Technical Architect

Job Description: Technical Architect Location: Hyderabad / Pune – Hybrid Department: Retail Experience: ~15 years overall, including 6–8 years in an Architect-level role About the Role We're looking for an Architect to define and govern the technology strategy that connects business goals to IT execution within our Retail domain. You'll own the big picture — how applications, data, infrastructure, security, and AI capabilities fit together across the organization — while guiding teams toward consistent, scalable, and future-proof solutions, including how AI and GenAI are woven into the retail technology roadmap. Key Responsibilities • Define and maintain the Technical architecture vision, principles, and roadmap aligned with retail business strategy. • Own architecture across domains: business, application, data, technology/infrastructure, and security (TOGAF-style layers). • Evaluate and select technology platforms, frameworks, and tools; maintain the technology reference stack. • Lead architecture reviews and governance boards; ensure solution designs align with Org standards and avoid duplication/tech debt. • Partner with business stakeholders (CxOs, product owners) to translate retail business capabilities (eCommerce, POS, supply chain, order management, inventory) into technology roadmaps. • Guide cloud strategy and migration (AWS/Azure/GCP), including hybrid and multi-cloud considerations. • Define integration patterns (APIs, event-driven, messaging) across retail systems and third-party platforms (payment gateways, logistics, POS, CRM). • Assess build vs. buy decisions and lead vendor/technology evaluations. • Drive modernization of legacy retail systems and define migration strategies with minimal business disruption. • Establish architecture documentation standards (reference architectures, ADRs, capability maps). • Mentor solution architects, tech leads, and senior engineers; act as a technical escalation point. • Ensure architecture decisions account for scalability, security, compliance, cost, and operational resilience — particularly around peak retail events (e.g., sales seasons, high-traffic periods). • Stay current on emerging technologies and assess their applicability to the retail business. • Define the Org AI/GenAI strategy — identifying high-value use cases across the retail value chain (personalization, demand forecasting, conversational commerce, supply chain optimization, fraud detection). • Establish reference architectures for integrating AI/ML and GenAI capabilities (LLMs, RAG pipelines, recommendation engines) into existing retail platforms and data ecosystems. • Partner with data science and analytics teams to ensure AI initiatives are built on governed, scalable data architecture. • Define responsible AI guardrails — data privacy, model governance and compliance — as part of the Org architecture standards. • Evaluate AI platform and vendor choices (cloud-native AI services, LLM providers, MLOps tooling) as part of build-vs-buy decisions. Required Qualifications • Bachelor's/Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field. • ~15 years in software/IT with 6–8 years in an architecture role. • Proven experience designing architectures for large-scale, distributed, multi-system environments, ideally within Retail. • Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and cloud-native architecture patterns. • Experience with microservices, APIs, event-driven architecture, and integration platforms. • Familiarity with architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman, or similar). • Strong understanding of data architecture, security architecture, and DevOps/CI-CD practices. • Experience driving legacy modernization and cloud migration initiatives. • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills — able to present to both engineers and executives. • Working knowledge of AI/ML concepts and how they integrate into architecture — model serving, data pipelines for ML, and AI-driven application patterns. Preferred Qualifications • TOGAF or relevant cloud architect certification (AWS Solutions Architect Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert). • Prior experience in Retail — eCommerce platforms, POS systems, inventory/order management, or supply chain technology. • Background in domain-driven design (DDD) and integration patterns. • Hands-on exposure to GenAI/LLM-based solutions (e.g., copilots, chatbots, RAG-based search) deployed in a production setting. • Familiarity with MLOps practices and AI governance/data governance frameworks. • Experience with AI-driven retail use cases such as personalization engines, demand forecasting, or conversational commerce. • Certifications in AI/ML on cloud platforms (e.g., AWS Certified Machine Learning, Azure AI Engineer) are a plus.