Lead Architect - Airtel

Airtel; New Delhi; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 5,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Airtel in Gurgaon is seeking a Lead Platform Architect to define, evolve, and govern platform capabilities for enterprise-scale platforms. This senior technologist will work across platform, solution, and enterprise architecture layers, partnering with engineering and business stakeholders.

The role requires 10-15 years of experience and a track record in scalable, high-availability platforms, with strong API-first and integration-driven approaches.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of overall experience in software engineering, platform architecture, or solution architecture.
• Proven experience designing large-scale, distributed, high-availability platforms.
• Strong API-first and integration-driven architectures; TM Forum Open APIs desirable.
• Ability to balance hands-on technical depth with strategic architectural thinking.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Architect and evolve platform capabilities with focus on scalability, extensibility, performance, and reliability.
• Review designs and ensure alignment with APIs and internal architectural standards.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure high-quality, resilient implementations.
• Design high-level solution architectures for new journeys leveraging platform services.
• Provide architectural oversight during SIT, UAT, and Production phases.
• Define target-state architecture and participate in governance forums.
• Shape business KPIs, dashboards, reporting, and analytics leveraging enterprise platforms.

Skills

API-first

Integration-driven

Hands-on depth

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Distributed systems

High-availability

Communication skills

Tools

TM Forum Open APIs

Job description

Lead Architect

Experience: 10-15 years

Location: Gurgaon / Work From Office

Role Overview

As a Platform Architect for one of our enterprise-scale platforms, you will play a pivotal role in defining, evolving, and governing platform capabilities that support complex customer journeys and high-volume, mission-critical operations. This role requires a senior technologist with 10-15 years of experience, capable of working across platform, solution, and enterprise architecture layers, while partnering closely with engineering and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Architecture

• Understand existing platform capabilities and evolve them in alignment with business and technology roadmap.
• Architect and design new platform capabilities with a strong focus on scalability, extensibility, performance, and reliability.
• Identify and recommend appropriate architectural patterns and frameworks to enable modularity, reusability, and performance optimization.
• Review detailed designs and ensure compliance with TM Forum Open APIs and internal architectural standards.
• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure high-quality, resilient implementation of platform features.
  

Solution Architecture

• Analyze the existing application and integration landscape to understand how new customer journeys onboard onto the platform.
• Design high-level solution architectures for new journeys, ensuring optimal reuse of platform services.
• Partner with Engineering Managers and Tech Leads to understand technical constraints, dependencies, and available capabilities.
• Perform impact analysis on existing functionality, data flows, performance, and SLA commitments for new initiatives.
• Guide development teams and review Low-Level Designs (LLDs) to ensure architectural consistency and adherence to best practices.
• Design solutions for business KPIs, dashboards, reporting, and analytics leveraging enterprise reporting platforms.
• Provide architectural oversight and support during SIT, UAT, and Production phases.

Enterprise Architecture

• Define and drive the target-state and end-state architecture for the platform and aligned enterprise initiatives.
• Contribute to architecture governance forums, ensuring enterprise-wide consistency and alignment.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to support platform modernization and evolution.
• Ensure architectural alignment with enterprise standards, security guidelines, and compliance frameworks.
  

Required Qualifications

• 10-15 years of overall experience in software engineering, platform architecture, or solution architecture roles.
• Demonstrated experience architecting large-scale, distributed, and high-availability platforms.
• Strong expertise in API-first and integration-driven architectures; experience with TM Forum Open APIs is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to balance hands-on technical depth with strategic architectural thinking.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in Telecom, BSS/OSS, or large enterprise digital platforms.
• Exposure to cloud-native architectures, microservices, event-driven systems, and container platforms.
• Experience working in regulated environments with strict security and compliance needs.

Why Join Us

• Architect and influence enterprise-scale platforms with long-term strategic impact.
• Work closely with senior engineering leaders and business stakeholders.
• Drive modernization initiatives and shape the platforms future-state architecture.