Solution Architect

About Us

 

Kelley Blue Book has been guiding car buyers for 80 years by providing consumers easy access to comprehensive proprietary data, insightful analytical tools and objective third party research.  KBB is relied upon and trusted by both consumers and the industry, as ?The Trusted Resource.?  Due to unprecedented growth, we have several open positions within all segments of our business.  Don?t wait, end your search and begin an exciting career by joining the Kelley Blue Book Team!  View our career opportunities at www.kbb.com/careers today.

 

 

General Job Summary

The Solution Architect is essentially the technical ?go-to guy? for an entire line of Kelley Blue Book business.  This position is a combination of part-time Business Analyst, part-time Data Architect, part-time Technical Lead, and full-time Software Architect.  This position will be heavily involved in creating the next generation of KBB products and solutions from the ground up.  There will be no maintenance duties for approximately six months.  In order to be successful in the Solution Architect role the selected individual must be hands-on and must be able to code.  A Senior Developer/Consultant with strong development experience and superior communication and presentation skills would be an ideal candidate for this position.

The Solution Architect will have a mix of advanced technology and strategic business acumen.  This role requires both broad and deep technical knowledge and the ability to architect solutions by mapping common product requirements and business problems to reusable end-to-end technology solutions designed for the .NET platform.  The Solution Architect must have hands-on experience with the development of software products, the development and implementation of large enterprise business solutions in heterogeneous environments, and demonstrated success in integrating new solutions with legacy systems.

The Solution Architect is aligned with major lines of business and responsible for working with the business and IT development teams to design solutions that are consistent within a larger enterprise architecture.  In that capacity, the Architect must be able to provide all levels of design needed for the solution (including information, infrastructure, application, and business), mentor and lead development teams in developing the solution, and occasionally participate in the development of technically challenging portions of the solution.  The Solution Architect is a member of the Enterprise Architecture team and is also challenged with maintaining a broader focus during solution design so that each solution can contribute to and share from a core service oriented architecture.

 

Job ResponsibilitiesWork with IT and business owners to understand business requirements and strategy related to the assigned line of business in order to design solutions for that business.Design all aspects of a solution based on the Microsoft .NET platform using best practices and common patterns, including database, component layers, user interfaces, web services, and integration patterns.Drive development of those solutions by guiding and mentoring the development team through the entire development process.  Some development will be required for shared services and components or technically challenging areas where the skills of an architect are needed.With the help of a Technical Writer, document solution designs and how they interact with the larger enterprise architecture.Become the trusted, technical advisor for assigned line of business, providing thought leadership and application of technology to business problems.Conduct internal technical training seminars with an approximate attendance of 30-50 people.

 

Required Skills, Attributes & EducationDeep experience developing enterprise solutions using all aspects of the .NET platform: C#, ASP.NET, HTML/JavaScript, ADO.NET, XML, Microsoft Application Blocks, Web Services, multi-threaded programming, designing and building frameworks, enterprise patterns, VSS (Visual Source Safe), SQL 2000/Oracle database design and development, T-SQL, application and database tuning, performance and load testing, development tools (VS.NET 2003, NAnt, NUnit), experience with EAI and moving information throughout an enterprise using service oriented approaches.5-7 years of experience operating in an architect or senior developer role on enterprise-wide development projects.Strong development leadership experience paired with strong virtual teaming abilities.Strong commitment to customer service.Outstanding negotiation, organizational, creative, presentation, written, and verbal communication skills.Bachelor?s degree in a relevant discipline.Strategic consulting experience is desirable.Microsoft BizTalk 2004 experience is desirable.