Lead Architect - Vice President

Citigroup Inc.; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Citigroup Inc. in Chennai seeks a highly experienced Lead Architect to steer our technology team, defining end-to-end architecture for mission-critical systems, with a focus on Java, microservices, and scalable, secure solutions.

You will lead design of large-scale microservices with Spring Boot, Kafka-based event streams, cloud-native containers, and CI/CD pipelines, while mentoring engineers and ensuring governance across the SDLC.

Qualifications

• Experience in software engineering with focus on systems architecture and leadership.
• Mastery of Core Java, including concurrency, performance optimization, JVM internals, and latest language features.
• Proven track record delivering distributed, scalable enterprise systems.
• Expertise with Spring Framework and Spring Boot for large-scale microservices.
• Experience architecting event-driven systems using Kafka.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end technical architecture for major application systems.
• Lead design and implementation of large-scale microservices using Spring Boot.
• Provide hands-on Java development with focus on performance tuning.
• Architect and govern event-driven systems using Kafka and messaging tech.
• Oversee database architecture (SQL/NoSQL), data modeling, security, and performance.
• Provide lifecycle governance across SDLC and promote CI/CD practices.
• Define containerization and cloud deployment strategies (ECS, Kubernetes).
• Foster Agile practices and mentor senior engineers and team leads.
• Lead security architecture reviews and risk mitigation measures.

Skills

Core Java Mastery

Architectural Leadership

Spring Framework

Spring Boot

Event-Driven Systems

Database Architecture

Cloud & Container Orchestration

Agile Methodologies

AI & Prompt Engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Kafka

ECS

Kubernetes

Job description

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Lead Architect to steer our technology team. This senior leadership position is responsible for architecting, designing, and guiding the implementation of mission-critical, high-performance application systems. The ideal candidate is a thought leader with profound expertise in the Java ecosystem, distributed systems, and microservices architectures. You will set the technical direction and strategy, driving innovation and ensuring the delivery of robust, scalable, and secure solutions that align with our long-term business goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Technical Strategy & Architecture: Define and own the end-to-end technical architecture for major application systems. Lead feasibility studies, drive technology selection, and create the strategic roadmap for future development.
• System & Microservices Design: Lead the architectural design and implementation of complex, large-scale microservices ecosystems using the Spring Boot framework. Ensure designs are scalable, resilient, and maintainable.
• Expert-Level Java Development: Provide technical leadership and hands-on contribution to the development of sophisticated, efficient, and reliable Java code, with a deep focus on advanced multithreading, concurrency, and performance tuning.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Architect and govern enterprise-grade, event-driven systems using Kafka and other messaging technologies, establishing best practices for data streaming and asynchronous communication.
• Database & Data Strategy: Oversee the design and optimization of high-throughput database solutions. Define data modeling standards, and ensure data integrity, security, and performance across all systems.
• Lifecycle Governance: Provide technical oversight and governance across the entire software development lifecycle, from strategic planning and analysis to deployment and long-term support.
• Cloud & Containerization Strategy: Define and enforce best practices for containerization (ECS, Kubernetes), cloud-native deployment, and infrastructure-as-code practices to build scalable and automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Agile Leadership: Champion and refine Agile best practices within and across teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and engineering excellence.
• Code Quality & Security Governance: Establish and enforce stringent standards for code quality, performance, and security. Lead security architecture reviews and mandate measures to mitigate risks.
• Mentorship & Technical Leadership: Act as a key technical visionary for the organization. Mentor and develop senior engineers and team leads, fostering a culture of innovation and technical excellence.
• Risk & Compliance Oversight: Drive a culture of proactive risk management and robust compliance. Ensure architectural decisions and development practices align with all applicable laws, policies, and ethical standards.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• Experience: 10-15 years of progressive experience in software engineering, with a significant focus on systems architecture and technical leadership.
• Core Java Mastery: Mastery of Core Java, including deep expertise in advanced concurrency, performance optimization, JVM internals, and the latest language features.
• Architectural Leadership: Proven track record of designing and delivering complex, distributed, and scalable enterprise systems.
• Spring Framework: Expert-level proficiency with the Spring Framework and Spring Boot for building and operating large-scale microservices.
• Event-Driven Systems: Proven experience architecting and managing large-scale, highly available event-driven systems using Kafka.
• Database Architecture: Expertise in database architecture (SQL and NoSQL), advanced performance tuning, and complex data modeling.
• Cloud & Container Orchestration: Extensive, hands-on experience with cloud-native technologies, container orchestration (e.g., ECS, Kubernetes), and modern CI/CD practices.
• Agile Methodologies: Demonstrated leadership in maturing and scaling Agile development practices across teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• AI & Prompt Engineering: Strategic experience in leveraging smart AI tools and prompt engineering to accelerate development cycles, improve code quality, and drive analytics.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree/University degree or equivalent experience
• Master's degree preferred

Job Family Group:

Technology

Job Family:

Applications Development

Time Type:

Full time

Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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