Principal Solutions Architect

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Kenya.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of technical architecture within the services portfolio, from initial contract scoping to final delivery.

• Lead the design of solutions for OpenFn-centered interoperability projects, including integration strategies, data flow architecture, API design patterns, system topology, and deployment methodologies.

• Engage directly with technical counterparts from government and NGO sectors on the design of OpenFn solutions and the related enterprise architecture strategies.

• Assess suggested use cases to evaluate their suitability for the OpenFn platform, providing guidance on constraints and alternative design options.

• Establish and maintain a high technical quality standard across the services portfolio, from solution design through to delivery and deployment.

• Create internal benchmarks and guidelines for exemplary OpenFn implementations, developing review processes that ensure the entire team adheres to these standards.

• Mentor engineers and consultants, aiding them in enhancing their JavaScript skills and systems-level integration thinking.

• Become the leading expert in OpenFn within the organization, comprehending the platform's capabilities and limitations at scale and under real-world conditions.

• Build and manage a solutions architecture library, a well-structured knowledge base documenting how OpenFn aligns with various integration patterns, along with transparent documentation of platform suitability and known constraints.

• Act as a liaison between services and product teams, transforming field insights and performance limitations into structured product feedback, while also incorporating roadmap awareness into implementation planning and sales scoping.

• Define and supervise deployment strategies for government clients utilizing OpenFn on local infrastructures, encompassing containerized, cloud, and hybrid environments.

• Create deployment standards and runbooks that implementation teams can consistently apply across a variety of hosting configurations.

⛳️ Requirements

• 10-15+ years of experience in solution architecture, systems integration, or leading technical implementations.

• Proven expertise with integration platforms, middleware, or workflow automation tools, along with a confident ability to evaluate platform suitability; familiarity with platforms such as X-Road, OpenHIM, Kafka, Apache Camel, n8n, MuleSoft, Kong, Boomi, and/or WSO2 is highly advantageous.

• Strong proficiency in JavaScript / Node.js and experience in backend development and API integration patterns.

• Capability to establish and maintain a technical quality benchmark across a delivery portfolio and to create the standards and processes that enable the entire team to meet that benchmark.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to facilitate technical workshops with government and NGO technical personnel.

• Experience in a consulting or professional services environment, where technical leadership and client-facing accountability are essential.

• Ability to thrive in lean, distributed teams, where judgment is more critical than established processes.

• Familiarity with interoperability standards in global health or humanitarian systems, such as FHIR/HL7, is a strong advantage.

• Experience with DevOps practices in low-resource or sovereign-hosting scenarios, including CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and Docker/Kubernetes, is a significant plus.

• Background in working with digital public goods, open-source initiatives, government digital transformation programs, or NGO technology teams in Africa, Asia, or Latin America is beneficial.

• Proficiency in French or Spanish is a bonus.

• Ability to work from home or a shared office space with fast, reliable internet, ideally in a country within the Africa/Europe time zones.

🏝️ Benefits

• Financial compensation is aligned with experience.

• Flexible working hours.

• Fully remote work environment, with team gatherings held across Europe and Africa (recent meetups occurred in Kigali, Cape Town, and Dakar).

• Exposure to the latest industry and technology trends, as well as leading health and humanitarian initiatives within the sector.

• Opportunities for leadership and career advancement. You will play a vital role in shaping our company’s strategy and direction.

• The chance to influence our strategy and positively impact millions of lives through our open source software within a small, mission-driven organization.