Principal Full-Stack Architect (.NET & Cloud

Project description

The Principal Full-Stack Architect (.NET & Cloud) is a senior technical leader responsible for defining and driving the architecture of enterprise-scale applications across cloud, backend, frontend, data, Dev Ops, and AI-enabled solutions. The role combines strategic technology leadership with hands‑on technical expertise, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with business objectives.

• Drive the full SDLC for Azure solutions: planning, requirement definition, development, testing, and quality assurance.
• Develop, enhance, and integrate modules within core applications used by front‑office investment teams.
• Design and build containerized applications (Docker, Kubernetes/AKS) and cloud‑native data stores (Mongo, SQL).
• Develop RESTful APIs, microservices, and event‑driven systems (Service Bus, Event Hubs) with strict secure‑integration standards (OAuth2/OIDC, managed identities).
• Build responsive, cloud‑connected front‑end interfaces (React/Type Script; real‑time via SignalR).
• Design and deliver AI‑enabled capabilities: document intelligence, retrieval/search (AI Search), and Azure OpenAI‑based workloads over structured and unstructured data.
• Configure, maintain, and optimise CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure‑as‑code (Bicep/ARM, Terraform); enable self‑service engineering capabilities.
• Implement large‑scale data processing and advanced analytics solutions in collaboration with architecture and data teams.
• Own incident management: troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and preventive measures.
• Partner directly with senior IT and business stakeholders; own the platform narrative, adoption strategy, and delivery roadmap.
• Mentor cross‑functional teams on cloud‑native and AI best practices.

• 15+ years overall IT experience with a proven track record of architecting and delivering scalable cloud solutions through all SDLC phases.
• 12+ years of .NET (C#) development within service‑oriented and microservices architectures, including ASP.NET Core/Web API, Entity Framework Core, async and concurrency patterns, and hands‑on migration from .NET Framework to .NET 6/8. Production code on a current LTS version is expected; legacy‑only (.NET Framework, Web Forms) profiles do not qualify.
• 7+ years hands‑on Microsoft Azure:
  App Services, Functions, Logic Apps, AKS/Container Apps, APIM, Service Bus/Event Hubs, AI Search, AI Services/Azure OpenAI, Storage, Key Vault, Application Insights, Monitor.
• Demonstrated architecture ownership: solution/application architecture defined and delivered end‑to‑end at enterprise scale, including presenting architectural strategy to senior leadership. Candidates with purely implementation‑level experience will not be considered.
• 5+ years containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes/AKS) in production.
• 5+ years Azure Dev Ops and CI/CD, including infrastructure‑as‑code (Bicep/ARM mandatory; Terraform preferred).
• Practical delivery of AI/GenAI workloads on Azure (Azure OpenAI, AI Search, document intelligence, or equivalent) — in production, within the last 24 months. Proof‑of‑concept‑only or pre‑2024 experience does not qualify.
• Deep database expertise:
  No
  
  SQL (Mongo) and relational SQL, including data access patterns for AI use cases.
• Expertise in designing and consuming secure REST APIs; strong understanding of network architecture and authentication protocols (OAuth2/OIDC, managed identities).
• Modern front‑end delivery:
  React/Type Script with real‑time capabilities (SignalR).
• Experience in regulated environments (financial services / investment management strongly preferred).
• Microsoft Certified:
  Azure Solutions Architect Expert: required. Applications without it are not shortlisted.
• Plus at least one of:
  Azure Dev Ops Engineer Expert or Azure AI Engineer Associate.

• AWS and/or GCP exposure (multi‑cloud evaluation experience).
• Terraform in production.
• Python.
• Databricks (recent, Unity Catalog‑era experience) or comparable data/AI platforms;
  Palantir exposure.
• Azure Security Engineer Associate.
• Experience establishing self‑service platforms for citizen developers.