Specialist - Solution Architecture

National Bank of Kuwait; Kuwait City; On-site; KWD 30,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

National Bank of Kuwait is seeking a Solution Architect to design secure, scalable IT solutions across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments. The role requires deep expertise across Microsoft, Red Hat OpenShift, IBM and Oracle stacks, with strong focus on regulatory compliance and governance.

Responsibilities include leading infrastructure initiatives, collaborating with Security, Compliance and Operations, and driving standardization, automation and DR planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering or Information Systems.
• Minimum 10+ years in IT/infrastructure roles, preferably in banking or financial services.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft AD/GP/DNS, Exchange/Exchange Online, Windows Server, Red Hat OpenShift, container tech (Docker/K8s).
• Familiar with OpenShift, containerized systems, CI/CD tooling, and security controls (PCI DSS).
• Excellent documentation and communication skills; ability to lead infrastructure initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Design and document IT solutions aligned with business, security, infrastructure and regulatory requirements.
• Design infrastructure for business applications based on security and regulatory requirements.
• Act as technical lead for infrastructure initiatives involving Microsoft, Red Hat, IBM, Oracle and others.
• Collaborate with Security, Compliance and Operations to ensure resilience and governance.
• Support infrastructure standardization, hardening and automation.
• Contribute to disaster recovery planning and availability strategies.
• Assist in infrastructure risk assessments and audits.

Skills

Problem solving

Communication

Team leadership

Documentation

Analytical thinking

Education

Computer Science

Information Technology

Software Engineering

Information Systems

Tools

OpenShift 4.x

Docker

Kubernetes

RHACM

VMware

Hyper-V

MS SQL Server

Oracle

Azure

AWS

Active Directory

Group Policy

DNS

IIS

Tomcat

Job description

The Solution Architect will be responsible for designing secure, scalable, and compliant solutions with infrastructure primarily across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. This role is suited for experienced IT professionals with deep expertise in Microsoft, Oracle, Open-Source technologies, IBM, and Red …

Design and document IT solutions aligned with business, security, infrastructure and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

• Design and document IT solutions aligned with business, security, infrastructure and regulatory requirements.
• Design and document business application infrastructure solutions based on business requirements, security, and regulatory.
• Act as a technical lead for infrastructure initiatives involving Microsoft and Red Hat products, IBM, Oracle, and other technology providers.
• Collaborate with Security, Compliance, and Operations teams to ensure system resilience and governance.
• Provide support for infrastructure standardization, hardening, and automation.
• Contribute to disaster recovery planning and infrastructure availability strategies.
• Assist in infrastructure risk assessments and audits.

Educational Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree majoring in one of the following:

• Computer Science
• Information Technology
• Software Engineering
• Information Systems

Knowledge & Experience:

• Minimum of 10 + years of experience in IT and Infrastructure or operations roles, preferably in banking or financial services.
• Strong knowledge of:
• Microsoft Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS
• Microsoft Exchange or Exchange Online
• Windows Server administration
• RedHat OpenShift Containerization Platforms.
• Web applications (IIS, Tomcat)
• MS SQL Server.
• Oracle – Preferred, not mandatory.
• Public Key infrastructure
• Intermediate networking experience.
• Understanding of infrastructure security controls and regulatory compliance (e.g., PCI DSS).
• Familiar with virtualization technologies (VMware/Hyper‑V), storage systems, and networking basics.
• At least 1 Data Center implementation experience.
• Primarily MS Azure, secondly Amazon Cloud. AI Landing Zones exposure.
• Basics of Message Brokers experience or exposure like IBM MQ / Active MQ.
• Basics of API Security.
• Basics of Infrastructure Security
• OpenShift specific experience:
• Experience with Containers and Orchestrations (Red hat OpenShift, Docker, K8s, and RHACM, Bare metal).
• Good hands-on experience of managing Red Hat OpenShift (4.x) environment.
• Understanding of Docker images/containers for different technology stacks.
• Leve 2 Understanding and experience of containerized systems with CI/CD tooling, Helm charts.
• Good documentation and communication skills.
• MS-Visio.
• Power Point.
• Word.
• Excel.
• Experience in the below domains would be advantageous, NOT essential though:
• Card & SWITCH Systems Infrastructure.
• Mobile applications infrastructure.

Preferred Experience:

• Preferred proven track record and competence in Banking products & their technology implementation.
• Ability to align technical, security, and functional requirements in the specified technology.
• Problem solving / Analytical thinking.
• Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent People and team development skills.
• Communication and presentation skills at different organizational levels (Oral & Written).
• Be able to navigate the deliverables to extremely demanding timescales, ensuring all requirements are fulfilled adhering to the already set architecture principles.
• Positive feedback from leadership teams in the organization.
• Maintain good relationships with various business units, especially around expertise