Solution Architect–Legacy System Modernization

Job Summary:

The Solution Architect is the technical lead responsible for assessing legacy systems, designing secure and scalable modernization strategies, and guiding the architectural transformation of mission-critical applications, infrastructure, and data systems. This role drives technical decision-making across assessment and implementation task areas, ensuring that all solutions align with customer mission objectives, DoD compliance requirements, and emerging technology best practices.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead assessments of legacy systems including COBOL-based applications, IDMS/IMS databases, and monolithic workflows.
• Analyze technical debt, data flows, interface complexity, and code maintainability to define modernization paths (refactor, replatform, replace).
• Collaborate with PMO and mission partners to develop actionable modernization roadmaps.

• Architect modern hybrid cloud solutions that integrate mainframes with platforms like AWS GovCloud or Azure IL5.
• Define architectures that support:
• API enablement for legacy systems
• Real-time data exchange and data lakes
• Infrastructure-as-Code deployments
• AI/ML pipelines
• Align all solutions with the DoD Data Strategy, VAULTIS principles, and Zero Trust mandates.

• Lead the design of modernization artifacts such as architecture blueprints, sequence diagrams, security models, and deployment workflows.
• Direct the implementation of DevSecOps pipelines, automated testing suites, and container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes/OpenShift).
• Ensure technical alignment between development, security, data, and infrastructure teams.

• Apply DoDAF and enterprise architecture methodologies to guide system alignment with mission goals.
• Ensure all architectures meet DISA STIGs, NIST 800-53, RMF, and CPTC security mandates.

Job Requirements (Education/Skills/Experience):

Required Skills & Experience:

• Active Secret clearance required.
• 10+ years of experience in solution or enterprise architecture for large-scale federal systems.
• Expertise in:
• Legacy system assessment and modernization
• Mainframe-to-cloud transitions (IBM Z to AWS, Azure)
• Hybrid cloud and edge integration
• Metadata-driven data architecture, DataOps, and decoupled compute/store
• Strong experience with modernization tools
• Familiarity with architecture modeling frameworks

Preferred Certifications:

• AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Architect Certification
• SAFe Architect or Agile Architecture-related certification

Originally posted on Himalayas