Senior I&IT Architect

Join The Ontario Digital Service (ODS) to design and deliver the future of government services.

People are at the heart of our mission to ensure that government works for everyone. Be a part of a world-leading public service, and help improve the lives of over 14 million people of Ontario, through our work using modern design, data and technology tools and practices.

Help us scale impact across the public sector, tackling some of the most important challenges of our time. We work in agile multidisciplinary, inclusive, and collaborative teams.

Bring your curiosity and build the future with us.

The Opportunity

As a Senior I&IT Architect in the Ontario Digital Service you will be presented with the opportunity to support digital transformation of top government priorities. You will be part of a multi-disciplinary, high-impact team that drives digital transformation within government while using user-centric design strategies and new technology trends. We are looking for people with a proven background and hands-on experience in implementing complex, technology solutions.

What can I expect to do in this role?

As a Senior I&IT Architect, you will:

• Provide expertise and leadership in technology architecture with a focus in Technical (including infrastructure and networks), Application architecture, strategies, technology road mapping and methodologies
• Contribute to and manage the planning, design, delivery and implementation of product and user-centric solutions related to large scale, complex, products required to meet the critical business requirements
• Contribute to the definition, evaluation and provide leadership in the development of architecture policies, standards, guidelines and best practices affecting government initiatives
• Head user-centric solution design and architecture of cost-effective, high-performing, reliable and simple to use technology solutions
• Design for top digital government priorities and enterprise platforms that have a high impact on lives of the people of Ontario
• Work with agile teams that includes a Product Manager, Lead Developers, Scrum Masters, Software Developers, User Experience Researchers, Experience Designers, DevOps and Content Advisors

What you bring to the team:

• You have proven architectural & technical skills and are not afraid to pursue new ideas and guide digital strategy
• You are proactive, take initiative, steer and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, empowered work environment
• You are seasoned in negotiating and influencing others by persuasion rather than authority
• You are committed to sustaining the culture of equality, diversity and inclusion where teams are supported to achieve the best results for everyone to advance and thrive

How do I qualify?

Technical Knowledge

• You have expertise in architecture with deep knowledge in Technical, Application design, implementation, deployments, technology strategies, policies, plans, current and emerging architecture practices
• You have knowledge of technical security and product management best practices
• You have knowledge of current industry standards and practices particularly to architect, automate and integrate the processes that would enable teams to build, test and release product's features faster (e.g such as Git, CI/CD, etc.)
• You have the ability to apply industry best practices and standards in architecture, software and systems engineering, design and development tools and techniques, and software lifecycle methodologies
• You are adept t in open source technologies, mobile development and databases
• You have hands-on knowledge of programming languages (Python, Java, JavaScript); modern JavaScript-based technologies (Node.js, React, Vue, etc.), Mobile development and semantic accessible languages (HTML5, CSS/SCSS)
• You are seasoned in analysing systems requirements, architecting, designing and implementing IT solutions that conform to IT standards and best practices
• You have designed and built complex API based solutions and transactional systems for enterprise-wide solutions
• You have designed and built complex and effective UI design, accessibility, web standards, and design systems
• You have designed and written automated test scripts for unit, integration, end-to-end, cross-browser, device, and accessibility testing
• You have experience implementing common authentication technologies, browser-based security controls and standard web application security tools
• You have experience with code version control systems (e.g. Git), cloud delivery / deployment models, virtualization, and container solutions (e.g. docker, Kubernetes)
• You have expert level knowledge of applying Design Systems and best practices for developing web-based applications that meet the highest AODA compliance standards

Architecture and Design

• You have expert level understanding of modern architectural standards for cloud-based solutions
• You have proven experience applying software engineering best practices and architectural principles practices to product delivery using emerging delivery methodologies
• You have hands-on experience designing modern architectural patterns to support delivery of complex IT solutions that are stable, secure, responsive, and scalable
• You have experience conducting feasibility studies, reviewing new application system architecture or re-engineering legacy systems or enterprise level platforms
• You can develop architectural solutions to meet complex, multi-year plans, spanning multiple internal/external stakeholders and broadly defined business priorities
• You can resolve significant integration and technical issues to address multiple systems/applications linkages, interdependencies and impacts where requirements are not initially clear
• You can research and recommend innovative systems solution alternatives and integration strategies
• You can develop appropriate performance measures that are adaptive and responsive to address the continuous introduction of new and emerging technologies, use of unfamiliar or unproven technology, broadly defined or undefined business and systems requirements

Leadership and Organizational Skills:

• You can provide guidance and training to the development teams in all aspects of platform or product design and delivery
• You can provide guidance to the teams and partners; schedule activities and explain/document procedures related to the solution architecture and integrations
• You can establish effective working relationships, obtain buy-in for systems development, promote systems to partners, senior management and stakeholders
• You can guide planning, walk throughs and status meetings and similar briefing activities
• You have led by example via taking ownership, designing systems, writing code, being proactive and advocating for a collaborative environment
• You have managed teams on large scale, complex products/platforms/services design and initiatives with high levels of autonomy
• You have mentored and led software developers with the goal to improve their design and development skills
• You foster a culture of ownership and technical excellence
• You are able to articulate methods for build/buy choices on project components, identify common IT risks and address them with contingency plans and backup options
• You energize and motivate the team by recognizing successes and learning from past failures

Communication Skills

• You can work in a multi-disciplinary team environment to sell your ideas to colleagues, both technical and non-technical
• You are adept at navigating complex issues, handling partners and stakeholder interactions
• You have worked with partners to establish relationships with their enterprise architecture, security, operations, and IT teams
• You have guided successful large-scale technical, business and people-related initiatives that improved productivity, performance and quality
• You have developed standards and processes to improve the efficiency of teams and taken steps to help others resolve the conflict and maintain trusting relationships
• You can consult with multiple stakeholders and clients to advise on technical issues
• You can facilitate discussions among stakeholders with different interests
• You can present technology strategies and solutions to management
• You can advise regarding approaches to complex system or platform issues
• You can deliver presentations to clients and stakeholders

Project and Digital Expertise

• You have worked closely with agile product teams in planning product design and development, assist in formulating product architecture strategy
• You can define technical architecture approaches to understand the user story, break down the tasks and guide others in doing so
• You have demonstrated the ability to get buy-in from a team to implement new and improved ways of doing things
• You have pioneered technology expertise around product development, shared best practices and tools with your peers across the organization, collaborated and shared insights and opinions with the development team, and shared lessons learned from your work with peers and leaders to help guide your approach to digital transformation
• You thrive on feedback and are comfortable transforming ideas generated through user research and analysis to create a better user experience
• You can encourage participation in the systems design process
• You can negotiate service agreements with client management and other technology groups to minimize delivery issues and exceed service expectations
• You can provide advice and recommendations regarding most effective implementation strategies

OPS Commitment to diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti- racism:

We are committed to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful and equitable workplace.

We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, as well as people from a diversity of ethnic and cultural origins, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

Visit the OPS Anti-Racism Policy and the OPS Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint pages to learn more about the OPS commitment to advance racial equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the public service.

We offer employment accommodation across the recruitment process and all aspects of employment consistent with the requirements of Ontario's Human Rights Code. Refer to the application instructions below if you require a disability-related accommodation.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

Remember: The deadline to apply is Tuesday, November 23, 2021 11:59 pm EST. Late applications will not be accepted.

We thank you for your interest. Only those selected for further screening or an interview will be contacted.