Lead the evolution of a mission‑critical. NET ecosystem
Role Overview As an experienced Application Architect embedded in a multi‑year digital transformation programme for a large New Zealand‑based global customer, you will define the technical direction and own the path from legacy to modern. This contract is at least 6 months long. Your domain is the application — clean design, integration patterns, code quality, and long‑term maintainability across a mixed. NET estate that spans legacy . NET Framework 4.x through to modern . NET (up to . NET 10) hosted primarily on Microsoft Azure.
Important : this is not a cloud landing zone or enterprise platform architecture role.
Key Responsibilities
Define and evolve application architecture across a mixed. NET estate (Framework 4.x → modern. NET up to. NET 10), setting the modernisation roadmap and ensuring new work follows clean, sustainable patterns while legacy components are uplifted incrementally.
Lead frontend‑focused architecture for Angular‑based SPAs — defining and governing the API interaction model, ensuring frontend squads have well‑designed, stable, and versioned contracts to build against.
Design and govern API contracts for internal first‑party APIs and integrations with third‑party services operating within the customer's environment.
Create and maintain a pragmatic technical debt remediation roadmap — identifying what to address, in what order, and how to do it without stalling live delivery.
Define and enforce engineering standards: DDD, clean architecture, automated testing, CI/CD, and code review practices.
Facilitate architecture workshops with engineering squads, product owners, and customer stakeholders; provide technical governance through sprint reviews and release gates.
Mentor senior engineers and junior architects — through pairing, design reviews, code feedback, and knowledge sharing. Build capability, not dependency.
Be the technical voice in customer‑facing conversations — able to explain design decisions clearly to non‑technical management and defend them with confidence.
Deep, hands‑on experience with. NET Framework (4.x) and modern. NET (6 through 10) – and a track record of managing the gap between them in a live production environment.
Strong grasp of application modernisation patterns: strangler fig, anti‑corruption layers, incremental migration – and knowing which to apply when.
Good knowledge of modern SPA frameworks (Angular preferred) – sufficient depth to review component architecture, understand data‑binding patterns, and collaborate meaningfully with frontend squads.
Strong API design and enterprise integration experience – REST, messaging patterns, and third‑party API governance.
Experience designing and governing frontend‑facing application architectures, including SPA/API interaction models and API contract management.
Azure‑hosted application experience: App Services, Azure Functions, API Management, Azure SQL, Service Bus, and related Paa S tooling.
Solid grounding in web application security: authentication, authorisation, secrets management, and secure API design.
Proven ability to manage and incrementally reduce technical debt as part of an active delivery programme — not as a separate workstream.
Outstanding mentoring ability – a natural instinct to build up the people around you, not just solve problems yourself.
Strong client‑facing communication – able to simplify technical complexity for non‑technical executives and earn confidence through clarity.
Knowledge of Zero‑Trust security, Dev Sec Ops, and Fin Ops.
i SAQB Certified Professional for Software Architecture.
Benefits
Hybrid working model (minimum 2 days in the office).
Internal referral incentive.
Staff assistance programme.
Daily fresh fruit basket, coffee machine, wide selection of teas and biscuits in all offices.
Family‑friendly work environment with flexible work hours where practical.
Support for gender equality and a supportive, diverse and inclusive workplace.
All potential employees must consent to a Ministry of Justice criminal record check.
