Solution Architect at Old Mutual

Job Description

• Design and implement integration components like micro services. Manage Java/Java EE application development while providing expertise in the full software development lifecycle, from concept and design to testing. Modernise and optimise the integration components while also delivering features, fixes and updates frequently in close alignment with business objectives. This role includes technical, financial and resource development. Develop and promote IT and business partner relationships.
• Collaborate in improving current integration technologies to be cloud-ready and continuously research, develop and implement cloud technologies.

Key responsibilities

• Design and implement information systems and solutions to meet business needs and to support the enterprise infrastructure.
• Develop and regularly maintain future state integration designs and patterns in line with the organisations business and IT strategies as well as the roadmap for transforming between current and future infrastructure vision.
• Adopting a Cloud First Integration Architecture approach
• Define integration patterns, architecture standards, and reusable frameworks.
• Lead the development and implementation of APIs, microservices, and ESB solutions.
• Collaborate with application, infrastructure, and security teams to align integration architecture.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to development and integration teams.
• Conduct code reviews, troubleshooting integration issues, and optimize system performance.
• Document architecture designs and maintain architectural governance.
• Designing the integration cloud environment from a holistic point of view, ensuring it meets all of the company's requirements
• Carrying out deployment, maintenance, monitoring, and management tasks within this implemented cloud structure.
• Overseeing cloud security as prescribed by IT security
• Ensure group alignment on Cloud and Integration Strategies.
• Lead and perform stakeholder management associated and affected by the new and existing integration solutions/platforms.
• Maintain and analyse internal records of problem causes and resolutions, identify problems and modify the resolution actions to prevent recurrence.
• Develop solid integration architectural plans and deployment architectures for application development and infrastructure projects.
• Provide input into technical direction decisions in the area of infrastructure/application architecture.
• Maximise the use and re-use of integration standards and patterns that is already in place by determining to what extent parts of solutions already exist when new solutions are defined.
• Ensure that sustainability and impact of the administration of integration solutions are understood and taken into account when technical solutions are proposed.
• Develop and implement IT innovations or methodologies that achieve efficiencies and reduce costs based on time, risk and process.
• Identify new industry trends, products, technologies, practices and processes by selecting and using appropriate sources of information.
• Design and deliver solutions that factor in system performance, usability, quality, cross-system interdependencies, and scalability while accounting for development and maintenance costs.
• Perform the administration of technical solutions according to the agreed plans and processes and propose continuous enhancements to these processes where applicable.
• Ensure that solutions are built using the agreed tools, frameworks, processes and architectural principles.
• Develop and execute test plans to check integration and system inter-dependencies, technical performance, and functionality including post-production operational monitoring.
• Develop appropriate disaster recovery plans for critical business systems, including working with infrastructure, development and business teams to produce and sustain practical solutions.
• Lead, develop and implement Micro services with experience using JAX-RS and related technologies
• Object-Oriented analysis and design using common design patterns.
• Profound insight of Java and JEE internals (Class loading, Memory Management, Transaction management)
• Excellent knowledge of Relational Databases, SQL and ORM technologies (JPA2)
• Analyse and improve existing infrastructure and technology stack

Drive change methodology and ensure implementation across all projects

• Responsible for influencing and implementing change management strategies and plans that maximize user adoption and proficiency and minimize resistance to increase benefit realization, value creation, ROI and the achievement of business results and outcomes.
• Identify solutions to enhance cost effectiveness and increase operational efficiency.

Continuous improvement to ensure effective service

• Ensure statutory and legislative knowledge is always current, to advise the business on corrective solutions to mitigate risks and to improve the customer experience whilst complying with governance requirements.
• Ensure adherence to organisational policies, practices and procedures.
• Identify solutions to enhance cost control, increase operational efficiency and manage operating budget goals.
• Conducting migration, where necessary, to bring tools and other elements into the cloud.
• Continued focus on Cloud First cost efficiencies and optimisation

Service delivery to ensure customer satisfaction

• Maintain service, quality and desired outputs across the business process by ensuring compliance to tactical policies, procedures and standards.
• Establish productive operational relationships with key stakeholders in the various channels and administrative teams.
• Develop work routines in line with operational plans / schedules in order to manage achievement of service delivery goals.
• Share knowledge on, and participate in the creation of new standards, control systems and procedures to enhance service delivery.
• Offering training and guidance to all whose roles bring them into contact with the cloud structure.

Ensure cost efficiency through financial and corporate governance

• Accountable for the development and implementation of fit for purpose budgets.
• Accountable for managing supplier relationships, and budgets associated with projects.
• Keeping on top of usage of space in the cloud and making sure the structure is operating at full efficiency.
• Working with business clients to understand their needs and to implement the cloud strategies designed to meet those needs.

Quality people practices

• Align own behaviour with the organisation culture and values.
• Share and transfer product, process and systems knowledge to colleagues.
• Ensure achievement of own performance objectives.
• Actively share information with other team members regarding successes, issues, trends and ideas.
• Actively participate in own professional development and career path.
• Actively promote a culture of learning and high-performance culture amongst team members.
• Align to the Cloud Centre Of Excellence

Experience, knowledge & skills required

• Bachelor’s degree.
• TOGAF
• 8–12 years of experience in enterprise application and middleware integration.
• 8 – 10 years’ experience in IT Integration implementation and support within the Insurance industry.
• 5-8 years of Java and J2EE/Java EE (including servlets, JSP, JSF, JDBC)
• Experience with DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines (Git, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes).
• 5+ years web application experience in developing customer facing high scale applications
• 5+ years building Micro services
• 5+ years building REST and SOAP web services using Java
• 5+ years SQL tuning, query optimization and capability to understand the complex queries.
• Strong understanding of Java concurrency, concurrency patterns, experience building thread safe code
• Solid understanding of JMS and related queueing technologies
• Experience with development tools like Eclipse, Git, SVN, Maven, Sonar, Jenkins, Azure DevOps
• Experience using and deploying to Enterprise Application Servers like Oracle WebLogic, WildFly, IBM WebSphere
• Strong Project and People Management skills 
• Quality Assurance
• Documentation Control
• Knowledge of Security Best Practices
• Scrum of Agile Methodologies Experience
• API Gateway knowledge

Additional optional skillsets:

• 5 – 8 years’ experience in designing, integrating and managing complex integration solutions.
• 3 – 5 years of experience designing, executing, and supporting IT cloud solutions.
• Able to work proficiently with several different operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
• Proficient with Amazon Web Services, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Microsoft Azure Cloud.
• Design knowledge for cloud architecture.
• Understanding of cloud infrastructure configuration and deployment.
• Cloud service management skills. 

Skills

• Adaptive Thinking, Application Development, Confidentiality, Database Administration, Database Queries, Data Classification, Data Compilation, Data Compression, Data Encoding, Data Modeling, Data Recovery, Executing Plans, Gateway Servers, IT Architecture, Test Case Management

Competencies

Education

• NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

• 30 October 2025