MS Azure Cloud Enterprise Architect

Job description

The role of the Cloud Enterprise Architect is to help the Firm deliver its business strategy through technology. This includes providing architecture support to the firm’s Infrastructure Transformation Portfolio and for the Data Centre Exit Programme.  They must therefore translate the business strategy into the equivalent technology strategy; challenge the business strategy based on emerging and future technology trends; help business Capabilities to design and govern their technology roadmap, i.e. a portfolio of technology transformation projects that deliver the business and technology strategies; influence business and technology stakeholders to adopt the right technology solutions; and escalate risks, issues and critical dependencies to the appropriate leaders as required to ensure the successful delivery of the strategy.

You will be required to maintain your core knowledge of wider technology trends and the KPMG technology ecosystem; build roadmaps and solutions; and govern relevant tech choices within the Firm.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Core knowledge 
• Build and maintain extensive Azure Cloud and DevOps architecture and solution design skills, providing SME input to projects and/or run/build
• Build and maintain all-round competence in Cloud, and relevant Application, Integration, Data and Security technologies
• Maintain a high level of technical knowledge incl. current, emerging and future technology market trends and their impact on the business
• Develop and maintain expert knowledge of KPMG’s technology ecosystem, incl. the main applications and technologies that support one or more KPMG Capabilities, e.g. Tax, Audit, etc.
• If required, provide advice to and/or seek to learn from other Member Firms, client teams and/or clients that are seeking to implement or improve their use of specific technologies and/or methods
• Create and develop relevant documentats – reference architecture, roadmaps and other key architecture artefacts
• Work closely with Cloud engineering teams across the firm
• Create and maintain a detailed view of existing designs to help manage the transition to future state
• Identify business/project risk and mitigate or communicate as necessary
• Carry out additional duties as may occur from time to time as instructed and agreed by leadership
• Develop relationships within the KPMG business and technology functions

Roadmaps & solutions
• Work with Capability CTOs, and business and technical SMEs to develop technology roadmaps for one or more KPMG Capabilities
• Engage with public Cloud vendors to understand their technology roadmaps and identify opportunities for KPMG to leverage them
• Ensure that Capability roadmaps are aligned to the relevant business strategy and the Firm's Digital Strategy, and are coherent with those of other Capabilities and technology domain roadmaps
• Work with Capability CTOs, technical SMEs and specific projects to analyse and translate business requirements into technical requirements, ensuring that these are feasible
• Ensure that Solution Architects produce designs that are fit for purpose, adhere to relevant standards and patterns, leverage reusable components, and are coherent with wider KPMG tech domains
• Contribute to the selection of specific technologies
• Influence business and technology stakeholders to adopt the right technology solutions
• Support the design and implementation of operating models that improve the design and delivery of successful technology deployments
• Escalate risks, issues and critical dependencies to the appropriate leaders as required to ensure the successful delivery of projects and, if relevant, BAU operations

Technology governance
• Chair relevant Cloud Design Authority and participate in the technology assurance process, building reference models and ensuring that standards, patterns, and reusable components are enforced
• Ensure that legacy technology is decommissioned to manage and reduce technical debt
• Support the selection and implementation of enterprise architecture tools that help to accelerate and govern technology initiatives

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Essential (Cloud Enterprise Architecture)
• Proven expert knowledge of Cloud architecture design relating to Azure
• Strong understanding of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, Cloud hosting and integration technologies
• Strong understanding of Azure Active Directory
• Experience of cloud monitoring, provisioning, orchestration management, and DevSecOps 
• Business focused, with the ability to communicate and convey messages to both technical and business stakeholders
• Good knowledge of at least 2-3 other domains in Infrastructure, Networking, Security, and Integration
• Good knowledge of EA governance incl. steps required, e.g., Info Sec approval, conceptual and solution architecture reviews, pen tests, code reviews and service acceptance criteria
• Strong experience in Enterprise and Solution Architecture roles 

Essential (Other)
• Experience of working with Agile SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle Management) methods
• Understanding of common business analysis techniques and approaches
• Able to explain technical concepts to a non-technical audience in a way that is relevant, easy to consume and compelling
• A high level of general, technical knowledge incl. current, emerging and future technology market trends and their impact on business
• Good understanding of project management concepts, incl. Gantt charts/plans, risks, assumptions, and dependencies, etc.
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Good interpersonal and leadership skills
• Ability to leverage networks in KPMG, e.g., to tap into additional expertise if required
• Good understanding of technical debt, incl. its causes, how to measure it, and remedial actions incl. decommissioning
• Quantify and assign monetary value to a proposal, within defined assumptions
• Experience of working with project teams both onshore and/or offshore
• Comfortable working with ambiguity at the beginning of projects, with ability to provide clarity of direction despite this
• Ability to continually learn, work independently, and make decisions with minimal supervision
• Mentor and coach junior colleagues where necessary

Desirable
• Knowledge of AWS and GCP 
• Experience of M365
• Be a Cloud advocate to a wider audience inside and outside of the business 
• Bring fresh ideas to the team and wider firm, e.g. new software, containerisation or automation (e.g. infra as code) of existing infrastructure and projects
• Practical understanding of GDPR and ISO 27001
• Qualified in ITIL and TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework)
• Bachelor’s degree

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