Senior Solutions Architect

h3Senior Solution Architect – Railway Infrastructure /h3 pbLocation: /b Brussels /p h3About the Role /h3 pWe are looking for an experienced bSenior Solution Architect /b to join the ICT department of a major organization in the railway infrastructure sector. /p pYou will work on a major project covering applications and systems supporting railway infrastructure management, train traffic planning and infrastructure works planning across the Belgian railway network. These applications are business-critical, supporting planning teams, signaling stations and Traffic Control, with 24/7 operational support. /p pAs Solution Architect, you will be responsible for defining, documenting and governing the solution architecture, ensuring alignment with business requirements, enterprise architecture principles, technical standards and cybersecurity requirements. /p pThe role combines architectural expertise with strong technical knowledge. You should be able to assess existing code, challenge technical decisions and work effectively with engineering teams to ensure that proposed architectures are realistic and implementable. /p h3Key Responsibilities /h3 ul liAnalyze business requirements, stakeholder needs and functional and non-functional requirements. /li liAssess the existing architecture and define the target solution architecture. /li liDesign and compare architectural scenarios, evaluating feasibility, costs, risks, benefits and trade-offs. /li liDefine application, integration, data, infrastructure and security architecture. /li liDevelop and maintain the technical architecture roadmap, including legacy system evolution and platform modernization. /li liEnsure alignment with enterprise architecture principles, technical standards and cybersecurity requirements. /li liIdentify architectural gaps, dependencies, technical risks and transition requirements. /li liGuide development, engineering, integration, testing, security and operations teams during implementation. /li liParticipate in technical refinement sessions and conduct targeted code reviews. /li liPerform architecture and implementation compliance reviews. /li liBuild and maintain architecture models using bArchiMate /b, preferably in Sparx Enterprise Architect. /li liDocument architectural decisions, maintain traceability between requirements and solutions, and facilitate knowledge transfer. /li /ul h3Technical Environment /h3 pThe solution combines legacy systems and modern microservices technologies. /p ul libInfrastructure: /b OpenShift, AIX, Oracle, Redis /li libFrontend: /b Angular 15 and 18, Swing /li libMessaging Integration: /b IBM MQ, Kafka /li libSecurity: /b HashiCorp Vault /li /ul pExperience with every technology is not mandatory. However, a strong understanding of distributed architectures, legacy environments, microservices and messaging mechanisms (MQ and Kafka) is essential. /p h3Required Experience Technical Skills /h3 ul liAt least b10 years of relevant IT experience /b, including solution architecture and information systems design. /li liProven experience as a Solution Architect on production systems. /li liStrong knowledge of enterprise and solution architecture, architecture governance and requirements management. /li liExperience with architecture modelling, ideally using ArchiMate. /li liAbility to design architectures covering business, data, applications, integration and technology. /li liExperience designing and integrating complex solutions involving multiple technical domains and stakeholders. /li liStrong understanding of distributed systems, microservices, APIs, integration patterns, messaging and event-driven architectures. /li liKnowledge of databases, data modelling, transactions, distributed caching and data consistency. /li liUnderstanding of infrastructure, cloud, containerization, orchestration and deployment strategies. /li liKnowledge of application security, authentication, authorization, secrets management and software supply chain security. /li liUnderstanding of resilience, business continuity, performance, observability and operational requirements. /li liExperience with architecture reviews, risk assessments and implementation governance. /li liPrevious hands-on software development experience, sufficiently recent to engage credibly with development teams. /li /ul h3Nice to have: /h3 ul liPractical knowledge of TOGAF; certification is an advantage. /li liKnowledge of cybersecurity practices and IT service management frameworks. /li /ul