Senior Architect

JOB SUMMARY

Candidates who live within 50 miles of a Highmark office are required to work on-site Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Candidates residing more than 50 miles from a Highmark office will work remotely.

This job takes a lead role, within area of responsibility, and (application, solution, information, technology, business) designs, develops, implements, supports, and optimizes more complex architecture strategy to meet business capabilities and needs.  Takes a lead role to ensure completeness of more complex architecture by adequately addressing all the pertinent concerns of its stakeholders.  Ensures integrity of more complex architecture by connecting various views of stakeholders, reconciling conflicting concerns, and showing the trade-offs made in so doing.  Considers practicality and fitness for purpose in determining architecture to develop.  Leverages business and technology knowledge to enable and/or alter business processes, practices, organizations and systems.  Maintains knowledge of emerging technologies and best in class industry business trends and practices.  May take on role of Project Lead for special assignments. May mentor less experienced team members.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Take a lead role to provide strategic consultation to business customers in defining or designing more complex business processes, functions and organizational structures, as well as in researching, identifying and internally marketing enabling technologies based on customer capability requirements. Facilitate development of more complex enterprise business solutions that combine knowledge of particular business processes and issues, general technological options, and process facilitation techniques. Participate in more complex enterprise strategy development, including environmental analysis, opportunity identification, value cases and business innovation portfolio development.
• Take a lead role to specify and design large or more complex systems, solutions, networks, infrastructure elements, or processes. Select appropriate design standards, methods and tools and ensure that they are applied effectively. Review others’ system design to ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology. Establish policy for selection of more complex architecture components. Evaluate and undertake impact analysis on more complex major design options. Ensure that the system architecture balances functional, service quality and systems management requirements.
• Use appropriate tools, including models of components and interfaces, to contribute to the development of more complex architectures. Take a lead role to produce detailed component requirements, specifications and translates these into detailed solutions/designs for implementation using selected products. Provide advice on technical aspects of system development, integration (including requests for changes, deviations from specifications, etc.) and processes.  Ensure that relevant technical and business strategies, policies, standards and practices are applied correctly.
• Select and use more complex tools and methods to establish, clarify, and communicate the functional and non-functional requirements of system users, their characteristics, and tasks.  Take a lead role to identify the technical, organizational, and physical environment in which more complex products or systems will operate. Identify, propose, initiate, and lead significant improvement programs, taking responsibility for the quality and appropriateness of the work performed and the realization of measurable business benefits. Modify existing process improvement approaches and/or develop new approaches to achieve improvement.
• Take a lead role to ensure the resolution of a variety of more complex architecture and business problems and serve as a technical or business lead for highly complex project initiatives.
• Communicate effectively will all levels of organization.
• Manage expectations of customers, partners  and management.
• Participate in customer walkthroughs and plans; design and technical walkthroughs; and problem resolution and decision making.
• Interact with departments across the organization as necessary, including the development and interpretation of highly complex requirements for peers and other staff.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of specific technical aspects in area of expertise and provides expert advice regarding their application.  The area of specific expertise may be any aspect of information or communication technology, technique, method, process, product, or application area of a more complex nature.
• Take a lead role in providing leadership and mentoring in the areas of expertise and architecture to their peers, developers, management and business users including technical expertise, coaching, and ad-hoc training by: preparing presentations on more complex issues on the area of expertise and presenting to their peers to ensure consistency to the Organization's strategic direction.
• Other duties as assigned or requested.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or closely related discipline

Substitutions

• None

Preferred

• Master's Degree

EXPERIENCE

Required

• 5 years in an IT discipline
• 5 years in a Business discipline

Preferred

• Health Insurance Industry business knowledge

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Required

• None

Preferred

• Java Developer
• DB2
• Cogno
• PEGA
• Enterprise Architect (SCEA)
• Project Management

SKILLS  (An Architect is not required to have experience in all of these, but is required to have those needed to support applications they are responsible for supporting. Current skill set are reviewed every other year, new skills may be required to meet changing business needs.)

• IMS
• DB2
• Oracle and Teradata Databases
• Data Warehousing
• COBAL
• Visual Basic
• C
• C++
• SAS
• Java/JavaScript Framework
• PEGA
• CSS3
• Mobile
• JSON
• Cognos
• Hadoop
• SQL
• J2EE
• HTML5/XML
• Waterfall
• Agile

Language (other than English)

None

Travel Requirement

0% -25%

PHYSICAL, MENTAL DEMANDS and WORKING CONDITIONS

Position Type

Office-Based

Teaches / trains others regularly

Frequently

Travel regularly from the office to various work sites or from site-to-site

Does Not Apply

Works primarily out-of-the office selling products/services (sales employees)

Never

Physical work site required 

Yes

Lifting: up to 10 pounds

Constantly

Lifting: 10 to 25 pounds

Rarely

Lifting: 25 to 50 pounds

Rarely

Disclaimer: The job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this job title. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job.

Compliance Requirement: This position adheres to the ethical and legal standards and behavioral expectations as set forth in the code of business conduct and company policies.

As a component of job responsibilities, employees may have access to covered information, cardholder data, or other confidential customer information that must be protected at all times. In connection with this, all employees must comply with both the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policies and Procedures as well as all data security guidelines established within the Company’s Handbook of Privacy Policies and Practices and Information Security Policy.

Furthermore, it is every employee’s responsibility to comply with the company’s Code of Business Conduct. This includes but is not limited to adherence to applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations as well as company policies and training requirements. 

Pay Range Minimum:

Pay Range Maximum:

Base pay is determined by a variety of factors including a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and expected contributions, as well as internal peer equity, market, and business considerations.  The displayed salary range does not reflect any geographic differential Highmark may apply for certain locations based upon comparative markets.

Highmark Health and its affiliates prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on any category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

We endeavor to make this site accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact the email below.

For accommodation requests, please contact HR Services Online at [email protected]

California Consumer Privacy Act Employees, Contractors, and Applicants Notice