Solution Architect, SWIFT (Strategy What‑If Tool)

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan • Toronto, ON

7d • CA$105,000 - CA$155,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Solution Architect is responsible for the design, development and maintenance, of applications that provide services and solutions to business partners. This role will translate functional requirements into technical solution design and architecture for these applications. This role is also responsible for providing guidance for technical decisions being made within software development initiatives. SWIFT (Strategy What‑If Tool) is a platform used to simulate market scenarios and assess their impact on the total fund to support investment decision‑making. In addition, this role is also accountable for contributing to data architecture activities, including delivering and consulting on logical and physical data models, virtualized and persistent integrated data sets, data access layer designs, and other data management aspects of solution development as part of the wholistic suite of technology solutions provided to business teams.

Requirements

• Computer Science or Engineering degree or equivalent education
• Effective verbal and written communication skills are required. This includes coaching, mentoring, presentation, conflict resolution, negotiation, and expectation management skills.
• Works with minimal supervision and is proactive in soliciting management direction and in escalating significant issues.
• Demonstrates a willingness to take on responsibility and can execute autonomously
• Recognized by IT and customer stakeholders as a leader capable of clearly articulating plans and ensuring successful execution.
• Has developed a track record of successfully delivering solutions with the ability to effectively prioritize across competing priorities with varying stakeholders.
• Understanding of the OTPP business objectives, processes, and practices related to the customer Division.
• Excellent understanding of solutions and technologies supporting current and future business needs.
• Good understanding of customer business environment and concepts
• Strong practical experience and knowledge of software analysis, design, data integration and development
• Good understanding of data modelling, data integration patterns, and data lifecycle management.
• Strong practical experience and knowledge of service-oriented design and development
• Demonstrated understanding of current development processes, standards, and tooling is required. This includes analysis and design techniques and tools, development techniques, testing approaches, and deployment methods.
• Knowledge and experience with different aspects of the life cycle of a project - including task definition and assignment, communication, managing team dynamics, scheduling, monitoring, and motivation.
• Demonstrated experience and success in delivering solutions through the entire software development life cycle; complemented with a thorough understanding of hardware and software platforms, connectivity solutions, databases, middleware, groupware, etc.
• A minimum of 7 years of programming experience developing software applications using an object-oriented programming language or languages
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in providing technical team leadership to a small development team
• Demonstrated Experience with relational database platforms and cloud data solutions, such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL and Snowflake
• Strong expertise across a broad technology stack, including .Net, C#, Python, DBT, SSIS, ActiveMQ, Docker, Kubernetes, Azure services (particularly AKS, Azure Redis etc.)
• Proficiency in DevOps methodologies and CI/CD tooling, including GitHub, Jenkins, and Nexus
• Deep working knowledge of software development best practices, including domain-driven design, application architecture patterns, Agile methodologies, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), programming languages and continuous integration/continuous delivery pipelines.
• Experience successfully delivering solutions with the ability to effectively manage across competing priorities with varying stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Strong interest in modern development workflows, combined with expertise in AI-assisted coding and rapid prototyping, is a strong asset
• Strong interest in financial systems, combined with a deep familiarity with investment risk concepts and capital market, is a strong asset
• Extensive experience architecting and delivering large-scale enterprise applications

Responsibilities

• Create new code and work with existing code to provide well-designed technical and data solutions that are strategically aligned, extensible and easy to maintain
• Implement new technologies, provide thought leadership to evolve and improve technical design and development patterns, practices and standards
• Develop application and technical solution and data architecture for highly complex application software including technology selection, frameworks, tools and integration with third party products
• Contribute to the design, architecture and development of technical solutions including custom applications, design of data structures, data integration patterns required to meet business objectives
• Introduce both solution and data architectural, design and implementation standards to be used across all SWIFT development teams
• Work with business partners to understand both functional and data requirements, leverage business knowledge to translate requirements to appropriate solution architecture and feasible technical implementation plans.
• Be accountable for the delivery of architecturally sound solutions that are developed according to agreed-upon standards. The assurance is attained through design and code reviews, knowledge transfer & sharing, monitoring quality metrics and trending, and automation/assertion via enabling tools and technology
• Be responsible for key system solution and data design and integration decisions and for communicating decisions to individuals implementing the system
• Maintain currency in relevant technology trends and industry developments to prepare recommendations for new technology adoption
• Remain current vendor products to ensure that OTPP is effectively using technology and products and maintaining alignment to product roadmaps and support schedules
• Identify performance and/or reliability related technical issues, develop action plans for improvement, implement corrective action
• Ensure that the solutions conform to established standards of architecture, quality and are developed using the appropriate technologies and practices
• Responsible for key technical components including design, architecture and technology strategy
• Provide leadership in the planning of development activities within the project and ensuring alignment with the established architectural patterns
• Promote teamwork and collaboration between project teams using similar technologies
• Provide guidance and advice to all members of the SWIFT Engineering team on architecture, data analysis/modelling, design, and coding including the use if AI/machine learning.
• Provide overall technical leadership and expertise to projects and strategic initiatives within their area of the business
• Provide technical oversight and perspective to the development and project teams.
• Provide guidance to development teams on data design patterns, including APIs, messaging, and data platform technologies.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Data and Architecture teams to define data integration patterns, and data access design.
• Communicate with business partners regarding technical requirements and key issues, effectively set expectations for project delivery and provide timely updates should additional challenges arise

Benefits

• Pay-for-performance with base salary and annual incentive based on individual and enterprise performance.
• Numerous opportunities for professional growth and development
• Comprehensive employer paid benefits coverage
• Retirement income through a defined benefit pension plan
• The opportunity to invest back into the fund through our Deferred Incentive Program
• A flexible work environment combining in office collaboration and remote working
• Competitive time off
• Our Flexible Travel Program gives you the option to work abroad in another region/country for up to a month each year
• Employee discount programs including Edvantage and Perkopolis

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree