Platform Architect - Microsoft Azure Cloud

Associate Director

KDN is looking for a Platform Architect to own the platform architecture for KDN’s  technology stack, defining the standards, reference architectures, and design patterns that govern how platforms are built, integrated, and evolved across the organisation.

KDN’s flagship platform is Solaris—a zero-trust, event-driven data and AI ecosystem built on Azure (AKS, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI services). Your role is to ensure architectural coherence across the platform’s cloud infrastructure, messaging layer, data lakehouse, and AI/ML components. You will lead design reviews, set non-functional requirements, define technology selection criteria, and maintain platform architecture artefacts that are used in Design Authority governance.

This is an architecture role, not a delivery role. Platform engineering, operations, and application development are owned by delivery teams (KPMG India Technology, AI Labs, and delivery centres) under KDN’s 80/15/5 operating model. You define the guardrails, reference architectures, and patterns that those teams build within.

As KDN’s enterprise application portfolio grows this role will evolve to cover platform architecture standards and governance across a broader technology estate.

Experience:

•  A platform architect or senior solution architect with deep experience in Microsoft Azure cloud-native architectures: AKS, Service Bus, Event Hubs, API Management, Fabric, and Azure AI services
• Experience defining reference architectures, design patterns, and non-functional requirements for complex, multi-domain platforms—not just building them, but governing how others build to your standards
• Strong understanding of zero-trust security models, domain isolation patterns (bulkhead, service mesh), and cloud networking (VNet integration, Private Link, ExpressRoute)
• Experience leading design reviews and architecture governance in organisations where delivery is distributed across multiple teams and locations
• A strategic mindset that balances technical depth with the ability to communicate platform decisions to non-technical stakeholders and governance forums

 

Qualificiations:

• Significant experience as a platform architect, cloud architect, or senior solution architect working with Microsoft Azure cloud-native services at enterprise scale
• Deep hands-on knowledge of AKS (Kubernetes), Azure Service Bus, Event Hubs, API Management, Azure Networking (VNet, Private Link, ExpressRoute), and Azure security services (Key Vault, Entra ID, RBAC)
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric or equivalent lakehouse/data platform architectures (Databricks, Synapse, Delta Lake) and the medallion pattern (Bronze/Silver/Gold)
• Understanding of AI/ML platform components: Azure AI Search, Cosmos DB, Redis, MLOps pipelines, and responsible AI governance (fairness, explainability, PII handling)
• Experience defining and enforcing reference architectures, design patterns, and non-functional requirements across distributed delivery teams
• Practical experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep), CI/CD pipelines, and DevSecOps practices
• Strong understanding of zero-trust security principles, domain isolation patterns, and cloud cost governance (FinOps)
• Experience with enterprise architecture tooling (LeanIX preferred) and architecture governance processes (Design Authority, ADRs)
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate platform decisions into business language for governance forums and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience working within or alongside global delivery models where architecture is separated from delivery execution
• A degree in computer science, engineering, or related discipline; Azure certifications (Solutions Architect Expert, AKS, Fabric Analytics Engineer) and TOGAF are desirable

Experience Level

Mid Level