Solutions Architect
Employee Status: Contract
Bargaining Unit: Non-Union
Pay Range: $104,898 -$145,605
Location: 20 Bay St.
Closing Date: 07-May-2024
Metrolinx is connecting communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Metrolinx operates GO Transit and UP Express, as well as the PRESTO fare payment system. We are also building new and improved rapid transit, including GO Expansion, Light Rail Transit routes, and major expansions to Toronto’s subway system, to get people where they need to go, better, faster and easier. Metrolinx is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
At Metrolinx, equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values of serving with passion, thinking forward and playing as a team.
PRESTO is an electronic transit fare payment system in the Greater Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa areas that eliminates the need for tickets, passes and cash. PRESTO serves more than 5 million customers across 11 transit agencies and processes over $2.5 billion in fares through 67 million boardings per month (pre-pandemic). Today, PRESTO offers one of the most globally advanced fare payment systems in the world having delivered new ways to pay for customers, including real time PRESTO Contactless with credit and Interac debit and PRESTO in Mobile Wallet across its transit agency clients, including the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Enhancing the customer experience through continuous improvement while working with our transit agency clients to support their needs, and maintaining a system that performs exceptionally, continue to drive PRESTO toward making transit better for all.
Our PRESTO (Payments) Office is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Solutions Architect to join our team. As a Solution Architect, your role is to design and implement end-to-end solutions that address complex business challenges and align with the organization's goals and technical requirements. You will work closely with stakeholders, including business analysts, project managers, developers, and infrastructure teams, to translate business needs into scalable and efficient technical solutions.
What will I be doing?
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand business requirements and translate them into comprehensive solution designs. Analyze existing systems, technologies, and processes to identify gaps and propose innovative solutions that meet business objectives.
• Develop high-level and detailed solution architectures and roadmaps that encompass various components, including software applications, data structures, integrations, infrastructure, and security. Ensure architectural coherence, scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Define and enforce architectural standards, guidelines, and best practices for solutions. Conduct architecture reviews to ensure compliance and identify opportunities for optimization and improvement.
• Research and evaluate emerging technologies, frameworks, and platforms to identify opportunities for improving the solution architecture and staying ahead of industry trends. Provide recommendations on technology selection and adoption.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure effective communication and collaboration throughout the solution development lifecycle.
• Provide technical guidance and leadership to development teams during the implementation phase. Review code and technical documentation to ensure compliance with architectural standards and best practices.
• Identify potential risks and challenges associated with the solution architecture and propose mitigation strategies. Consider factors such as scalability, performance, security, maintainability, and compliance.
• Design and oversee the integration of various system components, including third-party applications, databases, APIs, and services. Ensure seamless interoperability and data consistency between different systems.
• Continuously assess the effectiveness of the solution architecture and recommend enhancements or optimizations. Stay up-to-date with industry best practices and evolving technologies to drive innovation and improve the overall quality of the solution.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, services, and trends. Develop a deep understanding of cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and their associated offerings. Leverage this knowledge to recommend suitable technologies, services for specific use cases.
• Create comprehensive solution architecture documents, diagrams, and presentations to communicate designs, strategies, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Clearly articulate the benefits and trade-offs of different architectural options.
What skills & qualifications do I need?
• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience as a solution/application/integration architect. Financial services or payments industry experience preferred.
• Experience in enterprise architecture frameworks, such as TOGAF or Zachman.
• Relevant architecture certifications, such as TOGAF/Zachman/Azure etc are desirable.
• Experience with cloud technologies like AWS, Azure, GCP would be an asset. Microsoft Azure experience is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of software architecture principles, patterns, and best practices.
• Experience with hands on software development, design, build, testing, integrating APIs, microservices, and cloud-based solutions.
• Proficiency in designing and implementing scalable, distributed systems with hands on development experience.
• Familiarity with various software development methodologies, such as Agile or DevOps. Agile or Lean certifications an asset.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills as well as strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams and influence decision-making processes.
• Project management skills and the ability to handle multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Familiarity with standards like PCI DSS & AODA.
Don’t Meet Every Requirement?
If you’re excited about working with Metrolinx but your past experience doesn’t quite align with every qualification of this posting, we encourage you to apply. You just might be the right candidate for this or other roles. We are always looking for great talent to join our team.
We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from members of equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.
Accommodation:
We value the unique skills and experiences each person brings to Metrolinx and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment. We are committed to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act so if you require accommodation during the hiring process, please let our Recruitment team know by contacting us at: 416-202-5601 or email hr.recruitment@metrolinx.com.
Application Process:
All applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada. Metrolinx will be using email to communicate with you for all job competitions. It is your responsibility to include an updated email address that is checked daily and accepts emails from unknown users. As we send time sensitive correspondence, we recommend that you check your email regularly. If no response is received, we will assume you are no longer interested in pursuing the opportunity. Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any background information provided be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, Metrolinx reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of your application.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.
WE ARE AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER.