Senior Application Architect

Your role

You have a critical role in shaping the organization's application landscape. This role is instrumental in driving modernization and digitalization initiatives, aligning application and technology strategies with business goals, and mentoring applications teams. In this role, you will lead the design and implementation of application architecture across multiple platforms. You will establish and enforce architectural standards and best practices and guide solution design for complex projects and assess emerging technologies.

You work closely with the Enterprise Architect to co-develop the architecture function at FMO and collaborate with the other architecture disciplines to ensure that the application architecture landscape develops in coherence with business, data, security and infrastructure architecture.

You will also mentor junior architects and other roles (e.g. business analysts, application managers, developers), fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.

There are multiple specific areas that have your attention.

Application architecture, including solutioning advice

• Design and maintain enterprise applications architecture blueprints and principles, Future state Architectures.
• Define application architectural standards and best practices across development teams.
• Develop and implement application lifecycle management with the applications team
• Design and oversee application architecture across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments. Ensure alignment with enterprise standards and business objectives. Collaborate with enterprise architects to define long-term strategies and road maps.

Architecture governance and solution (direction) advice

• You chair the architecture review board that brings together all architecture expertise to assess and guide ongoing change
• Function as the linking pin to the architecture board and represent the Architecture Review Board members.
• Lead end-to-end solution design for complex projects
• Work closely with business leaders, product owners, and technical teams to translate business requirements into scalable solutions.

Architecture method and model management

• Share best practices to improve the architecture function at FMO in terms of architecture services, stakeholder management and communication
• Promote our ways of working, content and usage of our products and services
• Assess emerging technologies and recommend adoption strategies to enhance application capabilities. Visualize integration of application architecture with product, data, and infrastructure architecture
• Contribute to enterprise knowledge repositories

Our offer

• This position is in graded in salary scale 12.
• All other FMO benefits apply. 

About FMO 

FMO delivers economic, social, and environmental development to entrepreneurial initiatives on a global scale, believing in our contribution to a better world, starting from our values as an organization and respect within our teams. 

To learn more about who we are; our Vision, Purpose, Mission, Company Culture and Leadership, please visit our page Profile - FMO. At FMO, we are guided by our four core values: Diversity, Integrity, Making a Difference and Quality. These values are the foundation of our strong company culture, fostering an environment where we work together to make a positive impact on the world. 

Ready to make an impact and truly make a difference? Join us at FMO! 

Your team

We distinguish 5 architecture layers: Business Architecture, Information Architecture, Application Architecture, Technology and Security Architecture. This role is mainly meant for the Application Architecture layer, without losing the responsibility to link it to the other layers.

We have a community of approximately 10 architects, covering all architecture layers and business domains.

All projects and changes need architecture approval. The approval is prepared by the Architecture Review Board and presented to the Architecture Board for decisioning.

The Senior Application Architect is a part of the applications team within ICT.  The applications department brings together business analysts and application managers dealing with our core applications.  The Senior Application Architect also plays a key role in the architecture team that is responsible for the architecture alignment and change guidance.  The architect collaborates closely with the enterprise, data, infrastructure and solution architects, business leaders, and development teams to ensure scalable, secure, and high-performing application solutions across platforms.

Your background

• A bachelor's or master’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, or a closely related discipline is required.
• 8+ years of experience in IT architecture roles, including:
  • 3+ years as a Solutions Architect
  • 2+ years as an IT and/or Application Architect
• Good understanding of enterprise architecture
• Deep understanding of application architecture principles, microservices, APIs, and integration patterns.
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Zachman).
• Proficiency in modeling languages (e.g., UML).
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Character of a true architect:
• having fun in supporting the business with adequate applications and visualizing this
• taking pride in being (or becoming) an expert on our application landscape and shaping its future
• having fun in investigating technology solutions

Required skills & competences

• Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with architecture tooling (Bizzdesign)
• Knowledge of data architecture and security principles.
• Agile and SAFe methodology experience.
• Certifications such as Archimate, TOGAF, AWS/Azure Architect, or similar.
• Analytical, collaborative, persuasive, stakeholder management