threats.
Senior Technical Consultation: Work at senior technical levels and across the Missile Defense Industry and the Department of Defense to provide architecture solutions for customer's programs and capabilities.
Systems-of-Systems Analysis: Guide systems-of-systems architecture analysis to evaluate, define, and balance performance across missile defense elements to accomplish missions and mitigate complex target scenes.
Systems-of-Systems Architecture Oversight: Oversee the development of complex Systems-of- Systems architectures (physical, functional, and performance).
Technical Presentation: Prepare and present technical study plans, results, and recommendations to senior and customer officials.
Strategic Participation: Participate in strategy discussions and proposal development.
Threat and Technology Awareness: Maintain awareness of evolving threats, real-world events, technology advancements, and internal and Government research.
Customer and Senior Management Interface: Interface directly with customers, program manager, chief engineer, and senior-level management.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Collaborate across multiple disciplines to include systems, mechanical, electrical, software, modeling, simulation, safety, and reliability to allow for a cohesive, productive team in a fast-paced and evolving market area.
Architecture Team Planning: Plan system architecture effort, form an architecture team, and provide regular communications with program leadership.
Business Development Assistance: Assist in business development efforts and teaming arrangements as well as proposals.

15. Chief Architect Key Accountabilities

Delivery Accountability: Accountable for TEDA Ratan's several squads' teams' delivery.
Agile Development: Work with an Agile team to develop, test, and maintain applications.
Requirements Documentation: Assist in the collection and documentation of users' requirements, development of user stories, and estimates.
Reporting and Documentation: Prepare reports, manuals, and other documentation on the status, operation, and maintenance of software.
Technical Proficiency: Work with databases, software algorithms, and pattern design.
Application Development: Design, develop, and unit test applications by established standards.
Peer Review Participation: Participate in peer reviews of solution designs and related code.
Release Support: Package and support deployment of releases.
Integration Refinement: Develop, refine, and tune integrations between applications.
Code Maintenance: Track and maintain code coverage, system performance, and system security.
Integration Solution Design: Contribute to the design and implementation of application integration solutions.
Performance and Security Assessment: Assess and define the security and performance within the road map and present targets for the research and development team.