Overview

• The Systems Architect will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation’s mission by designing and overseeing the implementation of complex technical solutions that support the mission-critical systems in a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements. Working within the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and IT leaders from the Vermont Agency of Digital Services (ADS), the Systems Architect will provide expertise and guidance in technology architecture with a focus on technical and application architecture strategies, technology road mapping, and methodologies. The Systems Architect will work collaboratively to identify needs, prioritize gaps and vulnerabilities, and develop and support implementation of a technical approach that enables the public health organization to move forward on its mission.A primary focus of this work will be designing and documenting architecture for development of cloud-based databases and applications including incorporation of multi-factor authentication and integration with modern authentication tools in manner that supports appropriate handling of Protected Health Information (PHI), and other health related security and tracking of user access.  It also includes developing a roadmap for transitioning internally built and maintained systems from hosted SQL databases and applications using Active Directory to Azure cloud native systems capable of modern authentication (Okta). The Systems Architect will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), with work performed under the supervision of the Vermont Agency of Digital Services (ADS) IT Staff assigned to the VDH.  This position will also engage with ADS enterprise level leadership both to assure proposed architecture and design are consistent with enterprise strategy and inform areas where this strategy has not yet been defined. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise and leadership in technology architecture with a focus in technical (including infrastructure and networks) and application architecture, strategy, road mapping, and methodology.
• Contribute to and manage the planning, design, delivery and implementation of user-centric solutions related to large scale, complex products required to meet the critical business requirements.
• Contribute to the definition, evaluation, and development of architecture policies, standards, guidelines and best practices affecting government initiatives.
• Collaborate with partners to understand business requirements and objectives. Design and develop architectural solutions that meet these needs.
• Create system architecture diagrams, documentation, and guidelines to communicate design decisions and best practices.
• Evaluate existing systems and technologies to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Define technical standards, protocols, and guidelines to ensure consistency and interoperability across systems.
• Recommend and implement new technologies, tools, and frameworks to enhance system performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Conduct feasibility studies and risk assessments for proposed architectural changes or initiatives.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams during the implementation phase.
• Perform system performance tuning, capacity planning, and scalability assessments.
• Ensure security, compliance, and regulatory requirements are integrated into the system architecture.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, network, and security teams to design and implement robust and resilient systems.
• Knowledgeable about industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in system architecture.
• Establish effective working relationships, obtain buy-in for systems development, promote systems to partners and agency leaders.
• Develop and implement cloud strategies aligned with business goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience
• Experience and expertise in system architecture with deep technical knowledge of application design, implementation and deployment, as well as current and emerging architecture practices.
• Hands-on experience designing modern architectural patterns to support delivery of complex and legacy IT solutions that are stable, secure, responsive, and scalable.
• Knowledge of technical security and product management best practices.
• Knowledge of current industry standards and practices particularly to architect, automate and integrate the processes that would enable teams to build, test and release product’s features faster (e.g. such as Git, CI/CD, etc.)
• Hands on experience using SQL.
• Hands-on knowledge of programming languages (C# .NET, VB.NET, JavaScript); modern JavaScript-based technologies (jQuery, Razor, Bootstrap, etc.), Mobile development and semantic accessible languages (HTML5, CSS/SCSS), integration technologies such as Mulesoft, Rest API, SOAP, etc. and identity management providers such as Okta.
• Expert level understanding of modern architectural standards for Azure cloud-based solutions.
• Experience designing and writing automated test scripts for unit, integration, end-to-end, cross-browser, device, and accessibility testing.
• Proven experience applying software engineering best practices and architectural practices to product delivery.
• Experience conducting feasibility studies, reviewing new application system architecture or re-engineering legacy systems or enterprise level platforms.
• Ability to develop architectural solutions to meet complex, multi-year plans, spanning multiple internal/external partners and broadly defined business priorities.
• Ability to resolve significant integration and technical issues to address multiple systems/applications linkages, interdependencies and impacts where requirements are not initially clear.
• Demonstrated success fostering an inclusive environment working with and leading professionals from diverse backgrounds including facilitating collaborative decision making and meetings to build design consensus.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; and the ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.