Solution Architect

Who are we, and what do we do?
At Corteva Agriscience, you will help us grow what’s next. No matter your role, you will be part of a team that is building the future of agriculture – leading breakthroughs in the innovation and application of science and technology that will better the lives of people all over the world and fuel the progress of humankind.

Corteva Agriscience is looking for an innovative, energetic, and transformational Solution Architect.

A Solution Architect (SA) acts as an owner of architecture design, technical strategy, and operational standards for products or product components in a Product Family.  The SA directly works with a product team(s) to design and implement solutions to meet business needs in a secure, scalable, and reliable manner.

A SA fosters productive teams, business value, standard and compliant solutions, and innovation.

They are a Connector guiding individuals and teams by:

• defining common technical goals and values for a technical team(s) in a Product Family
• acting as an initial contact point for POs when new solutions business requirements and functionality are requested requiring design and initial t-shirt sizing
• act as a servant leader for their team(s) and connect them with resources in other parts of the organization and/or solve issues and escalate as needed.

They are a Navigator aiding the success of business focused IT solutions by:

• being a technical guide in product planning and road-mapping efforts for POs
• ensuring product alignment to Corteva standard tools, and techniques
• bringing the outside into the team(s) from the Engineering Community of Practice and other industry sources

As an Orchestrator, they own and design capabilities to drive value from IT services by:

• designing systems to meet business needs in a scalable, reliable, and secure manner
• owning technical quality by providing technical leadership for a product team(s)
• driving adherence to IT best practices alongside POs, PFAs and other SAs

How does a Solution Architect work?

• Productive Teams: Guides product team(s) using direction from SAs, Product Family Architects (PFAs)/Product Line Architects (PLAs), business needs, and enterprise architecture.
• Standard and Compliant Solutions: designs solutions to align with Enterprise Architect (EA), Engineering, Data, and Center of Excellence (CoE) direction.
• Business Partnership: partners with teams, IT Product Mangers and Product Leads, Business Product Owners (POs) and other SAs on solutions to meet business needs using IT and industry standards-based approaches

What are SA skills and behaviors?

• Business IQ: knowledge and understanding of the product family business processes and IT implications; growing knowledge of the overall Corteva business capabilities, outcomes for their products, and how they fit into a larger portfolio of solutions
• Technical IQ: cloud computing expertise with specialization in Microsoft Azure technology stack; knowledge of solution architecture practices and patterns such as application, data, integration, etc.; DevOps knowledge in practice; knowledge of the technologies and services for their products
• Domain IQ: deep knowledge of software development lifecycle (SDLC); knowledge of security and compliance principles; growing knowledge of Enterprise Architecture principles, processes, and frameworks.
• Strategic partnering: building credibility within teams and IT POs by leading, directing and partnering on business and technology solutions
• Communications: excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills

What are SA responsibilities?

• Designs structure of components and their inter-relationships alongside the Software Engineering Lead with performance, cost, scalability, and reliability in mind
• Escalates to PFAs and PLAs when architecture deviation is needed
• Works with Software Engineering Lead to drive Technical Excellence projects as needed
• Aids in ensuring consistency of architectural principles for individual solutions
• Comfortable with DevOps concepts and can mentor team or build their own pipelines and debug as needed
• Should be able to solve most issues when working with Software Engineering Lead from teams
• Participates in planning and execution of solution technical lifecycle and technical excellence with IT PMs, IT PLs, PFAs, and PLAs
• Ensures alignment of individual product roadmaps through IT PMs, IT PLs, and PFAs; includes alignment with technology roadmap and product line portfolios
• Occasionally engages with the IT PMs and PLs, PFAs/PLAs on new demand request reviews, technical solutions/evaluations and POC needs for the Product Family
• Goes to EA, Security and Privacy with PFA/PLA as needed to gain approval for new developed, purchased and SaaS solutions
• Supports broader governance of EA and Engineering standards by driving principles within individual solutions
• Engages with Software Engineering Lead, PFAs and PLAs on vendors on solution evaluations (SaaS and non-SaaS) and purchase recommendations
• Enables product teams by performing POCs, evaluating and recommending new standards
• Responsible for driving Corteva Security organization process and standards into solutions
• Responsible for aligning the tools and technologies in solutions based on standards from PLA, PFA and EA in the tech radar and enterprise architecture lifecycle
• Escalates issues and resolves organizational or technical problems as needed for a solution
• Works with peers to develop and maintain policies, standards, guidelines (guiding principles), reference architectures / patterns, decision frameworks and metrics to ensure that a consistent framework is applied across the company.

Education and Experience - What you'll bring to the table!

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or MIS is preferred and/or equivalent experience.
• 5-7 years of experience in designing and engineering complex, high-quality IT solutions.
• Experience with data, integrations and enterprise-level applications.
• Experience designing solutions in Microsoft Azure with a cloud-first mentality.
• Experience with web UI frameworks such as Angular, React, and Vue.
• Experience in design, implementation, and deployment of scalable API services.
• Experience with software development life cycle processes or Agile development.
• Familiar with CI/CD practices and Infrastructure as Code.
• Knowledge of micro-services.
• Experience with .Net framework and C#.
• Passionate about customer experience.
• Partner effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent teamwork, communication (oral and written) and collaboration skills.

Benefits – How We’ll Support You:

• Numerous development opportunities offered to build your skills

• Be part of a company with a higher purpose and contribute to making the world a better place

• Health benefits for you and your family on your first day of employment

• Four weeks of paid time off and two weeks of well-being pay per year, plus paid holidays

• Excellent parental leave which includes a minimum of 16 weeks for mother and father

• Future planning with our competitive retirement savings plan and tuition reimbursement program

• Learn more about our total rewards package here - Corteva Benefits

• Check out life at Corteva! www.linkedin.com/company/corteva/life

Are you a good match? Apply today! We seek applicants from all backgrounds to ensure we get the best, most creative talent on our team.

Corteva Agriscience is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to embracing our differences to enrich lives, advance innovation, and boost company performance. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, military or veteran status, pregnancy related conditions (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), disability or any other protected status in accordance with federal, state, or local laws.