Solution Architect – Retail Applications & Digital Solutions
Niles, IL(Hybrid)
Contract role
- Role Overview
· We are seeking an experienced Solution Architect to define and guide the architecture of retail applications and digital solutions. The role will work closely with customer stakeholders, in-house technology teams, and offshore delivery teams to design scalable, secure, reliable, and maintainable solutions aligned with business requirements.
· The candidate will provide technical leadership across application development, system integrations, cloud platforms, data architecture, and application modernization, ensuring consistency in solution design and adherence to enterprise technology standards.
- Key Responsibilities
· Solution Architecture & Design
o Define end-to-end solution architecture based on business requirements, existing systems, and enterprise standards.
o Translate functional and non-functional requirements into technical architecture, design specifications, and implementation guidelines.
o Evaluate solution options, assess feasibility, and recommend appropriate technologies and architectural patterns.
o Define application components, integration patterns, data flows, security mechanisms, and deployment architecture.
o Ensure solutions are scalable, resilient, secure, maintainable, and cost-effective.
· Application & Integration Architecture
o Design solutions involving web applications, APIs, cloud services, databases, workflow automation, and enterprise systems.
o Define integration approaches across applications, data platforms, and third-party systems.
o Establish standards for API design, authentication, error handling, logging, monitoring, and exception management.
o Guide application modernization, re-platforming, and migration initiatives.
o Ensure effective integration with existing retail and distribution systems.
· Technology Leadership & Governance
o Provide technical guidance to development teams and review solution designs, code quality, and implementation approaches.
o Establish reusable architectural patterns, technical standards, and best practices.
o Conduct architecture and design reviews at key stages of implementation.
o Identify technical risks, scalability constraints, performance bottlenecks, and architectural gaps.
o Ensure adherence to security, compliance, availability, performance, and disaster recovery requirements.
· Performance, Reliability & Operational Excellence
o Define non-functional requirements and measurable acceptance criteria for application performance, availability, scalability, and security.
o Review performance test results and recommend architectural improvements where required.
o Define monitoring, logging, alerting, backup, and recovery approaches.
o Support root-cause analysis of complex production issues and recommend long-term architectural solutions.
o Promote design practices that improve application stability, reduce recurring incidents, and simplify maintenance.
· Stakeholder & Delivery Collaboration
o Work with business analysts, PM, product owners, and customer technology teams to validate solution requirements.
o Collaborate with onsite stakeholders and offshore development teams to ensure consistent understanding of architecture and design decisions.
o Provide technical estimates, identify dependencies, and support delivery planning.
o Review implementation progress and resolve architecture-related blockers.
o Communicate technical options, risks, and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Required Skills & Experience
o 12+ years of experience in software engineering, application architecture, or technology solution delivery, with demonstrated experience in solution architecture.
o Strong experience designing enterprise applications, APIs, integrations, and cloud-based solutions.
o Experience with Microsoft Azure services and cloud architecture.
o Experience with Angular, .NET/C#, SQL Server, REST APIs, and enterprise integration patterns.
o Experience with Microsoft Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Dataverse, is desirable.
o Understanding of identity management, single sign-on, role-based access control, application security, and data protection.
o Experience with performance engineering, scalability, availability, monitoring, and production support.
o Familiarity with CI/CD, source control, automated testing, and DevOps practices.
o Strong analytical, problem-solving, technical documentation, and stakeholder communication skills.
- Preferred Domain Experience
o Retail, consumer goods, beverage distribution, or supply chain applications.
o Point-of-sale (POS), demand forecasting, inventory management, order management, sales operations, and distribution systems.
o Enterprise application integrations and cloud-based digital transformation.
o Application modernization and migration from legacy or low-code platforms to web-based solutions.
- Key Deliverables
Deliverable Expected Output
Solution Architecture Document End-to-end architecture, components, technology choices, and design rationale
High-Level & Low-Level Designs Component designs, data flows, APIs, integration patterns, and implementation details
Architecture Diagrams Application landscape, deployment topology, integrations, and data-flow diagrams
Non-Functional Requirements Defined performance, scalability, availability, security, and recovery requirements with measurable acceptance criteria
Integration Specifications API contracts, authentication, error handling, retry mechanisms, and interface dependencies
Technical Standards & Guidelines Reusable patterns, coding guidelines, security standards, and architecture principles
Technical Risk & Dependency Register Architecture risks, constraints, dependencies, mitigation actions, and ownership
Architecture Review Outcomes Design review findings, decisions, action items, and resolution tracking
Performance & Reliability
Recommendations Assessment findings and actionable improvements for identified bottlenecks or operational issues
Modernization Roadmaps Recommended architecture improvements, migration approach, sequencing, and indicative effort where applicable
· Success Measures
o Solutions meet agreed functional and non-functional requirements.
o Architecture decisions and technical dependencies are identified early, reducing rework and delivery delays.
o Applications demonstrate improved performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability against agreed baselines.
o Reusable components and integration patterns reduce duplication and implementation effort.
o Architecture reviews and technical standards improve consistency across applications.
o Production issues attributable to architectural weaknesses are reduced over time.
o Solutions align with business priorities, enterprise standards, and agreed cost and delivery constraints.
Thanks & Regards,
Navneet Singh
Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist
Fast Hire Inc.
