Lead Solution Architect/ Sr. Solution Architect (Chennai)

Role & responsibilities - Architect and lead the development of cloud-native systems using microservices and event-driven paradigms - Design and implement solutions that leverage Kubernetes (preferably AKS) and service mesh technologies like Istio - Define and enforce architectural standards, patterns, and best practices across engineering teams - Drive performance optimization initiatives through end-to-end performance testing to ensure system scalability, responsiveness, and reliability across complex, distributed architectures - Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment between business goals and technical solutions - Communicate complex technical concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders - Create and maintain architectural diagrams and documentation with industry-standard tools (e.g., Miro, Gliffy, Draw.io) - Guide teams through cloud adoption, modernization, and optimization initiatives - Stay current with emerging technologies and evaluate their applicability to business needs Preferred candidate profile - 15+ years of experience in cloud architecture, with a strong preference for the Banking domain - Proven experience with at least one major cloud provider (Azure, AWS, or GCP) in production environments - Deep expertise in Kubernetes and container orchestration; Istio or other service mesh experience is a strong plus - Hands-on experience with NFR, architecture governance, documentation, system design and architectural design. Trade-off - Databases: CosmosDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, Oracle - Messaging/Eventing: Kafka, EventHub - Solid understanding of cloud networking, IAM, security, and infrastructure as code (Terraform, ARM, Bicep) - Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines. GitHub Actions a plus - Experience that delivers operational communications (and/or Customer Communication Management (CCM)) in complex, regulated financial services environments - Ability to produce clear comms architecture: define audience segmentation, message intent, channel selection, timing/trigger logic and handoffs between operations, contact center, digital and product teams - Demonstrated ability to lead architectural discussions and influence technical direction - Excellent verbal and written communication skills - Proficiency in diagramming tools to convey architectural concepts effectively Nice to have - Experience with hybrid or multi-cloud environments - Familiarity with FinOps, observability, and cloud governance - Background in support of production workloads with high availability and disaster recovery considerations - Hybris e-commerce. .