Senior AWS Architect & AI Practice Lead

OXARO Inc.; Ottawa; Hybrid; CAD 125,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

OXARO Inc. in Ottawa is seeking a Senior AWS Architect & AI Practice Lead for Canada’s Public Sector.

You will shape the cloud and AI practice, lead the AWS practice, and drive enterprise architecture initiatives while mentoring teams and growing reusable delivery frameworks. You will guide clients through modernization programs, contribute to governance, and collaborate with executives, architects, and engineers to align technology with strategic goals.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in business development and delivering complex enterprise technology solutions.
• Demonstrated success leading architecture teams, technical workstreams, cloud practices, or large-scale digital transformation programs.
• Deep knowledge of AWS services across compute, storage, networking, identity, security, data, integration, monitoring, governance, and automation.
• Experience designing and delivering AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, intelligent automation, or generative AI solutions.
• Strong understanding of security architecture, IAM, encryption, privacy, compliance, network design, monitoring, and governance controls.
• Experience with Agile delivery, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, and cloud operations.
• Strong communication skills with demonstrated ability to engage technical teams, executives, and client stakeholders.
• A strong network across the Canadian public sector.

Responsibilities

• Grow the business with our business development teams.
• Design secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-effective AWS architectures across application, data, integration, security, DevOps, observability, and AI domains.
• Define architecture standards, reference architectures, governance guardrails, technical roadmaps, and non-functional requirements.
• Architect AI-enabled solutions leveraging generative AI, RAG, machine learning, document intelligence, automation, and vector search.
• Establish responsible AI practices, governance controls, model evaluation frameworks, monitoring approaches, and human oversight mechanisms.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to clients on cloud adoption strategies and AI implementation.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the solution lifecycle from discovery to production readiness.
• Collaborate with executives, architects, engineers, and delivery teams to align technology decisions with goals.
• Stay current with emerging AWS services and industry best practices, bring innovative approaches.

Skills

Business development

Enterprise architecture

AWS cloud platforms

Public sector experience

Leadership

Agile delivery

DevOps practices

CI/CD pipelines

Terraform

CloudFormation

Security architecture

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Job description

Location: Ottawa, ON (Hybrid)

Security Clearance: Secret (or eligibility to obtain)

Vacancy Status: This posting is for a new vacancy. We are actively hiring for this position.

Salary Range: $125,000 - $160,000 annually, plus benefits.

About Us

Where people, processes, and technology align – that’s the OXARO effect. We provide customized digital operations and cloud, digital, and organizational transformation consulting services. OXARO focuses exclusively on bringing the Canadian public sector leading tools and technologies while upholding stringent security, privacy, and compliance regulations. OXARO is a joint venture by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton and Doane Grant Thornton, member firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd., active in some 150 countries worldwide. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, our team of 150+ experts empower the Canadian public service in providing our citizens with dynamic solutions from modern government.

The Role

As the Senior AWS Architect & AI Practice Lead for Canada’s Public Sector, you will help define the future of OXARO's cloud and AI practice. You will lead our growing AWS practice by providing both business development and technical expertise. You will bring experience and understanding in selling to the public sector, lead enterprise architecture initiatives, guide clients through complex modernization programs, develop reusable delivery frameworks, and mentor teams in building innovative solutions powered by AWS and generative AI technologies. This is a unique opportunity to combine deep technical expertise with strategic sales leadership and practice growth in Canada’s public sector.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Work with our business development teams to grow the business.
• Design secure, scalable, resilient, and cost-effective AWS architectures across application, data, integration, security, DevOps, observability, and AI domains.
• Define architecture standards, reference architectures, governance guardrails, technical roadmaps, and non-functional requirements to support enterprise cloud adoption.
• Architect AI-enabled solutions leveraging generative AI, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), machine learning, document intelligence, automation, predictive analytics, vector search, and intelligent workflows.
• Establish responsible AI practices, governance controls, model evaluation frameworks, monitoring approaches, and human oversight mechanisms.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to clients on cloud adoption strategies, modernization initiatives, operating models, AI implementation approaches, and technology roadmaps.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the solution lifecycle, from discovery and assessment through design, implementation, deployment, and production readiness.
• Ensure solutions align with security, privacy, compliance, governance, performance, scalability, and operational support requirements.
• Lead architecture reviews, mentor technical teams, foster communities of practice, and support the growth and development of cloud and AI capabilities across the organization.
• Contribute to the growth of OXARO's AWS and AI practice through reusable assets, delivery accelerators, standards, templates, methodologies, and technical innovation.
• Support business development through solution design, RFP responses, estimates, presentations, demonstrations, and oral evaluations.
• Collaborate with executives, business stakeholders, architects, engineers, and delivery teams to align technology decisions with organizational objectives.
• Stay current with emerging AWS services, AI capabilities, and industry best practices, bringing innovative approaches and technologies into client engagements.

What You Bring To The Table

• 10+ years of experience in business development and delivering complex enterprise technology solutions, including significant experience architecting AWS cloud platforms and modernization initiatives.
• Demonstrated success leading architecture teams, technical workstreams, cloud practices, or large-scale digital transformation programs.
• Deep knowledge of AWS services across compute, storage, networking, identity, security, data, integration, monitoring, governance, and automation.
• Experience designing and delivering AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, intelligent automation, or generative AI solutions.
• Strong understanding of security architecture, IAM, encryption, privacy, compliance, network design, monitoring, and governance controls.
• Experience with Agile delivery, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or equivalent), and cloud operations.
• Strong communication skills with demonstrated ability to engage technical teams, executives, and client stakeholders.
• A strong network across the Canadian public sector.

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS certifications such as Solutions Architect – Professional, DevOps Engineer – Professional, Security – Specialty, Machine Learning – Specialty, or AI Practitioner.
• Experience with Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Q, vector databases, retrieval‑augmented generation, embeddings, and model evaluation.
• Experience delivering cloud or AI solutions within public sector, regulated, or large enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with responsible AI, privacy impact assessments, data governance, model risk management, and cloud landing zone architectures.
• Experience supporting proposals, oral presentations, procurement responses, and business development initiatives.
• Bilingualism (English and French) is considered an asset.

Why Join Us?

• Make an Impact: Play a key role in modernizing Canada’s public sector and see the direct impact of your work on our communities.
• Career Growth: As a fast‑growing company, we offer significant opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
• Collaborative Culture: Join a supportive and collaborative team where your ideas are valued and you can learn from some of the best in the industry.
• Challenging Projects: Work on a variety of interesting and complex projects that will keep you engaged and continuously learning.

AI Disclosure

We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to screen, assess, or select applicants at any stage of our recruitment process. All applications are reviewed by our recruitment team.

OXARO is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and respectful workplace where every individual feels valued and empowered to contribute their best. We believe that diversity drives innovation and strengthens our ability to serve our clients and communities. We are dedicated to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process and welcome applications from members of the four designated groups under the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment process.

We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest in this opportunity. While we appreciate every application, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.