Applications Architect - Hybrid Tallahassee, FL

4 Scope of Services

Background: As a result of the Department's efforts to re-engineer and modernize core financial systems, there have been over 1,500 computing assets identified as performing some level of financial planning, analysis, and management functionality that are impacted by the State of Florida's accounting system. The Florida Planning, Accounting, and Ledger Management (PALM) project is a multiyear endeavor to replace the State of Florida's accounting and cash management systems with a modern financial management solution. The Florida PALM Project is targeted to replace Central, Payroll, and Departmental FLAIR functionality, with go-live scheduled for July 1, 2026.

The 1,500+ computing assets are comprised of interfaces, enterprise applications, databases, automated processes, and reporting programs within FDOT that will require remediation due to:

· Adoption of the Florida PALM Standardized Business Process Model

· Transition to the Florida PALM Chart of Accounts values

· Replacement of Central, Payroll and Departmental FLAIR functionality

· Redevelopment of agency incoming and outgoing interfaces to the statewide accounting system

· Implementation of Information Warehouse data to support agency specific reporting requirements.

The computing asset modifications to complete the FDOT PALM System Transition (FPST) will take place over the course of three years in alignment with the Florida PALM Project scheduled timeline.

Problem Statement: Modifications to the Department's computing assets are necessary to align with the Florida PALM solution and are essential to the continuity of FDOT business. The selected candidate will be assigned initially to analyzing and documenting the Department's payroll distribution process and the Florida PALM project's reengineering of journal vouchering processes impact on critical business functions, supporting business processes, and related computing assets. Additional focus will be on analyzing related financial planning and analysis systems and dependent business processes owned by the Department and assisting in re-engineering in areas impacted by the Florida PALM Standardized Business Process Model and redeveloped interfaces. As part of this effort, a fit-gap determination must be made comparing the Department's computing assets functional scope with the Florida PALM Standardized Business Process Model to recommend those assets that may be decommissioned and addressed with the functionality within the Florida PALM solution.

This position will serve as the primary technical architect responsible for remediating the Comptroller Automation Platform (CAP) and providing architectural and development leadership across other Office of Comptroller (OOC) initiatives. The role will focus on improving code quality, addressing security vulnerabilities, strengthening the agency’s .NET infrastructure, and providing hands-on technical guidance and support to development teams.

In support of the CAP, this position will review remediated application code and utilize the agency’s SonarQube code scanning tools to enhance code quality, maintainability, and release readiness. The role will also contribute to modernization efforts by updating and replacing legacy UI components, including AngularJS and Kendo UI implementations. Additionally, this position will collaborate closely with the agency’s LaunchPads lead developer to design and implement complex or high-risk technical changes.

5 Education

A Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Software Engineering, or other related field. Work experience can substitute on a year for year basis for a degree.

6 Experience

Candidate MUST have a minimum of 7 years of experience in multiple IT areas and 2–3 years of relevant architecture experience. Candidate must have advanced to expert level knowledge and understanding of architecture, applications systems design and integration, specifically .NET.

Candidates with resumes reflecting experience with the following technologies will be given preference:

1. C# or ASP.NET Core

2. WebAPIs (RESTful Services)

3. Entity Framework / ORM Frameworks

4. .NET Framework and Modern .NET (.NET 6+)

5. Microsoft Azure

6. CI/CD Pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub actions, etc.)

7. Front-End JavaScript Library (Angular, React, Vue, etc.)

7 Primary Job Duties/ Tasks

The submitted candidate must be able to perform the following duties and/or tasks. Duties of the selected candidate will include, but not be limited to:

1. Design and document end-to-end application architectures using the Microsoft .NET ecosystem

2. Define solution patterns (monolithic, modular monolith, microservices, event-driven, etc.)

3. Establish architectural standards, reference architectures, and design guidelines

4. Evaluate and recommend technology stacks and frameworks

5. ⁠Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams

6. Review code, pull requests, and design artifacts for architectural compliance

7. Ensure adherence to SOLID principles, clean architecture, and best practices

8. Support CI/CD pipeline integration and deployment strategies

9. ⁠Assess existing systems and recommend modernization approaches

10. Guide migrations (legacy JCL/COBOL/FOCUS à .NET)

11. Identify and prioritize technical debt remediation

12. Support refactoring strategies without disrupting business operations

13. ⁠Produce and maintain architectural diagrams and technical documentation

14. Document design decisions and tradeoffs (ADRs)

15. Support onboarding and mentoring of internal technical staff

16. Participate in architecture reviews and governance forums

17. Analyze and document existing computing assets, including technical specifications and established business rules

18. Assist with debugging and troubleshooting existing processes when needed

a. Diagnose and resolve issues after performing root cause analysis

19. Provide guidance and assist with remediating and upgrading legacy assets

a. Coordinate with business analysts, other developers, and products owners to remediate to the new state-wide accounting system

b. Participate in code and design reviews to ensure quality and performance

20. Perform knowledge transfer with technical staff of the office of the Comptroller

21. Solution architecture diagrams and documentation

22. Technology and design recommendations

23. Architecture decision records (ADRs)

8 Job Specific Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

The submitted candidate must be able to apply common knowledge, skills, and abilities in the following areas:

1. Clean Architecture and Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

2. Event-driven architectures

3. API design and integration patterns

4. Web application development and front-end frameworks

5. Azure DevOps tools such as App Insights, Key Vault, and Blob Storage

6. SQL Server and relational database design

7. Data access optimization and performance tuning

8. Performance tuning and scalability

9. Reliability and fault tolerance

10. Logging, monitoring, and observability

11. Knowledge of the SCRUM Framework

12. Knowledge of financial systems such as an ERP

13. Entity Relationship Diagrams

14. Documenting and communicating technical requirements

15. Coordinating with Business Analysts to capture business requirements

16. Ability to bridge the gap between technical and business language

9 General Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs)

The submitted candidate must be able to apply common knowledge, skills, and abilities in the following areas:

1. Communication: Ability to clearly convey information, in both written and verbal formats, to individuals or groups in a wide variety of settings (i.e., project team meetings, management presentations, etc.). Must have the ability to effectively listen and process information provided by others.

2. Customer Service: Works well with clients and customers (i.e., business office, public, or other agencies). Able to assess the needs of the customer, provide information or assistance to satisfy expectations or resolve a problem.

3. Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions.

4. Flexibility: Open to change, new processes (or process improvement), and new information. Has the ability to adapt in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles. Ability to receive and give constructive criticism and maintain effective work relationships with others.

5. Interpersonal: Shows friendliness, courtesy, understanding, and politeness to others.

6. Leadership: Motivates, encourages, and challenges others. Adapt leadership styles in a variety of situations.

7. Problem Solving: Ability to identify, evaluate, and use sound judgement to generate and evaluate alternative actions, and make recommendations as accordingly.

8. Team Building: Encourages, inspires, and guides others toward accomplishing the common goal.