AI Solution Architect

Design secure, scalable and governed AI solutions for Canada Life. Translate business requirements into end-to-end solution architectures and provide architecture leadership through delivery. Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture standards, security requirements, operational objectives and AI governance principles. 

What you will do:

• Own architecture and solution design quality for AI initiatives from concept through production deployment. 

• Create candidate architectures, end-to-end solution sketches and target-state solution designs. 

• Produce architecture deliverables including system context, logical architecture, physical architecture, security, sequence and data flow diagrams, integration specifications and ADRs. 

• Define non-functional requirements for security, privacy, resiliency, scalability, observability, performance, maintainability, supportability and cost efficiency. 

• Ensure delivered solutions align with approved architecture, enterprise standards, operational requirements and AI governance controls. 

• Support architecture reviews, governance forums, design walkthroughs and production readiness assessments. 

• Design reusable architecture patterns and reference architectures for generative AI, agentic AI, RAG, intelligent automation, machine learning and knowledge management solutions. 

• Design application, integration, data, deployment and security architectures for AI platforms and AI-enabled business solutions. 

• Define architecture standards, design principles, approved technology patterns and implementation guidance for AI engineering teams. 

• Establish architecture guardrails for security, privacy, responsible AI, monitoring, auditability, compliance and operational support. 

• Evaluate emerging AI technologies, platforms, frameworks and architecture approaches for enterprise adoption. 

Innovation and proof of value 

• Lead proof of concept and proof of value initiatives for new tools, platforms, AI services and emerging technologies. 

• Validate technical feasibility, business value, security considerations, operational readiness, support models and integration requirements. 

• Produce architecture recommendations, adoption guidance and target-state architecture based on proof of concept outcomes. 

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of Canada Life AI architecture standards, reference architectures and engineering practices. 

Collaboration and leadership 

• Partner with AI Engineering, Data Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, Security, Risk, Privacy, Platform Engineering and Product teams. 

• Communicate architecture decisions, design trade-offs and technology recommendations to technical and business stakeholders. 

• Escalate architecturally significant decisions, risks, standards gaps and exception requests through architecture governance processes. 

• Mentor engineers and solution designers on architecture practices, documentation standards and AI solution design patterns. 

What will you bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology or a related discipline. 

• 7+ years of experience in solution architecture, software engineering, application architecture, data engineering, cloud engineering or related technology disciplines. 

• 3+ years designing and delivering AI, machine learning, generative AI, intelligent automation or advanced analytics solutions. 

• Experience creating architecture artefacts, solution blueprints, technical specifications, ADRs and architecture diagrams. 

• Experience working in large, complex and regulated environments, preferably financial services or insurance. 

• Strong knowledge of cloud architecture, application architecture, API design, integration patterns, security architecture and data architecture. 

• Knowledge of Azure AI Foundry Services and Azure AI Foundry architecture patterns. 

• Experience with Azure OpenAI, Azure Machine Learning, Databricks, AWS Bedrock and modern AI engineering platforms. 

• Experience with AI observability, model evaluation, vector databases, enterprise search and knowledge management solutions. 

• Hands-on experience with Python, AI frameworks, agent orchestration frameworks and RAG implementation patterns. 

• Architecture, cloud, security or data certifications such as TOGAF or Microsoft Azure certifications. 

• Reliability Status Security Clearance – this can only be completed with candidates who receive an offer of employment. This is a personal security status that is required as a condition of employment before an employee can gain access to Protected B information, assets or work sites as outlined by the Government of Canada  website.  The cost of submitting these checks will be covered by Canada Life.