Principal Platform Architect

PURPOSE:  The Principal Domain Architect is an application development expert with business acumen and in-depth knowledge and expert skills to advance domain strategies. Translates business needs for security into architectural solutions that meet performance, reliability, and security expectations. Applies enterprise roadmaps, principles, standards, and practices to drive their security strategies and execution. Acts as the key interface for Core Technology Services (CTS) to provide application architecture guidance for all CTS technology. Provides direct operational support to Cloud Engineering and Enablement (CEE) members, who are responsible for execution and implementation of cloud services and governance controls. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Leads preparation of application design viewpoints and models depicting current, target, and interim states. Use current state viewpoints to identify and analyze pain points and opportunities (PPOs). Lead advanced modeling and analysis to meet the strategic needs of the organization with respect to system, information, functional/non-functional needs, performance, and security/regulatory requirements. Create and utilize architecture patterns and ensure alignment with IT strategies and reference architectures. Ensure target state alignment and integration across architecture domains. Ensure upstream alignment / traceability to business needs via business architecture and downstream alignment / traceability with solution building blocks. Leads the enablement of application architecture strategies and development of standards, and guidelines. Identify and support development of reusable development & design patterns. Leads design, engineering, and implementation of assets for internal use in solutions to improve solution quality; collaborate through implementation phase. Leads peer reviews and represent the architecture domain in briefings to the Architecture Innovation Review Board. Oversees publishing and maintenance of viewpoints / work products in the architecture repository, ensuring they are organized, accurate, and accessible. Disposition stakeholder comments / feedback received via project and non-project channels. Ensures that regulatory and compliance issues are addressed in solutions. Leads collaboration with other teams (business and technical), key stakeholders, and partners to understand needs to maximize architecture impact and address technical limitations. Leads the evaluation/selection of a solution / product design that aligns with IT / Security strategies, standards, and guidelines. Leads research emerging application and cloud service trends to determine their relevancy and fit for the organization. Participate in vendor evaluations and selection process broadly; leads vendor evaluation and selection, providing an application architecture focused lens for CTS. Represent CTS from a security perspective in the drafting of RFIs/RFPs and the evaluation / scoring of vendor proposals. Supports the development / enhancement of DevSecOps methods and tools. Ensure the alignment / integration of best practices, processes / deliverables with those of other architecture domains and SDLC disciplines. Leads development of application architecture related communications / education material and documentation for use with stakeholders and architecture / SDLC partners. Leads assessments for most complex new / proposed projects for architecture impacts in support of annual planning, resource estimation, and alignment with IT strategy and enterprise architecture. Provide input to project, product, and enterprise technology roadmaps. Provide regular reporting on progress, issues, and opportunities related to architecture domain. Ensure that CTS and the CEE solutions and design aligns with Enterprise Architecture and IT Application strategies & approved patterns. Serve as a key CTS contact, interacting frequently with IT Applications, DevSecOps, and Enterprise Architecture for alignment. SCOPE: The CareFirst infrastructure supports six thousand+ internal business users, five million members, and sixty thousand providers across twenty-two CareFirst locations In alignment with overall CTS, IT and Enterprise Architecture strategies, the Principal Domain Architect will provide application focused guidance, design reviews, and design approvals for CTS focused supporting & enabling: Cloud API & Microservices – CareFirst’s approach is “cloud first, native first, Azure first, therefore the primary cloud is Azure, but AWS and various SaaS providers are applicable. CTS has operational ownership of AWS and Azure cloud environments. The incumbent will be an interface between the Cloud Infrastructure Engineering group and our IT application developers, acting as a bridge between Apps and Operations. Application Performance – CareFirst develops and exposes API’s for interoperability, electronic medical record, and other integrations with internal and external healthcare systems. The principal domain architect will be the voice for CTS and support Cloud Enablement and Execution (CEE) to ensure optimal design and performance for applications owned by CTS and those apps requiring review by the CEE. Performance Tools – Cloud and on-premises infrastructure and applications, including virtual machines, PaaS services, and Web & API services must be instrumented with performance and event collection tools. Additionally, our ITSM tools (ServiceNow) must be properly managed and optimized to support all capabilities enabled by CTS (i.e. CMDB, request, demand, incident) Incumbent will be the lead architect responsible for design, approval, and ATO for CTS tools. In addition to system architecture design, the incumbent will also participate in ideation and design of ServiceNow integration with Azure Cloud and DevOps pipelines, enabling self-service capabilities for the organization. Cloud Migration – CareFirst is migrating all applications to Azure cloud, including migration of microservices and api services from AWS to Azure. The incumbent will provide architectural consultation to the migration factory and Cloud Infrastructure Engineering teams to ensure smooth migrations. Additionally, the continuous re-evaluation of applications for modernization and consolidation, eliminating technical debt, are necessary activities. Governance & Compliance (cloud & on premises) – Ensure security best practices for applications and performance tools. As a healthcare provider with Federal customers, we require FedRamp moderate compliance within the identified boundaries. HIPAA, PCI, and other regulatory compliance must be enforced Unified Communications – Office 365 Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive, Power BI, Power Platform. O365 Office plugins and Azure Enterprise Apps require architecture review. The incumbent will be an interface for the Unified Communications team to create standards/guidelines to ensure optimal performance within our Unified communications O365 environment. On-premises Infrastructure – Datacenter exit and multi-region co-locations. Infrastructure PODs (Net/Storage/Compute) supporting cloud incompatible apps/services. Windows/Linux OS VM’s running on VMware virtualization platform SaaS/PaaS applications – Partnerships with Salesforce, Planon, KeyedIn, Splunk, and other SaaS providers. Marketplace partner solutions and SaaS/PaaS preferred over IaaS End user computing & collaboration – Horizon VDI (non-admin & privileged admin jump VM’s), Laptops with Palo Alto VPN, Teams meeting rooms, and BYOD with Intune app management. Incumbent will assist provide architectural guidance relative to end user computing automation. QUALIFICATIONS: The Principal Domain Architect possess a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field and have 10+ years of application/software architecture experience. In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, a successful candidate possesses and additional 4 years of professional experience. Experienced software developer. Prefer javascript, python, C#, understanding of springboot applications, Terraform, Powershell scripting. Prefer experience with Azure Devops, GitHub, or other CI/CD tooling. Proficient understanding of the architectural principles of cloud-based platforms including SaaS, PaaS, multitenancy, multi-tiered infrastructure, etc. Proficient experience with Microsoft Azure and AWS preferred. Good understanding of enterprise networking architecture in a hybrid cloud environment. Thorough understanding and expertise with network load balancing, routing, subnetting, etc. Good understanding of all cloud offerings in the market and ability to discuss cloud architectures with multiple audiences with different levels of understanding. Good understanding of certificate services, TLS, MTLS, SAS Tokens, PAT Tokens Good understanding and experience with core shared infrastructure services such as DNS, DHCP, Active Directory, LDAP, etc. Good understanding of DevOps, CI/CD pipeline, test automation, environment, and configuration automation, etc. Azure cloud infrastructure experience is a plus. Microsoft O365 & Azure architecture experience is a plus. Familiar with Industry or vertical solutions or SaaS is a plus. Familiar with relevant (regional, market, industry) data privacy and compliance requirements. Department Department:  Equal Employment Opportunity CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is an Equal Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.