Associate Senior Solutions Architect

Associate Senior Solutions Architect

Description

At the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit  https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd

Department Context

The ITS Operations Products unit (ITSOP) enables the Bank's operational business processes through modern, flexible and user-friendly digital products. Its portfolio includes Operations Workspace and related solutions that bring together operational data, documents, workflows, collaboration and decision support for front-line staff.

ITSOP is seeking an Associate Senior Solutions Architect to provide hands-on architecture and engineering leadership for the Operations Workspace ecosystem. The successful candidate will combine deep Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dataverse expertise with strong .NET and Azure engineering skills, personally implement prototypes and reference solutions, and guide delivery teams from design through production. The role will also help integrate Generative AI and agentic capabilities into operational workflows using a governed AI Development Lifecycle (ADLC). This is not a purely advisory role.

Role Purpose

The Associate Senior Solutions Architect translates complex operational requirements into secure, scalable and maintainable solutions across Dynamics 365, Dataverse, .NET, Azure, APIs, data platforms and AI services. The role defines architecture, validates choices through working code, establishes reusable patterns and guardrails, and remains directly engaged in troubleshooting, CI/CD, release readiness and production improvement.

Duties and Accountabilities

The Associate Senior Solutions Architect works across multiple projects in the World Bank Operations portfolio and is accountable for ensuring that technical solutions are successfully designed, delivered and operated for Operations staff.

From a work-program perspective, the role provides technical leadership, delivery oversight and practical guidance to internal staff and globally distributed vendor teams. The architect helps sequence technical work, resolves delivery constraints and ensures that implementation remains aligned with business priorities, enterprise standards and release commitments.

From a technical perspective, the role leads application, integration and data architecture; identifies solution components and reusable patterns; validates designs through working prototypes; performs quality and code reviews; and remains accountable for delivery at speed, scale and quality.

Role Scope and Distinction

• Acts as a senior technical subject matter expert for complex, business-critical solutions in the Operations Workspace portfolio.

• Balances strategic architecture with recent, demonstrable hands-on contribution to prototypes, code, integration, deployment and technical problem-solving.

• Leads cross-layer design decisions involving applications, workflows, data, APIs, identity, security, observability and AI-enabled experiences.

• Guides multidisciplinary teams and vendors, mentors architects and engineers, and raises engineering quality through practical standards and reusable implementation assets.

• Works across globally distributed business, product, architecture, security, data, platform and engineering stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture and Technical Leadership

• Lead end-to-end solution architecture for Operations Workspace and related products, aligning business outcomes, enterprise principles, security requirements and delivery constraints.

• Define target-state and transition architectures, solution options, architecture decision records, integration contracts, non-functional requirements and implementation roadmaps.

• Review designs and code for scalability, resilience, maintainability, interoperability, usability, performance and cost effectiveness.

• Identify systemic risks and technical debt, propose pragmatic remediation, and guide Agile Release Train and product teams through implementation trade-offs.

Lead solution delivery teams through implementation, maintenance, release readiness and operational improvement of business-critical applications supporting Operations Workspace and related Operations product ecosystems.

Lead application and data architecture modelling, component identification and solution quality reviews, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture principles and approved technology standards.

Dynamics 365 and Dataverse Engineering

• Architect and implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dataverse solutions, including data models, security roles, business rules, workflows, plug-ins, custom actions, Power Platform components and environment strategy.

• Design supported extension patterns using C#/.NET, the Dataverse SDK and APIs while minimizing fragile customization and preserving upgradeability.

• Guide integration of Dynamics 365 with SharePoint Online, Microsoft Graph, Azure services, enterprise data products and other operational systems.

• Define application lifecycle management practices for solutions, configuration, environment variables, connection references, test data and controlled promotion across environments.

Hands-on Prototyping and .NET Engineering

• Personally design, code, test and demonstrate proofs of concept, technical spikes, reference implementations and minimum viable solutions.

• Develop secure APIs, services, plug-ins and integration components using C#, modern .NET, ASP.NET Core and RESTful patterns.

• Validate architecture choices through executable prototypes, performance tests and failure-mode testing before major delivery investment.

• Troubleshoot complex issues across user experience, application, integration, identity, data and infrastructure layers, and support teams during critical releases.

Integration, Cloud and Platform Architecture

• Design API-led, event-driven and workflow-based integrations using appropriate Azure services, API management, messaging, serverless and container patterns.

• Apply identity-first design using Microsoft Entra ID, managed identities, least privilege, secrets management and auditable authorization patterns, including B2E and approved external-access scenarios.

• Define observability using structured logging, distributed tracing, metrics, dashboards and actionable alerts across application and integration components.

• Collaborate with data and platform teams to connect operational applications to governed data services, analytics products and structured and unstructured enterprise information.

Design integrations with institutional systems and data platforms, including financing, trust funds, board operations, budgeting, SAP and enterprise data services, using supported APIs, events and workflow patterns.

Architect document and content-management integrations across Dynamics 365, SharePoint Online and approved cloud services, including secure storage, metadata, retrieval and downstream AI processing.

Agentic AI and AI-enabled Operations

• Design and prototype AI-enabled features and agentic workflows embedded in Operations Workspace, with explicit task boundaries, approved tools, controlled permissions, human review and failure handling.

• Integrate agents with Dynamics 365, enterprise APIs, documents, data platforms and business workflows using secure tool calling, structured outputs and reusable orchestration patterns.

• Apply retrieval-augmented generation, document intelligence and knowledge-grounding approaches where they improve operational workflows and decision support.

• Define evaluation, telemetry and guardrails for groundedness, task success, safety, latency, reliability and cost, and ensure Responsible AI, privacy, records and security requirements are addressed.

Partner with information security teams on architecture reviews, threat modelling, control implementation, security testing and remediation evidence required for production approval.

Delivery Lifecycle, CI/CD and Engineering Excellence

• Establish and improve CI/CD pipelines for Dynamics 365 solutions, .NET services, infrastructure configuration and AI components using Azure DevOps or equivalent enterprise tooling.

• Embed automated unit, integration, contract, security, regression and performance testing into delivery pipelines, with quality gates, approvals, release evidence and rollback approaches.

• Apply both the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and a governed AI Development Lifecycle (ADLC), covering use-case framing, data and grounding readiness, prompt and tool versioning, evaluation, deployment, monitoring and change control.

• Create reusable templates, starter repositories, SDKs, reference pipelines, coding standards and implementation guidance that improve developer productivity and consistency.

Stakeholder, Vendor and Team Leadership

• Translate operational needs into feasible technical choices and communicate architecture decisions and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Provide practical technical direction to internal teams and vendors, review deliverables against agreed architecture and quality expectations, and intervene hands-on where necessary.

• Mentor architects and engineers through pairing, design reviews, code reviews, demonstrations and knowledge-sharing sessions.

• Partner with product leadership to sequence enablers, reduce delivery risk and ensure technical work results in measurable operational value.

Provide work-program oversight for internal and vendor delivery teams across locations, assess deliverable quality, remove technical blockers and hold suppliers accountable for agreed architecture, engineering and documentation standards.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree with at least eight years of relevant experience, or bachelor's degree with at least ten years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, in computer science, software engineering, information systems or a related field.

• Substantial recent experience architecting and delivering large-scale enterprise applications using Microsoft Dynamics 365, Dataverse, .NET and Azure.

• Demonstrated hands-on contribution to production solutions, including personal coding, prototyping, integration, troubleshooting and deployment responsibilities.

• Experience leading complex delivery across internal staff, vendors and globally distributed teams in environments with strong governance, security and operational requirements.

• At least seven years of experience developing and maintaining large-scale solutions using C# and the Microsoft .NET ecosystem.

• At least five years of experience architecting Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Dataverse solutions and integrations with SharePoint Online, Azure services and enterprise or on-premises systems.

• Proven experience leading large, complex technical deliverables and globally distributed development teams, including vendor or offshore delivery, in environments with shifting priorities and multi-layered governance.

Required Technical Capabilities

• Advanced Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dataverse architecture, including data modelling, security, workflows, plug-ins, custom APIs, Power Platform extensibility and solution ALM.

• Advanced C# and modern .NET engineering, including ASP.NET Core, REST APIs, dependency injection, asynchronous programming, automated testing and secure coding.

• Strong Azure application architecture experience, including App Service, Functions, API Management, Service Bus, Key Vault, Application Insights, storage and container-based deployment patterns.

• Strong systems integration capability across APIs, events, enterprise applications, Microsoft 365 services, SharePoint Online and data platforms.

• Hands-on CI/CD and DevSecOps experience, including source control, branching, build and release pipelines, infrastructure/configuration automation, quality gates, secrets handling and rollback.

• Practical experience designing or implementing Generative AI and agentic capabilities, including tool calling, orchestration, retrieval, structured outputs, evaluation, observability and human oversight.

• Ability to apply SDLC and ADLC controls to move prototypes into secure, supportable and production-ready services.

• Strong security architecture knowledge covering identity, authorization, least privilege, data protection, auditability, threat modelling and secure integration.

• Ability to produce clear architecture documentation and to explain decisions, alternatives, risks and trade-offs to varied audiences.

• Hands-on experience extending Dynamics 365 using C#/.NET plug-ins, custom APIs, workflows and supported client-side technologies, with strong knowledge of Dataverse security, data modelling and reporting capabilities.

• Experience implementing authentication and authorization using Microsoft Entra ID, including B2E and approved B2B scenarios.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Operations Workspace, operational process platforms, project or portfolio management solutions, or comparable enterprise CRM/workflow ecosystems.

• Experience with Angular or React and modern web application integration with .NET and Dynamics 365 back ends.

• Experience with Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Semantic Kernel or comparable enterprise agent frameworks.

• Experience with document intelligence, enterprise search, RAG, semantic layers, knowledge graphs or governed access to structured and unstructured information.

• Experience with SAFe, Agile Release Trains, product operating models and architecture governance.

• Experience in international development, financial services or another regulated environment with strong privacy, security and audit requirements.

• Relevant Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure, DevOps, security or architecture certifications.

• Working knowledge of enterprise data and analytics platforms, including data lakes, data warehouses, Power BI, Azure Data Factory, Databricks or comparable integration and analytics services.

Recommended Certifications

• Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert or relevant Dynamics 365 certification.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

• Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert.

• SAFe for Architects (ARCH) and/or SAFe DevOps (SDP).

• Relevant Microsoft applied skills or certifications in Azure AI, Azure OpenAI or Copilot Studio.

As the World Bank Group continues to evolve, we value candidates who:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively across teams, disciplines, cultures, and institutional boundaries.
• Responsibly leverage digital and AI-enabled tools to enhance productivity, learning, and decision-making.
• Bring experience working in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) contexts and are encouraged to highlight relevant experience in their application materials, where applicable.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC including our values and inspiring stories.