Principal Systems Design / Architecture Engineer

NTT Ltd.; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm in South Africa is seeking a Principal Systems Design / Architecture Engineer to define the architecture for large systems and conduct system design activities. The ideal candidate has a strong background in system architecture and cloud computing, with proven experience in leading architectural solutions to complex business problems. This role includes responsibilities in design analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation of governance standards.

Qualifications

• Excellent ability to deal with stakeholders in challenging situations.
• Extended knowledge of system architecture and design.
• Proven experience with cloud-based architectures, preferably Azure or AWS.

Responsibilities

• Leads architectural analysis and design of systems.
• Advises on specifications for functional and technical requirements.
• Ensures systems align with company goals and strategies.

Skills

Excellent business acumen

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Problem-solving

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or Computer Science

Cloud certification (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, AWS Certified Solutions Architect)

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Azure Logic Apps

Azure API Management

Azure Service Bus

Job description

Job title : Principal Systems Design / Architecture Engineer

Job Location : Gauteng, Johannesburg Deadline : September 12, 2025 Quick Recommended Links

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Your day at NTT DATA

The Principal Systems Design / Architecture Engineer is a highly skilled subject matter expert, responsible for providing expertise in defining the architecture for large systems.

This role conducts system design activities to ensure that architectural solutions meet technical and functional requirements.

The Principal Systems Design / Architecture Engineer performs architectural analysis, evaluation, and design of systems that support and seeks to solve complex business and technical problems.

Key responsibilities :

Provides technical expertise on system design activities and advises on the review of application, software, and system components across a variety of technology stacks.

Ensures that architectural solutions meet technical and functional requirements.

Works cross functionally to review existing system architecture and recommends improvements.

Leads the investigation and scoping of change requests to determine the scale of work to be done and estimate the timeframe and input required.

Determines system loads and volumes as input into infrastructure requirements.

Ensures that proposed and existing systems architectures are aligned with the company’s goals and strategies.

Enables the design and development of new systems and solutions.

Ensures that new systems and solutions conform to current system architecture and / or align to strategic system architectural direction.

Leads architectural analysis, evaluation, and design of systems that support and seek to solve complex business and technical problems.

Enables and ensures that system architecture is delivered in the form of robust and scalable solutions to business problems and needs.

Identifies, evaluates, and assesses risks in order to mitigate them and eliminates any factor that may interfere or hinder the delivery of the architectural solution and dependent functional requirements.

Advises on specifications for solutions functional and technical requirements, and implementation phases required in order to deliver on and solve complex business problems.

Implements architectural governance, standards, metrics for measuring, monitoring and improving architecture.

Proactively identifies potential problems that could be remediated by more effective architectural solutions.

Performs any other related task as required.

Knowledge, and Attributes :

Excellent business acumen with excellent communication and organizational skills.

Ability to effectively deal with stakeholders in challenging situations.

Ability to navigate through complexity and ambiguity.

Extended knowledge of system architecture, design, and delivery.

Extended understanding of regulatory requirements and organizational standards.

Extended knowledge of the system design lifecycle models.

Extended ability to design systems compatible with cloud computing architectures and selection of components.

Extended ability to design and select system components.

Excellent planning and decision-making skills.

Excellent ability to use a variety of design tools.

Extended understanding of software development practices, including Agile and CI / CD.

Extended expertise in containerization technologies, such as Docker / Kubernetes.

Extended expertise in data security and privacy best practices.

Extended knowledge of clean code concepts, design patterns, test driven (TDD) and behavioral driven development (BDD).

Academic qualifications and certifications :

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Information Technology, Computer Science or related field.

Recommended certifications such as Cloud (Azure Solutions Architect Expert, AWS Certified Solutions Architect); TOGAF preferred.

Key Skills :

Strategic & Architectural Skills

Integration Architecture Design : Expertise in designing scalable, secure, and maintainable integration solutions.

Enterprise Integration Patterns : Deep understanding of messaging, orchestration, choreography, and data transformation.

Solution Architecture : Ability to align integration solutions with business goals and enterprise architecture.

Azure Platform Expertise

Azure Logic Apps : Designing workflows for business process automation.

Azure API Management : Architecting secure and scalable API gateways.

Azure Service Bus & Event Grid : Implementing asynchronous messaging and event-driven architectures.

Azure Functions : Leveraging serverless computing for lightweight integrations.

Azure Data Factory : Designing data pipelines for ETL and data movement.

Security & Governance

Identity & Access Management : Using Azure AD, OAuth2, and RBAC for secure integrations.

Compliance & Data Protection : Ensuring solutions meet regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, POPIA).

Governance Models : Defining policies for API usage, data flow, and integration lifecycle.

DevOps & Automation

CI / CD Pipelines : Architecting automated deployment pipelines using Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.

Monitoring & Observability : Designing logging and alerting strategies using Azure Monitor and Application Insights.

Technical Breadth

Hybrid Integration : Connecting on-premises systems (e.g., BizTalk, SAP) with cloud services.

Data Formats & Protocols : Proficiency in JSON, XML, XSLT, REST, SOAP, and GraphQL.

Integration Tools : Familiarity with BizTalk Server, MuleSoft, or other middleware platforms.

Certifications (Highly Recommended)

Microsoft Certified : Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Microsoft Certified : Azure Developer Associate

TOGAF or other enterprise architecture frameworks (optional but valuable)

Soft Skills

Stakeholder Engagement : Communicating effectively with business and technical teams.

Leadership : Guiding development teams and mentoring junior engineers.

Documentation & Standards : Defining integration standards and maintaining architectural artifacts.

Required experience :

Extended demonstrated experience in similar IT roles, with a focus on system design / architecture engineering.

Extended demonstrated working experience in a large-scale organization.

Extended demonstrated experience, judgment and drive to plan, make decisions and accomplish individual and team goals.

Extended demonstrated experience with software development lifecycles.

Extended demonstrated experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Extended demonstrated systems and / or software development experience is essential.

Extended proficiency in cloud-based architectures, preferably in popular cloud platforms (Azure, AWS).

Extended proficiency in designing and implementing scalable, distributed, and high-performance systems.

Extended proficiency in software design and architecture, ideally with experience dealing with large datasets.

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