Solution Architect

Overview

Position Title: Solution Architect

Department: Information Technology

Join our Team! At IHDA we strive to create and maintain a work environment that promotes diversity, recognition and inclusion. IHDA is committed to hiring and investing in individuals of diverse talents and backgrounds to ensure a range of perspectives and experiences inform and guide our work of financing affordable housing in the state of Illinois.

Summary: Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), one of the Nation’s preeminent Housing Finance Agencies and one of the State’s ten largest financial institutions, is currently seeking a Solution Architect to build upon its 50+-year leadership in housing finance. The Solution Architect is a hands-on technical leader responsible for designing, governing, and guiding the implementation of enterprise application and integration solutions. This role collaborates with business stakeholders, development teams, and cross-functional IT groups to define architectural direction, ensure solution alignment with IHDA’s standards, and oversee the successful delivery of secure, scalable, high-performing systems.

• Partner with business stakeholders, IT teams, and vendors throughout the SDLC to ensure solutions align with architectural standards, coding best practices, and PMO methodologies.
• Lead architectural discussions to evaluate requirements, assess technical feasibility, and design end‑to‑end solutions for enterprise systems and applications.
• Develop architectural blueprints, solution diagrams, integration patterns, and technical roadmaps.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentor engineers in architecture principles, design patterns, and emerging technologies.
• Evaluate new technologies, conduct Proofs of Concept, and recommend improvements to IHDA’s technology ecosystem.
• Establish and promote best practices for application architecture, integration, performance, security, scalability, and maintainability.
• Collaborate with Project Managers to ensure architectural alignment across project milestones and deliverables.
• Identify risks, inefficiencies, and vulnerabilities in systems, guiding corrective action through improved design or process enhancements.
• Lead code, design, and security reviews to ensure adherence to architectural and coding standards.
• Provide Tier‑3 technical oversight during high‑severity incidents and drive long‑term remediation strategies.
• Support and refine release management processes, ensuring technical readiness and documentation completeness.
• Continuously improve architecture processes, integration frameworks, Dev Ops practices, and development standards.
• Spend approximately 30–50% of their time coding, primarily for proofs of concept and complex technical solutions.
• Additional duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related technical field preferred.
• 7–10 years of hands-on experience with:
• Microsoft database technologies including SQL Server 2014+, SSIS, Power BI, and data warehouse concepts.
• Microsoft web technologies: .NET Core, .NET 4.6+, C#, ASP.NET, HTML, XML, JavaScript, jQuery, JSON.
• API and website design, including corresponding data and integration architecture.
• Implementing and managing CI/CD pipelines using Azure Dev Ops (Repos, Pipelines, Boards).
• Git, Azure Dev Ops, source control, testing methodologies, and configuration/change management.
• 3–5 years of experience developing applications for SharePoint 2016+/Online, including:
• SharePoint out-of-the-box features (pages, forms, workflows, App Catalog).
• Templates, Page Layouts, Web Parts and Object Model.
• Experience architecting high performing, responsive, secure, scalable solutions using Azure App Services and related Azure technologies.
• Strong SQL database development skills, including performance tuning, indexing strategies, and optimization using SQL Profiler.
• Experience with project/issue management tools such as Jira or , and strong familiarity with SDLC and PMO processes.
• Strong troubleshooting, communication, documentation, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with AI…