Position Title: Enterprise Architect
Reports To: Head of Enterprise Platforms & Architecture
Department: IT Platforms
Term: Permanent Full-Time

Work Arrangements: This is a hybrid role. You will work in our office in Waterloo, ON a minimum of two (2) assigned, consecutive days every other week, plus a fifth (5th) assigned day per month. You are welcome to work from the office more than the minimum requirement and there may be some roles that are required to work in our office more than the minimum requirement.

The Opportunity: Equitable continues to invest deeply in digital capabilities and services. Our Enterprise Architecture team is central to this investment, and we are looking to evolve our maturity and outcomes even further. The Enterprise Architecture (EA) program will focus holistically on business, information, solution and technical architectures across the enterprise to enable current and future-state business capabilities.

We are looking for an Enterprise Architect who will focus holistically on business, information, solution, and technical architectures across the enterprise to enable current and future-state business capabilities.

The Enterprise Architect will lead the development of architecture roadmaps and execute strategies and processes to align with business needs. This individual is responsible for defining the EA processes and leading the integration of those processes with related business and IT processes.

Proactively work with IT and business leaders in an innovative, collaborative, supportive and consultative manner to influence the organization's solution and technical architectures across all IT domains.

This role requires a proven technical leader with a high degree of collaboration to drive cultural change and raise the maturity levels of design and architecture.

Come join one of the Waterloo Area's Top Employers for 2024!

What you will be doing:

• Focus on delivering business strategy working to identify and deliver both functional and non-functional requirements.
• Build traceability technical solutions that deliver on the business requirements and overall Business success
• Establish, own and evolve an enterprise technology strategy and roadmap that enables portfolios to support current and future business capabilities based on partnership with executive leadership and understanding the strategic goals across Equitable
• Drive design, engineering, reuse, application of patterns, and create architecture direction that comprise the solutions in the portfolios
• Foster adaptive design, and engineering practices, and drive programs and teams to rally around a shared technical vision based on continuous feedback
• Identify and research relevant technologies, perform proof of concepts / prototypes, and recommend the applications of such technologies for future product architecture to meet business strategies
• Lead and participate in technology product evaluations to assess fit
• Define and document efficient and transparent architectural principles and guidelines
• Create, own and maintain technology roadmap template, publish standards and guidelines for architecture best practices. Working with SME architects to review the process and cadence. Advise on specific technology roadmap to ensure alignment to the overall enterprise architecture roadmap
• Collaborate and further enhance domain technology roadmaps in consultation with business leadership teams and domain architects
• Partner with other IT leaders to ensure chosen technologies are updated or replaced, as needed; understand and balance the complete lifecycle of technical choices
• Lead and facilitate the design and implementation of repeatable technical solutions and processes related to technology architecture
• Lead Enterprise Technology Governance and architecture Review processes and committees (e.g. Technology Governance Committee, ARB processes) to guide EA decision making
• Lead the architecture Community of Expertise (COE)
• Understand, advocate and support the enterprise's IT strategies
• Lead the identification and analysis of enterprise business drivers to derive useful business context
• Lead analysis of the current technology architecture to detect critical deficiencies and recommend solutions for improvement
• Lead analysis of technology industry and market trends to determine their potential impact on the enterprise architecture
• Promote EA processes, outcomes and results to the organization, including the enterprise's IT and business leaders
• Oversee the evaluation and selection of EA standards
• Consult with application development project teams to fit projects to enterprise architecture, as well as to identify when it is necessary to modify the enterprise architecture to accommodate project needs
• Consult with infrastructure development project teams to fit infrastructure to architecture, as well as to identify when it is necessary to modify the technical architecture to accommodate infrastructure needs
• Provide input into organizational requirements for the resources, structures and cultural changes necessary to support the enterprise architecture
• Lead the development and execution of a communication and education plan for the enterprise architecture
• Assess and communicate the value of the enterprise architecture.
• Review new and existing program/project architecture for compliance with IT standards, policies and architectural plans.
• Review IT procurement plans for compliance with IT standards and architectural plans
• Document exceptions to architectural standards
• Ensure that project documentation captures significant architectural decisions
• Ensure that architectural governance is a fair, consistent and transparent process
• Identify architectural risks and propose alternatives and solutions

What you will bring:

• Experience in Health Insurance or Financial Services is an asset.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, systems analysis or a related field of study, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in at least two IT disciplines (such as technical architecture, network management, application development, middleware, information analysis, database management or operations) in a complex environment.
• Led the development of architecture roadmaps and execute strategies and processes to align with company strategic views and requirements.
• Familiarity with EA frameworks and information management practices.
• The ability to drive business requirements and non-functional requirements.
• Exposure to and an understanding of Waterfall and Agile scrum methodologies and experience working in an Agile team.
• Experience using diagramming tools such as MS Visio.
• Understanding of tools like Teams, GitHub, CICD, and Azure DevOps Services.
• Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation and negotiation at all levels of an organization
• Strong leadership skills.
• Excellent analytical and technical skills with in-depth experience in translating/understanding enterprise business strategies into technical roadmaps and execution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in working with executive leadership teams to ensure partnership in strategy
• Excellent planning and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of all components of holistic enterprise architecture.
• Knowledge of financial models and budgeting.
• Familiarity with basic graphical modeling approaches, tools and model repositories.
• Ability to balance the long-term ("big picture") and short-term implications of individual decisions.
• Ability to translate business needs into EA requirements.
• Ability to estimate the financial impact of EA alternatives.
• Ability to apply multiple solutions to business problems.
• Ability to rapidly comprehend the functions and capabilities of new technologies.
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
• B.S. degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, MIS or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Enjoys and excels in a fast-paced environment with some level of ambiguity on requirements.
• Experience working with onsite and offshore consultants for timely and quality delivery.

What's in it for you:

• A healthy work-life balance with employee wellness top of mind
• Annual bonus program, annual vacation allowance, and company-paid benefits program
• An additional paid volunteer day each year so you can spend time giving back to the community
• Immediate enrollment in the company's pension program with employer matching
• Employee resource groups that support an inclusive work environment
• Tuition support and specialized program assistance
• A company subsidized cafeteria with a variety of daily options
• Discounts on company products and services, and access to exclusive employee perks
• Regular EQ Together events focused on company togetherness and collaboration
  
  

As part of the recruitment/offer process you will be required to:

• Provide two professional references (minimum one supervisor and above)
• Undergo a criminal background check

#LI-Hybrid

To learn more about Equitable, we encourage you to explore our organization.

At Equitable, we are committed to providing equal access to employment opportunities across our organization. Please contact our HR team at careers@equitable.ca if you would like to receive our job postings in an alternative format or require an accommodation with the application process.