Cloud Solution Architect

Function

Information technology

Facility

Life Healthcare Head office

Position

Cloud Solution Architect

Introduction

A vacancy exists for a Cloud Solution Architect, based at Life Healthcare Head Office in Dunkeld,  reporting to the Enterprise Architect. The Cloud Solution Architect is responsible for planning, designing, and guiding the implementation of cloud architectures, platforms, integrations, and services that support the organisation’s business objectives. This role focuses on defining cloud strategy, evaluating cloud solutions, ensuring architectural alignment across systems, and enabling the successful adoption of cloud technologies across the enterprise. The Cloud Solution Architect will strategically design and govern cloud platforms across conceptual, logical, and physical architecture layers. Furthermore, this role provides cloud technology guidance, roadmaps, principles, standards, and best practices.

Critical Outputs

Cloud Architecture Leadership

• Provide architecture direction and guidance for cloud adoption and cloud-native solutions across the enterprise.
• Define and maintain cloud architecture standards, patterns, and best practices.
• Develop and maintain the organisation’s cloud strategy, cloud adoption framework, and technology roadmaps.

Cloud Solution Design

• Design scalable, secure, cost-efficient cloud architectures across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
• Oversee the integration of cloud services with existing systems, platforms, and third-party solutions.
• Ensure cloud solutions align with security, governance, and compliance requirements.
• Create high-level and detailed cloud architectural documentation.

Strategic Planning & Governance

• Document current-state cloud and on-premises architectures; identify improvement opportunities.
• Make recommendations for modernisation, migration, and optimisation across cloud environments.
• Participate in solution evaluation and vendor selection, including build vs. buy decisions.
• Approve cloud architectural decisions through relevant governance forums.

Technology Enablement & Collaboration

• Partner with business stakeholders to understand requirements and define cloud technology implications.
• Build strong relationships with software engineering, DevOps, and infrastructure teams to ensure cloud design feasibility.
• Collaborate with cloud vendors (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) to understand capabilities and roadmaps.
• Develop prototypes and proofs-of-concept to validate cloud solution architecture options.

Cloud Platforms & Operations

• Define cloud landing zones, network architecture, identity management, and security baselines.
• Ensure cloud environments are designed for resilience, scalability, and performance.
• Guide cloud cost management and optimisation initiatives.
• Support cloud performance tuning and monitoring strategies.

Innovation & Emerging Technology

• Research and evaluate cloud trends, new services, and market offerings.
• Propose innovative cloud-based solutions and drive cloud maturity across the organisation.

Requirements

Formal Education

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Cloud architecture certifications highly preferred:
  • Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  • TOGAF or other architecture frameworks beneficial.

 

Knowledge and Experience

10 or more years of IT and business/industry work experience including architecture design and deployment, systems lifecycle management, and infrastructure planning and operations.

 

Azure Cloud Architecture & Platforms

• Extensive hands‑on experience designing and implementing solutions on Microsoft Azure, including Azure IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS services.
• Deep understanding of Azure architectural frameworks such as the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) and Well‑Architected Framework (WAF).
• Proven ability to design secure, scalable, high‑availability architectures using native Azure services such as Azure Virtual Machines, Azure App Service, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Functions, and Azure API Management.
• Experience designing cloud‑native and hybrid-cloud architectures using Azure Arc, Azure Stack, and on‑premises integration.

Azure Migration & Modernisation

• Hands‑on experience leading Azure migration programmes, including discovery, assessment, strategy formulation, and execution.
• Proficiency with Azure migration tools such as Azure Migrate, Azure Site Recovery (ASR), and Database Migration Service.
• Skilled in re-platforming and rearchitecting legacy systems to Azure-native architectures using serverless, containers, and PaaS services.

Azure Networking & Connectivity

• Strong knowledge of Microsoft cloud networking, including Virtual Networks (VNet), VNet peering, Private Link, Network Security Groups, and Azure Firewall.
• Experience implementing hybrid connectivity using ExpressRoute, Site‑to‑Site VPN, Virtual WAN, and secure B2B/B2C connectivity patterns.
• Understanding of global distribution and acceleration technologies such as Azure Front Door and Azure CDN.

Azure Security, Identity & Compliance

• Deep experience implementing identity and access controls using Azure Active Directory (AAD), Conditional Access, Managed Identities, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
• Knowledge of compliance frameworks and ability to design architectures that meet regulatory and organisational security requirements using Azure Policy, Blueprints, Defender for Cloud, and Sentinel.
• Proficiency with encryption, key management, and certificate lifecycle management using Azure Key Vault.

Cost Management, Optimisation & FinOps on Azure

• Skilled in designing solutions optimised for Azure cost efficiency using Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, Autoscaling, and workload right‑sizing.
• Experience using Azure Cost Management + Billing, budgets, alerts, and cost governance practices.
• Understanding of FinOps principles and ability to advise on cloud financial accountability and optimisation.

Architecture Governance & Azure Best Practices

• Experience establishing or contributing to enterprise cloud architecture governance, cloud standards, reference architectures, and reusable solution patterns.
• Skilled in performing architectural reviews using Microsoft’s architecture review frameworks, workload assessments, and Azure Advisor.

Competencies

• Ability to exercise independent judgment and take action on it.
• Exceptional analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent architecture and technical support documentation skills.
• Ability to present ideas in user-friendly language.
• Ability to conduct research into emerging technologies and trends, standards, and products as required.
• Strong presentation and interpersonal skills
• Logical and efficient, with keen attention to detail.
• Highly self-motivated and directed.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks while under pressure.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Knowledge of applicable data privacy practices and laws.

Email

careers@lifehealthcare.co.za

Closing date

Tuesday, March 31, 2026