Middleware Architect

Role Overview

This position is responsible for defining, standardizing, and advancing the enterprise middleware and integration architecture to cater to expanding digital, partner, and internal platform needs. As systems grow in scale and complexity, the role ensures the architecture remains cohesive, reliable, secure, and promotes reuse across services and integrations. It delivers technical leadership by aligning business needs with cloud-native, API-focused solutions while mitigating operational risks and minimizing complexity.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop enterprise-wide middleware and integration architectural strategies.
• Oversee governance of API and microservices architectures.
• Ensure platform scalability, resilience, and adherence to non-functional standards.
• Implement best practices regarding security, compliance, and architecture.
• Lead technically and synchronize efforts across diverse teams.

Core Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain reference architectures, design standards, and patterns for middleware, APIs, and distributed systems.
• Design cloud-native, containerized services and integration solutions that prioritize scalability, security, and high availability.
• Manage API lifecycle including design policies, version management, traffic controls, and consumption models.
• Work collaboratively with DevOps, security, and operations teams to guarantee observability, automation, and production platform readiness.
• Offer architectural guidance, carry out design assessments, mentor engineering teams, and liaise with stakeholders and vendors as needed.

Key Stakeholders and Collaboration

• Partner with middleware, integration, and application development teams to set architecture standards, review technical designs, and support cloud-native API implementations.
• Collaborate with DevOps, SRE, and operations teams to uphold platform requirements like availability, performance, scalability, observability, and disaster recovery preparedness.
• Work alongside security, risk, and compliance teams to instill security-by-design principles and maintain enterprise governance and audit standards.
• Engage business, product owners, and delivery leaders to translate business objectives into scalable technical solutions aligned with strategic goals.
• Coordinate with enterprise architecture boards and governance bodies to maintain alignment with organizational standards and technology roadmaps.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, system integrators, and partners to ensure solution alignment, technical evaluations, and integration readiness.

Experience and Qualifications

• Between 8 to 12 or more years of IT experience, particularly in middleware, integration, or platform engineering roles.
• Proven expertise designing and implementing enterprise-scale, cloud-native architectures handling high-volume, mission-critical systems.
• Strong background in defining and managing API-led and microservices architectures, including lifecycle, security, and non-functional aspects.
• Hands-on experience with modern backend development using at least one common programming language and demonstrated leadership across multiple teams.
• Proven capability to lead architecture decisions, conduct extensive design reviews, and influence technical strategies across cross-functional groups.
• Experience navigating complex, regulated, or large-scale enterprise environments while balancing fast delivery, stability, security, and governance requirements.