George: Platform Architect (George)

ENVIRONMENT: Our client is migrating from Azure DevOps to GitHub Enterprise as part of a larger platform modernisation. They are not looking for someone to maintain the status quo. They are looking for a Platform Architect who can look at a VB.NET monolith that’s been running for years and see the modern, event-driven, cloud-native platform it needs to become. If you’ve done this before and you’re ready to do it again with full backing from leadership, they want to hear from you. RESPONSIBILITIES: Define and own the target architecture for their entire platform, from database to UI Lead their strangler fig migration strategy, identifying which parts of the monolith to tackle first and how to do it safely Establish clean architecture patterns, domain boundaries, and coding standards that the team will follow for years Make the hard calls on build vs buy, which frameworks to adopt, and when to take on technical debt (and when to pay it down) Create Architecture Decision Records so future engineers understand why they made the choices they made Design event-driven patterns that decouple their systems and enable real-time data flows Work hands-on when needed. This isn’t a PowerPoint role. You’ll be in the code, reviewing PRs, and unblocking the team Present technical roadmaps to senior leadership and translate complex decisions into business terms Mentor a team of engineers who are hungry to learn modern practices REQUIREMENTS: What You Bring You’ve migrated at least one legacy monolith to a modern architecture. Not in theory. In production. You have the scars and the stories 10 years of software development, with at least 5 years making architectural decisions Deep .NET expertise (C#, ASP.NET Core). Their legacy is VB.NET/WebForms, their future is C#/Blazor You understand clean architecture, DDD, CQRS, and event sourcing, and you know when each pattern actually makes sense Strong Azure experience (App Services, Functions, Service Bus, SQL, Event Hubs) You can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical executives without dumbing it down or losing them You’re opinionated but not dogmatic. You’ll fight for the right approach, but you’ll also listen Education Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field. Postgraduate qualifications in architecture, cloud computing, or business (advantageous) Relevant certifications in cloud architecture and enterprise architecture (Azure preferred) are strongly advantageous. Equivalent practical experience designing and delivering large-scale, modern platform architectures will also be considered. Nice to Have Insurance or financial services experience Experience with Blazor TOGAF or similar enterprise architecture background You’ve built platform engineering teams from scratch before