Senior Solution Architect - Permanent

We are looking for a Senior Solution Architect to work on a project within the railway infrastructure sector in Belgium.

The project focuses on a solution used to plan train traffic and railway infrastructure works across the Belgian railway network.

The solution is used by operational teams responsible for train and works planning, signalling and traffic control. It is a business-critical application environment that requires high availability, reliability and continuous operational support.

The objective of the assignment is to design, document and govern the architecture of the solution, ensuring that it meets business and technical requirements while remaining aligned with the organisation’s architecture standards and long-term objectives.

The role is both technical and architectural. The architect must be able to understand the existing technical environment, read and assess existing code, and discuss technical decisions with engineering teams.

The Solution Architect will work independently from development teams and will not be part of a development team.

The assignment covers a train and infrastructure works planning solution, including its related components and interfaces.

The main objectives are to:

• Assess and document the existing technical environment.
• Establish a technical architecture roadmap.
• Evaluate the current solution and identify potential improvements or necessary rework.
• Support the evolution of existing legacy applications.
• Ensure consistency with a separate platform modernisation programme.
• Ensure compliance with cybersecurity standards.
• Define the target architecture and the steps required to reach it.

Architecture Design and Requirements

• Identify stakeholders, their needs, objectives and expectations.
• Analyse and challenge functional and non-functional requirements.
• Define the solution scope, constraints, assumptions and dependencies.
• Design the target architecture based on business and technical requirements.
• Cover the different architecture dimensions: business, data, applications, integration, technology, security and operations.
• Define interfaces, data flows, component responsibilities and deployment principles.
• Identify reusable components and apply existing standards where relevant.

Architecture Decisions and Roadmap

• Develop and compare different architectural scenarios.
• Assess the benefits, costs, risks, impacts and technical trade-offs of each option.
• Identify gaps between the existing architecture and the target architecture.
• Define intermediate steps and realistic implementation or migration plans.
• Assess technical dependencies, feasibility and technical debt.
• Estimate implementation costs to support decision-making.
• Document important architectural decisions and their rationale through Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).

Architecture Governance and Compliance

• Ensure that the solution complies with architecture principles, standards and reference architectures.
• Prepare and participate in architecture reviews.
• Present architectural decisions and integrate feedback from governance bodies.
• Identify and document deviations, exceptions and associated risks.
• Perform architecture compliance reviews during implementation and before production deployment.
• Update architecture documentation when the implemented solution differs from the initial design.

Technical Implementation Support

• Guide teams involved in detailed design, development, integration, testing, cybersecurity and operations.
• Explain architectural decisions and ensure that they can be implemented by engineering teams.
• Ensure that operational requirements are considered from the design stage, including availability, monitoring, backup, recovery, support and lifecycle management.
• Contribute to Proofs of Concept (PoCs) when necessary.
• Participate in refinement sessions with the Product Owner and analysts.
• Validate the technical aspects of sprint entry criteria.
• Perform targeted code reviews, focusing on service boundaries, interface contracts, transaction management and error handling.
• Organise knowledge transfer and ensure that technical documentation remains up to date.

Architecture Modelling and Documentation

A key part of the assignment is maintaining the architecture repository using ArchiMate.

The architect will:

• Create and maintain architecture models using ArchiMate.
• Work with an architecture modelling tool such as Sparx Enterprise Architect.
• Define and maintain modelling standards and conventions.
• Create different architecture views for different stakeholders from one consistent model.
• Ensure that architecture models reflect the approved solution, identified deviations and target architecture.
• Maintain traceability between architecture models, requirements and architectural decisions.

The existing solution operates in a mixed environment combining legacy technologies and modern microservices.

AreaTechnologiesInfrastructureOpenShift, AIXDatabaseOracle, RedisBack-endJava 8, Java 17-21Front-endAngular 15, Angular 18, SwingSecrets ManagementHashiCorp VaultMessaging / QueueingIBM MQEvent StreamingKafkaLoggingElasticArchitecture ModellingArchiMate, Sparx Enterprise Architect

Experience with every technology listed is not the main requirement. The ability to understand and assess different technologies is more important.

The main technical challenge is the coexistence of legacy applications and microservices, together with different integration mechanisms such as IBM MQ and Kafka.

The candidate must demonstrate:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in IT systems, engineering or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in information system design.
• At least 10 years of experience as a Solution Architect working on production systems.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise and solution architecture concepts.
• Experience with architecture governance and requirements management.
• Ability to produce consistent architecture views covering business, data, applications and technology.
• Strong knowledge of architecture modelling.
• Ability to compare architectural scenarios and assess risks, dependencies, costs and trade-offs.
• Knowledge of integration patterns, APIs, data, infrastructure, cloud and cybersecurity.
• Understanding of operational requirements, resilience, business continuity, performance, capacity and lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated experience designing and integrating solutions involving several technical domains and stakeholders.
• Experience participating in architecture reviews, risk assessments and implementation activities.

• Previous software development experience, sufficiently recent to remain technically credible when interacting with engineering teams.

• Practical knowledge of TOGAF.
• TOGAF certification.
• Knowledge of security practices.
• Knowledge of an IT Service Management framework.

• Experience with the technologies used in the existing environment, particularly OpenShift, Java, Oracle, Redis, IBM MQ and Kafka.

• French and/or Dutch: fluent professional proficiency.
• English: fluent professional proficiency, both written and spoken.

The candidate is expected to demonstrate:

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to understand complex environments and summarise technical information.
• Clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Good listening, facilitation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage disagreements constructively.
• Leadership through influence rather than authority.
• Pragmatism and decision-making skills.
• Autonomy, reliability and a strong sense of responsibility.
• Ability to work in uncertain environments and clearly explain assumptions.
• Ability to support architectural decisions and manage resistance to change through clear explanations and alignment with established guidelines.

The consultant is expected to take ownership of the solution architecture, from understanding the existing environment to defining and documenting the target architecture.

They must be able to:

• Understand how the existing solution works.
• Design a realistic and technically sound target architecture.
• Explain and justify architectural decisions.
• Work with engineering teams while remaining independent from development activities.
• Ensure that the implemented solution follows the approved architecture.
• Maintain clear and reliable architecture documentation, particularly through ArchiMate models.

The expected profile combines strong Solution Architecture experience, technical understanding of complex IT systems and the ability to govern architecture decisions throughout the project.