Solution Architect

We need a hands-on architect who can:

1. Own and lead Fotopia’s solution and platform architecture end-to-end.
2. Introduce and operationalize AI-assisted engineering across the team (not “AI hype” — real workflows, governance, and measurable impact).
3. Champion and standardize the use of Claude and OpenClaw as core tools for design, coding, testing, documentation, and delivery acceleration.
4. Upgrade our culture: make AI usage consistent, responsible, secure, and productive. 

Key Responsibilities (R&R)

A) Architecture Leadership

• Own Fotopia’s target architecture (application + data + integrations + security + deployment).
• Define and maintain architecture standards: design patterns, service boundaries, APIs, data models, versioning, and documentation.
• Ensure the platform supports scalability, performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Drive architectural decisions with strong justification (trade-offs, risks, cost, complexity).
• Lead technical discovery, solution design, and architecture reviews for new initiatives.

B) AI-Driven Engineering Enablement (Core Requirement)

• Build an AI adoption program for engineering:
• Standard AI workflows (requirements → design → code → tests → documentation).
• AI coding standards, prompt/playbook templates, and code review rules.
• Secure usage policies (data handling, secrets, customer data, IP considerations).
• Make the team proficient in using AI for:
• Refactoring and modernization
• Test generation and coverage improvement
• Documentation and knowledge base creation
• Debugging and incident analysis
• Architectural option analysis and decision support

C) Claude & Ai Development tools

• Establish best practices for using Claude , Coursera, Antigravity and OpenClaw effectively:

• Prompt patterns, agent workflows, guardrails, and quality control.

• Tooling integration into dev processes (CI/CD, documentation, code analysis).

• Act as the internal coach and “multiplier” who lifts the whole team’s capability.

• D) Delivery & Governance

• Partner with Product, Engineering Managers, and Tech Leads to ensure architecture aligns with roadmap and delivery.

• Define non-functional requirements (NFRs) and acceptance criteria.

• Create architecture artifacts: HLD/LLD, C4 diagrams, integration specs, API contracts, data flow diagrams, threat models.

• Improve technical governance: design reviews, ADRs, technical debt prioritization, and architecture runway planning.

E) Team & Culture Change

• Mentor engineers and tech leads; elevate skills and accountability.
• Drive a culture of engineering excellence: clean architecture, testing discipline, observability, performance hygiene.
• Introduce measurable KPIs for improvement (lead time, defect rate, test coverage, incident rate, rework).

Required Qualifications

• 8–12+ years experience in software engineering with strong recent experience as a Solution Architect / Software Architect.
• Proven track record designing scalable systems (monolith-to-modular, services, event-driven, integrations).
• Strong knowledge of:
• API design (REST/GraphQL), integration patterns, messaging (as applicable)
• Security fundamentals (authn/authz, OWASP concepts, secrets management)
• Cloud and DevOps concepts (CI/CD, containers, environments, deployments)
• Databases and data modeling (SQL + ideally exposure to NoSQL/search)
• Observability (logging, metrics, tracing) and performance tuning
• Strong hands-on usage of Claude and OpenClaw in real engineering workflows (not theoretical).
• Excellent communication skills: can simplify, document, and align stakeholders.
• Ability to lead without authority and drive change across teams.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• Experience with document management, workflow engines, OCR/IDP, ECM domains, or enterprise integrations.
• Experience in multi-tenant SaaS architecture and/or platform engineering.
• Familiarity with agentic tools, structured prompting, evaluation frameworks, and AI governance.
• Experience building internal engineering playbooks and training programs.