Technical Architect

Technical Architect We're adding to our diverse team of experts and are looking to hire those who are committed to building a culture that enables the creation of innovative solutions for our business units and clients. We will consider a range of experience for this role and the offer will be commensurate with that.

The Company

As a member of Munich Re's US operations, we offer the financial strength and stability that comes with being part of the world's preeminent insurance and reinsurance brand. Our risk experts work together to assemble the right mix of products and services to help our clients stay competitive - from traditional reinsurance coverages, to niche and specialty reinsurance and insurance products. Company Munich Re America Services Location Schaumburg , United States

Technical Architect

Job Description:

IT Business Solutions delivers business value through the management of IT products including implementation of change projects in a disciplined, business focused, engaged and methodical way to Munich Re Specialty Group North America (MRSGNA) and its associated business units.

The Technical Architect (TA), will have the ability to make a significant impact to the organization by supporting the growth strategy and competitive positioning of MRSGNA and its associated business units. The TA will manage, create, iterate, and maintain technical and data architectures and will be accountable to drive a high-quality technical system design and development which supports system performance at optimal operational cost under the circumstances of flexibility and future change.

The TA will provide technical leadership, facilitation, analysis, design and development across the application portfolio / technology stack. They will be responsible for deliverables that develop target-state guidance (transformation roadmaps and standards, guidelines) in order to enable business strategy and successfully deliver projects.

Reporting to the Head of Business Solutions - MRSGNA, the TA will be based out of US and will ensure that architecture vision and standards are executed through a common framework that is aligned with Global Specialty Insurance (GSI) and Munich Re guidelines and directives.

The ideal candidate for this role is someone who will help advance the directives of the MRSGNA organization with a focus on simplification, and modernization of our technology stacks by providing architectural and technical leadership in the implementation of initiatives supporting the business objectives and priorities.

This position will be located in the US.

Your Job:

• Support MRSGNA initiatives, maintaining collaboration channels with internal business customers to understand their priorities and objectives and design and develop high-level architecture solutions that will support these priorities and objectives.
• Ensure architecture solutions adhere to industry best practices and Munich Re enterprise standards.
• Drive and champion standardization of technology standards, guidelines and principles across MRSGNA business units where feasible.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship and guidance to development teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Partner with project managers, developers, and other stakeholders to provide architecture and technical direction for requirements and development of platforms.
• Oversee database design and development, for MRSGNA database management systems and coordinate with Munich DB team.
• Work closely with cloud, infrastructure, and global platform teams to deliver project requirements.
• Coordinate and develop technological architecture/technical architecture roadmaps and processes that ensure that the technological lifecycle is managed within the organization
• Assess current IT landscape and recommend options to mitigate technology risks, support business growth/maintenance, optimization, and alignment with IT policies and standards.
• Identify the organizational (for example, on skills, processes, structures) and financial impacts of changes in the application portfolio and enterprise technology stack.
• Reduce technical complexity and the application footprint by working with peers (e.g., enterprise, business, IT architects) to analyze Business needs and change requirements to determine desired future-state outcomes.
• Actively contribute to the Architecture Review Board and Solution Design forum at Munich Re; assist in improving overall Architecture governance and compliance policies.
• Identify vendors, methodologies and platforms for reliable, serviceable and highly available applications.
• Drive standardization through technology standards, guidelines and principles across different entities.
• Identify technology related customer pain points by mapping existing technologies to business capabilities, utilize EA established standard practices and participate in R&D activities to identify and create strategies to alleviate these pain points.
• Enable IT development and infrastructure teams to make smart choices through technology strategies, frameworks, standards and by working with technical & solution architecture teams.
• Identify technical risk and vulnerabilities in the IT environment that will delay impending projects or lead to post-release defects.

Qualified candidates will possess the following:

• 7+ years of experience in Technical or Solution Architecture with a Bachelors or Master's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, math or business.
• 10+ years of hands on experience in system design, systems integration or software development as a senior developer / architect
• Track record of successful implementations that delivered value to the business, resulting in measurable business outcomes.
• Experience in the financial domain, especially with a background in insurance.
• Strong technical knowledge in web-based systems architecture, service-based architecture, enterprise application architecture, cloud architecture.
• Hands-on experience developing and supporting custom-developed applications utilizing .NET core/framework.
• Working knowledge in database design, development and administration including Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server.
• API development experience (e.g. JSON, micro-service architecture, API Gateways, SOA frameworks, ESBs, ETL pipe-lines, etc.).
• Experience with design and implementation of SOAP & REST Web services.
• Experience applying DevSecOps practices incl. Build-/Release-/Continuous Integration tools and frameworks such as Azure DevOps.
• Working knowledge of on-premise and cloud-based solutions.
• Experience working with technologies like Azure Data Services, Amazon Data Services, B2C platforms, PaaS and SaaS
• Experience working with enterprise architecture concepts including, Patterns, Roadmaps, Architecture Review Board, Solution Design Board.
• Ability to lead end-to-end design which includes integration with other services.
• Experience managing expectations when balancing alternatives against business and financial constraints.
• Strong problem solving skills, unquestioned integrity as well as team work, collaboration and relationship management capabilities.
• A great sense of passion towards innovation, continuous improvement, growth and change management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the organization.
• A high sense of ownership and accountability as well as immense pride in your work.
• Ability to work with third parties and offshore development teams.