Principal Enterprise Architect

Landmark DigitalAs a part of the Landmark Group, a renowned retail and hospitality conglomerate in the Middle East, North Africa, and India, Landmark Digital is the dynamic digital arm of Landmark Retail, serving as the cornerstone of our omnichannel business strategy.Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, we oversee the digital operations of eight leading brands across diverse geographies, with ambitious plans for expansion into new territories and functions. Joining us means becoming a vital part of the Middle East's most significant bricks-to-clicks success story, boasting an impressive year-on-year growth rate exceeding 100%.Comprising a talented workforce of over 700 professionals across diverse domains, Landmark Digital spearheads various functions including Enterprise and E-commerce Tech, Product Management, User Design, and MarTech, among others. With our futuristic outlook, we are committed to delivering seamless digital experiences to our customers.Job Specification - Principal Enterprise Architect - As a senior leader you will be responsible for shaping and governing how the organization’s strategy is translated into an integrated and scalable enterprise technology direction. The role ensures that systems, platforms, data, and digital initiatives are aligned with enterprise priorities, deliver measurable value, and support future ready growth. Additionally, provides strategic guidance, ensures disciplined decision making, and establishes guardrails through standards that reduce complexity, manage risk, and enable the organization to operate efficiently and adapt to change.Key Focus Areas:Business and Technology AlignmentArchitecture Governance and Decision MakingModernization of IT assets (Simplification and Optimization)Advisory and CollaborationFuture Readiness and/or 10X GrowthAI-Enabled Architecture DesignDrive InnovationJob DescriptionComprehensive understanding and implementation of contemporary systems and technology Define enterprise portfolio roadmap that meets specific business needs.Provide overall governance, guidance, and architecture leadership for cross domains capabilities by influencing business and IT Team.Design and sustain programs for architecture roadmaps, health check scorecard(s), and solution review assessment.Plan and schedule analysis and system implementation.Conceptualize a comprehensive roadmap and conceptual, logical, and executable strategies to extemporize business and technology solutions.Conduct and oversee the preparation of initiative reports that include findings, presentations, recommendations, and instructions for proposed system implementation, formulate logical descriptions of problems, and devise and implement optimum solutions.Providing design and deployment of new and revised methods that effectively meet business needs.Provide expertise in the development of IT operations and management information system plans.Provide architectural expertise on strategic planning actions and policy decisions related to the business system and make recommendations concerning the direction of IT amalgamation within the business structure.Identify audit gaps in the current system and propose approaches and solutions to fill the gaps AI-Enabled Application ArchitectureIdentify practical opportunities to embed AI, automation, machine learning, and generative AI capabilities into enterprise applications and business processes.Guide application teams on AI-enabled solution patterns, including intelligent search, document processing, recommendation engines, conversational interfaces, workflow automation, and decision support.Ensure AI-enabled application designs consider data quality, privacy, security, access control, auditability, explainability, operational support, and responsible AI principles.Work with data, integration, security, infrastructure, and platform teams to ensure AI solutions are properly connected to enterprise data, APIs, cloud services, and application platforms.Support evaluation of AI tools, platforms, APIs, and vendor capabilities to determine fit-for-purpose use cases and enterprise adoption.Ensure AI capabilities are designed as part of the application architecture, not as disconnected experiments or standalone proof of concepts.Application ModernizationSupport legacy application assessment, rationalization, modernization, and simplification initiatives.Identify opportunities to reduce technical debt, remove duplication, consolidate platforms, and improve application maintainability.Guide modernization approaches, including re-platforming, refactoring, replacement, cloud adoption, containerization, and service enablement.Partner with business and technology teams to define practical transition states from the current architecture to the target architecture.Infrastructure and Security Aware Application DesignEnsure application designs properly consider hosting, compute, storage, network, identity, access, security controls, performance, resilience, monitoring, backup, disaster recovery, and operational support requirements.Work closely with infrastructure and security architects to align application designs with enterprise infrastructure, cloud, network, and security standards.Incorporate security by design principles including identity and access management, role based access, encryption, secure APIs, data protection, vulnerability management, and compliance needs.Validate that applications are designed for availability, scalability, observability, supportability, and production readiness.Cloud and Platform EnablementGuide the use of cloud services, enterprise platforms, DevOps practices, CI/CD, automation, environment strategy, and deployment patterns.Support application teams in adopting cloud native and platform capabilities where they provide business and technical value.Ensure cloud and platform choices are secure, scalable, cost effective, supportable, and aligned with enterprise standards.Collaborate with platform, DevOps, infrastructure, and engineering teams to improve delivery speed, reliability, and operational maturity.Cross Domain Application AlignmentWork closely with enterprise, integration, data, infrastructure, security, and platform architects to ensure application solutions are aligned across the broader technology landscape.Ensure application designs properly address integration points, data movement, master data needs, reporting dependencies, security controls, infrastructure impact, and operational dependencies.Maintain clear ownership boundaries with specialized architecture domains while ensuring end-to-end solution integrity.Identify reuse opportunities across applications, platforms, services, APIs, and shared technical capabilities.Architecture Governance & Compliance AlignmentWork with the Architecture Review Board, enterprise architecture team, and domain architects to ensure application and technical solution designs follow approved architecture standards, principles, and governance processes.Support architecture review submissions by preparing solution architecture documents, design diagrams, technical decision records, risk assessments, and required review materials.Review application and technical designs for alignment with enterprise standards across application architecture, integration, data, infrastructure, security, cloud, and operational readiness.Identify architecture risks, design gaps, technical debt, compliance concerns, and operational impacts early in the solution lifecycle.Ensure application solutions consider security, privacy, data protection, resilience, disaster recovery, audit, and regulatory requirements in partnership with the relevant domain owners.Track architecture decisions, exceptions, risks, and follow-up actions through the appropriate governance forums and delivery checkpoints.Leadership & CollaborationServe as subject matter expert and technical advisor for infrastructure and security initiativesMentor engineering teams on architecture principles, security best practices, and technology adoptionCollaborate with enterprise architects, application teams, and business stakeholders to align technical solutions with business needsLead architectural reviews, provide technical guidance, and resolve design conflictsStay current with industry trends, emerging threats, and innovative technologies.Documentation & Knowledge ManagementCreate and maintain solution architecture documents, application architecture diagrams, system context diagrams, data flow diagrams, deployment views, technical design documents, and architecture decision records.Document key design decisions, architecture assumptions, technical risks, dependencies, exceptions, standards, reusable patterns, and open issues.Maintain architecture artifacts required for Architecture Review Board reviews, delivery governance, production readiness, operational handover, and future system changes.Document application design standards, technical patterns, operational guidelines, and support considerations in collaboration with architecture and engineering teams.Conduct knowledge transfer sessions and capability building programs for engineering, product, delivery, and technical teams.Knowledge, Skills & Experience Relevant Job ExperienceProfessional Experience15+ years of experience across enterprise architecture, solution architecture, application development, or technology delivery.At least five years of experience leading enterprise-wide architecture or complex solution-design initiatives.Proven experience designing and delivering large-scale eCommerce and enterprise application solutions.Strong knowledge of application, integration, data, cloud, infrastructure, and security architecture.Experience translating business priorities into practical end-to-end solution designs and architecture roadmaps.Experience with custom applications, SaaS platforms, packaged systems, APIs, middleware, and event-driven integration.Practical experience with Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, including scalability, resilience, security, monitoring, and cost considerations.Experience leading architecture reviews and defining standards, principles, reusable patterns, and design guidance.Strong background in application modernization, cloud adoption, platform consolidation, technical-debt reduction, and legacy-system rationalization.Ability to influence senior stakeholders, resolve cross-domain design issues, and guide architects and engineering teams.Strong analytical, problem-solving, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills.Experience in retail, eCommerce, hospitality, supply chain, merchandising, or corporate systems is preferred.Technical SkillsApplication Architecture: Enterprise applications, custom platforms, SaaS solutions, packaged systems, modular design, service design, API first architecture, scalability, maintainability, and supportability.Solution Design: End-to-end technical design, solution options, architecture tradeoffs, risk assessment, cost versus benefit analysis, transition architecture, and implementation guidance. AI Enabled Architecture: Practical understanding of generative AI, machine learning enabled applications, AI APIs, intelligent search, automation, prompt enabled workflows, responsible AI, data privacy, model integration, and AI solution governance.Cloud Platforms: Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, hybrid cloud, application hosting, cloud services, deployment patterns, cloud security, scalability, resilience, and cost optimization.Architecture Documentation: Solution architecture documents, application diagrams, system context diagrams, data flow diagrams, deployment views, technical design documents, and architecture decision records.Required Leadership SkillsStrategic Thinking: Ability to translate business requirements into technical architecture and long-term infrastructure strategyCommunication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiencesProblem Solving: Analytical mindset with the ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure and security challengesCollaboration: Strong team player with experience working across organizational boundaries and with external partnersInnovation: Forward-thinking approach to evaluating and adopting emerging technologies and methodologies