Associate Architect

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About the Role

Software Engineer transitioning into Architecture (Aspirant Architect)

You will work directly alongside Principal Architects, Technical Leads, and Engineering Managers to architect, evaluate, and scale distributed systems on modern cloud platforms. This role is built for a senior-level developer with strong software engineering fundamentals, deep cloud and distributed systems experience, and a passion for system design, data modeling, and technical leadership.

Key Responsibilities

1. Architectural Design & Technical Leadership

• Assist in drafting architectural blueprints, tech stack evaluation documents, and Architecture Decision
• Perform trade-off analyses balancing performance, maintainability, security, scalability, and operational costs across cloud services and codebases.
• Help define and enforce coding standards, API specifications (REST/gRPC/GraphQL), and design patterns across delivery teams.

2. Hands-on Engineering & Prototyping

• Write production-ready, highly maintainable code (primarily using

  Python

  or equivalent modern languages).
• Build Proofs-of-Concept (PoCs) to test emerging technologies, validate architectural hypotheses, and bench-test performance bottlenecks.
• Troubleshoot complex, non-deterministic bugs and failure modes in distributed production environments.

3. Cloud Infrastructure & DevOps Integration

• Architect resilient, highly available cloud applications on

  AWS

  or

  Azure

  using microservices, serverless, and containerized topologies.
• Collaborate with DevOps engineers to establish Infrastructure as Code (IaC), continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, and deployment strategies (Canary, Blue/Green).
• Integrate full-stack observability (logging, metrics, distributed tracing) into software architecture from inception.

4. Data Modeling & System Design

• Design efficient relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) schemas optimized for read/write access patterns, storage efficiency, and data integrity.
• Implement event-driven and streaming architectures using message brokers (e.g., Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, AWS SQS/SNS, Azure Event Grid).

5. SDLC Execution & Engineering Mentorship

• Champion the end-to-end Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)from threat modeling and capacity planning to post-launch monitoring.
• Conduct high-impact code and design reviews, mentoring mid-level and junior engineers on clean architecture, principles, and system resilience.

Required Qualifications & Skills

Technical Competencies

• Software Development:

  7+ years of hands-on software engineering experience using

  Python

  or similar languages (Go, Java, C#).

• Distributed Computing:

  Proven experience designing and operating distributed systems. Strong understanding algorithms, caching strategies (Redis/Memcached), load balancing, and fault-tolerance patterns (Circuit Breakers, Bulkheads).

• Cloud Platforms:

  3+ years of building and deploying production workloads on

  AWS

  (e.g., EKS/ECS, Lambda, DynamoDB, RDS, S3) or

  Azure

  (e.g., AKS, Azure Functions, Cosmos DB, Azure SQL).

• Data Modeling:

  Proficiency in designing data schemas) and database migrations, and query optimization.

• DevOps & IaC:

  Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), IaC tools (Terraform, CloudFormation, or Bicep), and automated pipeline tools (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps).

• Full SDLC Mastery:

  Practical exposure to complete software life cycles, agile methodologies, secure coding practices (OWASP top 10), and automated testing frameworks (Unit, Integration, E2E).

Behavioral & Aspirant Attributes

• Architecture Mindset:

  Strong grasp of software design philosophies (Domain-Driven Design, SOLID principles, 12-Factor App methodology, Clean Architecture).

• Communication:

  Ability to explain complex technical trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders and write concise technical documentation.

• Continuous Learner:

  Eagerness to evolve from feature implementation to enterprise-wide system strategy.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate/Professional) or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
• Experience with data engineering pipelines (Airflow, Spark, or similar).