Application Architect

Job Details

Description

First Canadian is a national organization and we are experiencing unprecedented growth!

We aim to hire bright, hard-working people who share our values. We seek employees who are committed to learning, career growth, and opportunity. We take pride in being an organization that our employees support long-term. We believe in our employees and celebrate their success by asking for employee opinions and feedback so that we continue to be a Great Place to Work.

We Award Our Team With The Following

• Off work 1 hour early on Fridays.
• Earned Time-Off Program and vacation.
• Group Retirement Savings Plan with employer match.
• A hybrid work model is available upon successful completion of probation.
• On-site gym including free weekly classes with a qualified trainer.
• Newly renovated facility with ergonomic desks/chairs.
• Educational assistance and career development.
• Employee benefits.
• Health and Wellness spending account.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Employee discount programs.
• A Culture Team dedicated to diversity, inclusion, and employee programs.
• Employee recognition and appreciation events.

Check out our company page for all the information on why we believe First Canadian is an employer of choice!

If you are motivated to succeed by helping people, then this is the opportunity for you!

The Application Architect - Alberta, reporting to the Web Development Manager - Alberta, is based in the Sherwood Park office. The role is responsible for designing and governing application frameworks that serve as the foundation for development teams. The Application Architect - Alberta defines system components, structure, and interactions to meet business requirements, with a focus on specific systems rather than enterprise-wide architecture.

Essential Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and evolution of complex web applications with rich user interfaces and scalable backend services.
• Define and deliver robust application architectures, including metadata-driven user interfaces for highly dynamic and configurable data environments.
• Establish modular, maintainable application structures using modern architectural patterns such as microservices, layered architecture, and event-driven design.
• Translate business and technical requirements into clear High-Level Designs (HLDs) and Low-Level Designs (LLDs).
• Develop proofs of concept and encourage continuous learning, experimentation, and architectural improvement.
• Architect and govern solutions developed by distributed teams across multiple geographic locations.
• Define and enforce coding standards, architectural guidelines, version-control practices, and SDLC adherence.
• Ensure applications meet scalability, performance, security, maintainability, and compliance standards.
• Apply BFSI and insurance regulatory knowledge to ensure solutions meet current and future compliance requirements.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and coaching to Level 1 and Level 2 developers.
• Define and enforce application quality standards, including unit testing, integration testing, code review practices, and observability requirements (logging, monitoring, tracing).
• Collaborate with Product, QA, DevOps, Security, and Infrastructure teams to ensure architectural alignment with operational and business needs.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and recommend practical innovations that deliver measurable value.
• Create, maintain, and govern comprehensive technical documentation for applications, integrations, and processes.
• Define strategies for legacy-system coexistence, integration, modernization, and phased decommissioning while maintaining stability and regulatory compliance.
• Own and govern integration architecture, including API standards, versioning strategies, backward compatibility, partner-onboarding patterns, and third-party dependencies.
• Own and govern document-lifecycle architecture, including versioning, rendering, archival, auditability, and long-term retrieval.
• Contribute to data architecture decisions, including schema design, data-flow modeling, and appropriate data-storage patterns.
• Manage and prioritize multiple initiatives to ensure timely delivery and alignment with organizational objectives.
• Provide occasional after-hours support during critical releases, updates, or incidents to ensure business continuity.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience designing and building complex, enterprise-grade applications with a strong focus on scalability, performance, and maintainability.
• Extensive experience with modern JavaScript frameworks and platforms (e.g., React.js, Node.js, Next.js).
• Strong debugging and analytical skills, including the ability to diagnose non-reproducible issues and perform impact analysis across multi-layered systems.
• Proven experience integrating enterprise applications with internal and external systems, including make-versus-buy evaluations and third-party solutions.
• Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies and Agile/Scrum practices.
• Demonstrated experience designing end-to-end application architectures, including component decomposition, service boundaries, integration patterns, and data flows.
• Proven ability to architect secure and compliant solutions, incorporating OWASP guidelines, relevant RFCs, ACID principles, threat modeling, and regulatory requirements such as AODA, PIPEDA, and CASL.
• Demonstrated enforcement of engineering best practices, including documentation standards, test-driven development, structured logging, and layered architecture.
• Hands-on experience collaborating with DevOps teams and deployment environments, including Linux and Windows systems, Docker containerization, horizontal scaling, and load balancing.
• Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS and/or Azure and effectively leveraging managed services.
• Strong understanding of object-oriented design, design patterns, SOLID principles, UML, ER diagrams, and related architectural artifacts.
• Experience designing, developing, and consuming RESTful APIs to support front-end and back-end integration.
• Proven ability to optimize application performance, reliability, and scalability through testing and tuning.
• Ability to integrate AI or machine-learning capabilities using existing platforms or services is considered an asset.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with evolving technologies.

Thank you for considering our organization.

If you are bilingual there will be a French and English assessment as a part of the recruitment process.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons. Accommodations are available upon request.