Senior Application Architect

Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada; Hybrid

At Stantec, we have some of the world’s leading professionals passionate about enabling our business to be its best. Our business teams include finance, procurement, human resources, information technology, marketing, corporate development, HSSE, real estate, legal, and practice services. We bring diverse backgrounds, skills, and expertise and create a caring culture where everyone can thrive. Through teamwork and collaboration, we’re building a stronger, more resilient Stantec every day.    

 Stantec is looking for a Senior Application Architect that will be responsible for designing and overseeing the architecture of various software systems. The Senior Application Architect role ensures that applications (both cloud-based and on-premises) are scalable, secure, and integrated with existing systems, including our Oracle EBS ERP platform. They will work closely with our Custom Software Solutions development team, global database administrators and business stakeholders/SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) to translate business requirements into technical solutions, and guide projects through to successful implementation.  

The initial focus of the role will be to work with business stakeholders/SMEs to optimize workflows and business processes between our Project Managers and Project Accountants (aka PM2PA). This will involve enhancing and integrating numerous existing applications and data stores, including our on-premises Oracle E-Business Suite, and in the future, Oracle Fusion Cloud apps.

Key Responsibilities

Design and Architecture: Design and document the overall application architecture for projects, spanning on-premises systems and cloud platforms. Ensure architectures are scalable, reliable, and meet business requirements. This includes creating strategies for integrating cloud services with existing systems (e.g. ensuring new cloud applications interface smoothly with Oracle EBS). The Senior Application Architect analyses current application portfolios and identifies opportunities to improve or modernize them (for example, recommending which systems to migrate to cloud or how to refactor legacy EBS custom applications).  

Cloud & Infrastructure: Provide expertise in cloud services (such as Oracle and/or Azure) and architect cloud-based applications or migrations. Ensure all cloud solutions follow security and compliance requirements. For example, the Senior Application Architect might design a microservices-based system on Azure that integrates with on-premises Oracle databases, adhering to both cloud provider best practices and internal guidelines.  

Oracle EBS Integration: Serve as the subject matter expert on Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) within the architecture. Ensure that new and existing applications integrate seamlessly with Oracle EBS where necessary (e.g. Financial or Project Accounting systems interfacing with Oracle EBS). Provide guidance on Oracle EBS enhancements and customizations, ensuring they are done in line with best practices to maintain system stability and upgradability. 

This could involve designing APIs or middleware for data exchange between Oracle EBS and existing on-premises applications, cloud applications, or advising on Oracle EBS configuration to support new business requirements.

Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership to software development teams throughout the software development lifecycle. Lead architecture review sessions and code reviews, ensuring solutions align with the defined architecture and coding standards. Mentor and guide developers in implementing the architecture correctly and assist in troubleshooting complex issues. The Senior Application Architect will act as a bridge to our custom software development team, communicating architectural decisions and rationale.

They will ensure the development team understands and follows design principles (e.g. modular design, microservices, event driven architecture etc.) and make use of appropriate design patterns.

Performance, Security & Compliance: Incorporate security requirements and performance considerations into all application architecture designs from the outset. The architect makes sure that applications adhere to security best practices and relevant compliance standards as required. They will work with Stantec’s IT Security team to perform risk assessments on new architectures and include controls for data protection (encryption, access control) and robust error handling. They will also design for high performance and availability – for example, recommending load balancing, caching strategies, or failover mechanisms. All solutions are evaluated for reliability, maintainability, and disaster recovery preparedness as well.  

Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization – including business Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), business analysts, project managers, and IT leadership – to understand requirements and translate business requirements into technical architecture designs (communicating complex architectural concepts in clear terms to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring buy-in and understanding). 

The Senior Application Architect will often participate in requirement-gathering workshops and advise on feasibility or alternative solutions. They will also liaise with vendors or external partners if third-party systems or cloud services are involved, ensuring compatibility with the overall architecture. 

Project Involvement: Take part in planning and executing IT projects as the architecture owner. During project planning, estimate the effort and resources needed for architectural tasks and any new infrastructure. Throughout development, the Senior Application Architect monitors progress to ensure alignment with the architectural design and intervenes if refactoring is needed. 

They might lead proof-of-concept initiatives to validate new technologies, design patterns or approaches before wider implementation. In addition, they oversee that proper documentation of the architecture and key design decisions is produced for future reference and onboarding. 

Continuous Improvement: Stay updated with emerging technologies, tools, and best practices in the industry. This includes keeping current with cloud innovations, DevSecOps tools, and new Oracle EBS features or Oracle Fusion Cloud offerings. The Senior Application Architect evaluates these for potential benefit to the organization and drives adoption of new technologies (for example, exploring the use of Oracle Integration Cloud or new Azure services). They may also establish best practice guidelines and technical standards internally, fostering continuous improvement in how Stantec designs and delivers software.  

About the Organization