Solutions Architect
What is redefining the Banking
business locally and globally is the customer centered approach in solution
architecture and development, letting the customer decide what they want to
achieve as they do business as well as the services and products they desire to
have.
Do you have a customer centric
attitude in your experience as a Solutions Architect? Does it excite you to
keep making improvements, innovating and delivering new products and services
driven by the customer need?
Do you possess a deep understanding
of ICT architectural concepts and the fundamentals of good software design and
the ability to deliver innovative solutions and make sound qualitative
judgments on appropriateness and the effectiveness of solution approaches? Join
us at Co-operative Bank and be part of the Digital Transformation journey where
opportunities are limitless.
Reporting to the Lead Solution
Architect, the role holder is intended to provide detailed technical analysis
of business requirements to provide the end to end solution to a business need,
Provide the projects solutions approach by building software and integration
technical designs to ensure they are in line with the enterprise architectural
plan in collaboration with Enterprise Architects, Application Architects and
Data Architects.
The role holder will also provide
input to the strategic direction of technology investments to assist in the
development of the enterprise architecture and maximize the return on
technology investment. The Solution Architect will also provide technical
support with existing and occurring enhancements with respect to effort
estimation and impact assessment as well as identify system, infrastructure and
project interdependencies and balance competing demands to ensure project
deliverables are achieved.
Responsibilities
·
Use appropriate tools, including
logical models of components and interfaces, to contribute to the development
of systems architectures in specific business or functional areas.
·
Produce detailed component
specifications and translates these into detailed designs for implementation
using selected products.
·
Provide advice on technical aspects
of system development and integration (including requests for changes, deviations
from specifications, etc.) and ensure that relevant technical strategies,
policies, standards and practices are applied correctly.
·
Provide input to the strategic
direction of technology investments to assist in the development of the
enterprise architecture to maximize the return on technology investment,
participate in governance/stewardship of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
artifacts and definitions, including enterprise services, data, business
events/topics, contracts and associated publish/subscribe participants.
·
Specify and design large or complex
systems, select appropriate design standards, methods and tools, consistent
with agreed enterprise and solution architectures and ensures they are applied
effectively.
·
Review others’ systems designs to
ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources, and
integration of multiple systems and technology
·
Evaluate and undertake impact
analysis on major design options and assess and manage associated risks and
ensure that the system design balances functional, service quality and systems
management requirements.
·
Contribute to selection policy for
architecture components, weigh alternatives and identify the most effective
solutions taking into account wider business context, explore a range of
possibilities and creative alternatives to contribute to systems, process and
business improvements and finally implement systems and processes that underpin
high quality research and analysis.
·
Monitor the market to gain knowledge
and understanding of currently emerging technologies, identify new and emerging
hardware and software technologies and products and potential value to the
organization.
·
Document policies, procedures and
reference architectures on Intranet and communicate updates to appropriate
staff. Provide best practice recommendations for project implementation and
designing policies and procedures to support the recommendations.
·
Attend code reviews to ensure that
platform-specific standards and best practices are followed.
·
Provide team support in project
delivery; systems development, solution architecture Design, architecture
reviews, architecture assessment, component development, ICT tools evaluation,
vendor review, employs modeling as a framework; mentorship guidance, manage team
expectations, organize for one on one sessions and manage communication within
the team with regard to timely project updates.
·
Ensures that the solution
architectures align with the roadmaps established by enterprise architecture,
and that they adhere to the enterprise architecture principles.
Qualifications
·
Bachelors degree in Computer Science,
IT, Statistics, Actuarial Science and/or related fields
4 years’ professional experience in IT solution architecture, opment of APIs on Enterprise service bus/SOA experience is desirable.
4 years’ professional experience in IT solution architecture, opment of APIs on Enterprise service bus/SOA experience is desirable.
·
Solid grasp of design patterns and
principles, particularly Object-Oriented Design (OOD), Service-Oriented
Architecture (SOA) and Event-Driven Architecture (EDA).
·
Excellent software development skills
– Java, Spring framework, JBoss, Websphere Application Server, C#, Oracle
databases, SQL server, DevOps, SOA/ESB, Cloud based solutions, Android, REST,
XML/RPC, CORBA, Business process management (BPM), Active MQ, Kannel.
·
Experience on systems like Mobile
money transfer, USSD/SMS, ERP, CRM, core banking system and other systems in a
financial services ecosystem.
·
Familiarity with Unified Modeling
Language (UML) and possesses knowledge of ancillary technologies in use at,
such as Java, MS SQL server, Eclipse, Oracle, or an ability to quickly learn
any of these if needed.
·
Possesses a strong customer service
attitude, excellent communication skills, exhibits a passion for learning and
continuous improvement. Takes responsibility for acquiring new skills and broadening
knowledge.
·
Exhibits a commitment to the
utilization of defined standards and processes with entrepreneurial flair with
strong business acumen.
·
High level of mathematical aptitude
and strong problem-solving skills, logical, analytical and investigative mind,
together with creative abilities, A wild duck – out of the box thinker.
·
Ability to handle complex information
with accuracy and attention to detail.
Middleware/ESB Integrations Developer
Leveraging on Digital
Platforms…Delivering a Crisp Experience for our Customers
We are redefining how our customers
interact with our systems, making our platforms available to them when they
need them, at all times. We are also making it possible for them to access
custom made solutions on our channels, seamless and hustle free, right from the
comfort of their homes and offices. We have and we are making it seamless and
easy for them to do business with us by ensuring that their journeys and their
experiences are painless and memorable.
To achieve this, we need an agile,
creative, well experienced, self-motivated Middleware Integrations Developer to
deliver customer centric solutions. To excel in this position, you need to be
knowledgeable on Integrations to other supporting systems (database, OS and
networks) and skilled in configuration and deployment of TIBCO components. You
must possess experience in implementing and supporting TIBCO products,
Web-services, load balancing and Middleware implementation in development, test
and production environment with a broad and deep understanding of web services
automation, implementation and support of SOA best practices in agile banking
environments.
You are brilliant, self-driven and
have great follow-through, an exceptional IT professional with solid programming
skills and knowledge of database concepts and you possess strong analytical and
process improvement skills with proven proficiency in dealing with corporate
information systems in the banking sector.
Reporting to Head – Software
Development and Integrations, the role holder will be responsible for the
detailed analysis, design, development, configuration, implementation, support
and maintenance of the respective integrations and systems within the bank
especially on TIBCO Middleware integrations. Additionally, the person will have
knowledge of Monitoring ESB server performance, systems capacity, and plan and
execute load balancing and fail over. Moreover, this role will require one to
work in an agile environment to fulfill the needs of the team.
If this sounds like you, then
consider this position at Co-operative Bank. It will give you an opportunity to
leverage on our systems and digital platforms to deliver distinctive customer
experiences. It can only get more exciting for you here at “The Kingdom Bank”,
you get to stretch yourself to new horizons, with opportunities at every step
of your career!
Responsibilities
·
Analyze requests obtained from
business to determine operational problems, define integration requirements,
advice best way for integration and document the same.
·
Develop new and manage existing ESB
integrations depending on the need and requirements.
·
Develop polices and processes around
ESB systems, defining and executing lifecycle management compliance checkpoints
and reviews, assistance with technology management of Service Oriented
Infrastructure and ESB systems support for development, production and
management of Middleware implementation.
·
Develop and maintain SOA reference
architecture and assist in the management of the Universal Description,
·
Discovery and Integration (UDDI)
services catalog, SOAP and REST, Web-services, and Web Services
·
Description Language (WSDL) to
streamline the process of managing the Middleware system uptime while ensuring
optimum performance and efficient web services delivery through the Enterprise
Service Bus (ESB) as part of the bank’s operating model.
·
Support the UDDI services catalog in
the development and management of ESB toolkits, reference architectures, and in
the integration and deployment of Web Services provided by other vendors into
the ESB.
·
Provide hands on Performance
Management of the SOA ESB products from TIBCO (TIBCO Enterprise Message Service
(EMS), TIBCO Business Works, Rendezvous (RV), TIBCO Hawk and TIBCO Spotfire)
including WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere MQ and Oracle Tuxedo in development,
test and production environments.
·
Mentor and guide other developers on
the implementation of web services to optimize resource utilization and also
carry out technical user training as required to enable users interpret the
reports.
·
Provide test interfaces for users
before go-live at the same time work with other vendors to configure and
support middlware systems internally.
·
Develop and maintain documentation/manuals
on system configuration or setup.
Qualifications
The successful jobholder will be
required to possess the following qualifications: –
·
Bachelor’s degree in Computer
Science, Software and Electronics Engineering, IT or related field from a
recognized university.
·
At least 2 years’ experience in
implementing and supporting TIBCO products, Web-services, load balancing and
ESB implementation in development, test and production environment.
·
Knowledgeable in the Integration to
other supporting systems (database, OS and networks) and skilled in
configuration and deployment of TIBCO components.
·
A broad and deep understanding of web
services automation implementation and support of SOA best practices in agile
banking environments.
·
Experience in performance monitoring,
load balancing, performance tuning/optimization, load testing, management of
middleware systems and must be able to independently carry out these functions
including capacity planning in TIBCO ESB products environments.
·
Excellent understanding of
programming languages and other programming tools particularly J2EE, XML.
·
Strong analytical, presentation and
troubleshooting skills with the ability to work through own initiative and as
part of a team.
·
Good knowledge and skills in
configuration and deployment of TIBCO components.
How to Apply
If you are confident that you fit the
role and person profile and you are keen to add value to your career then
please forward your application letter enclosing detailed Curriculum Vitae to jobs@co-opbank.co.ke indicating the job reference number ID/SSD/2017 by 30th
June, 2017. We are an equal opportunity employer.
