George: Platform Architect (George) posted by DataFin Recruitment

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