Enterprise Solution Architect at Zurich

Zurich is currently looking for an Enterprise Solution Architect to work out of our North American headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois.  This position will be part of Advanced Technology & Enterprise Solutions, and report to the Technical Director of Enterprise Architecture.

Zurich North America’s Enterprise Architecture team’s goal is to establish strong alignment with Zurich strategy and to optimize the architecture and technology portfolio to deliver greater value. The team partners with business and IT stakeholders and prioritizes business value, simplification of technology portfolio, and faster decision making while balancing both cost implications and short- and long-term objectives.

The Enterprise Solution Architect is a seasoned professional responsible for supporting activities to advance the Enterprise Architecture function at Zurich North America. This highly visible and influential role will have the opportunity to extensively collaborate with IT as well as business leaders across domains to architect and modernize technology solutions. The role involves research, review and evaluation of emerging technologies.  The role will also involve developing key artifacts and templates to standardize and operationalize critical EA processes at Zurich and contribute to the maturity of the EA function.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Participate in the development of Enterprise Architecture Strategy, standards and reference architectures, and establishment and operationalization of EA processes and governance.
• Facilitate business/IT alignment and inform gap/impact analysis by leveraging business capability framework.
• Interpret business challenges and work across organizational boundaries to drive trade-off discussions, informed decision making, as well as developing short and long-term technology roadmaps

• Advocate and drive adoption of architecture patterns, design principles, and leading practices including microservices, containerization, and DevSecOps to ensure standards-based architectures across the enterprise as ZNA continues its cloud journey with Azure and AWS
• Work closely with IT partners and business to define end-to-end Solution Architecture using system engineering concepts and data integration patterns like APIs, event-driven architecture, ETL etc., across diverse cloud platforms like Azure/AWS PaaS, SaaS and Vendor solutions while leveraging cloud native services where possible

• Lead PoC/PoT of new technology solutions to evaluate solutions that are fit-for-purpose & aligned to ZNA IT strategy
• Lead analysis of the technology landscape to identify gaps, technical debt, and recommend solutions towards cost optimization, improved operations, and solution sustainability
• Drive development and standardization key EA artifacts and templates, thereby establishing familiarity and credibility of EA deliverables
• Manage, mentor, and provide architectural guidance across the organization by communicating the value of Enterprise Architecture, service offering, and instilling architectural and design thinking approaches
• Use strong written and verbal communication skills towards visualization and storytelling to achieve buy-in of complex concepts

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree and 5 or more years of experience in the IT Architecture area OR
• Zurich Cybersecurity Technician Apprentice, including Associate Degree and 6 or more years of experience in the IT Architecture area OR
• High School Diploma or Equivalent and 7 or more years of experience in the IT Architecture area

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in roles creating architecture and strategy, performing business analysis or experience as an Enterprise Architect
• 5+ years of architecture or software delivery experience in at least three disciplines, such as business, information, solution or technical architecture, application development, middleware
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related discipline or the equivalent combination of education and experience highly preferred.
• Specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise with 5+ years of experience in IT field related to areas of enterprise architecture, complex global solution architectures, large enterprise-wide transformation initiatives.

• Familiarity and experience in apps to cloud modernization including identification of appropriate R-treatment, data migration, legacy code assessment etc.
• Knowledge of Insurance industry

 
As a condition of employment at Zurich, employees must adhere to any COVID-related health and safety protocols in place at that time (https://www.zurichna.com/careers/faq).

A future with Zurich. What can go right when you apply at Zurich?

Now is the time to move forward and make a difference. At Zurich, we want you to share your unique perspectives, experiences and ideas so we can grow and drive sustainable change together. As part of a leading global organization, Zurich North America has over 150 years of experience managing risk and supporting resilience. Today, Zurich North America is a leading provider of commercial property-casualty insurance solutions and a wide range of risk management products and services for businesses and individuals. We serve more than 25 industries, from agriculture to technology, and we insure 90% of the Fortune 500®. Our growth strategy is not limited to our business. As an employer, we strive to provide ongoing career development opportunities, and we foster an environment where voices are diverse, behaviors are inclusive, actions drive equity, and our people feel a sense of belonging. Be a part of the next evolution of the insurance industry. Join us in building a brighter future for our colleagues, our customers and the communities we serve. Zurich maintains a comprehensive employee benefits package for employees as well as eligible dependents and competitive compensation. Please click here to learn more.

As a global company, Zurich recognizes the diversity of our workforce as an asset. We recruit talented people from a variety of backgrounds with unique perspectives that are truly welcome here. Taken together, diversity and inclusion bring us closer to our common goal: exceeding our customers’ expectations. Zurich does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status. EOE disability/vet 

Zurich does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Any unsolicited resume will become the property of Zurich American Insurance. If you are a preferred vendor, please use our Recruiting Agency Portal for resume submission. 

Location(s): AM - Schaumburg, AM - Chicago
Remote Working: Hybrid
Schedule: Full Time
Employment Sponsorship Offered: Yes 
 
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