(Global Oil Gas) Senior Communications Domain Technical Architect

This role required candidate to permanently relocate at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

About the Company

This company engages in the exploration, production, transportation, and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Corporate. The Upstream segment includes crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids exploration, field development, and production. The Downstream segment focuses on refining, logistics, power generation, and the marketing of crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and related services to international and domestic customers. The Corporate segment offers supporting services including human resources, finance, and information technology. The company was founded on May 29, 1933 and is headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Job Summary

The Technical Architect for Communications Domain position is within the IT Strategy & Technology Planning Division, which oversees data networking, telecommunication, and related aspects. This division is responsible for establishing IT strategic directions, technology roadmaps, investment strategies, service models, and solutions architectures across all Digital & IT disciplines, including Computing, Communication, Application, and Information Protection.

The primary role of the Technical Architect is to develop strategic Digital & IT roadmaps and define the technology architecture necessary to deliver and enable core business capabilities. This includes optimizing short- and long-term architecture plans, identifying new IT capabilities that leverage existing technologies and solutions, and creating plans and programs to introduce new IT services that align with business demands and company digital transformation initiatives.

The Technical Architect for Communications domain should possess a broad understanding of various Digital and IT technologies, with a deeper understanding of communications-related technologies. This includes LAN/WAN Corporate Network (e.g., IP/MPLS, SDN, SD-WAN), Terrestrial Fiber Optical Network Communications (e.g., TDM, SDH, DWDM, OTN), Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Wireless Network (e.g., Microwave, VSAT, HTS-LEO, HAPs), Private Mobile Radio Networks (e.g., TETRA, LPWANs; LTE-M, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, 4G/5G), Private and leased terrestrial public circuits & networks (e.g., IPVPN, MPLS, SD-WAN), and Unified Communications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work with EA peers (e.g., enterprise, business, information, solutions, and security architects) to analyze enterprise business context and change requirements in other enterprise architecture viewpoints to derive the future-state Communications architecture. This includes defining requirements, principles, and models guiding technology decisions.
• Lead analysis of the current technology environment to detect deficiencies and recommend solutions for improvement. Analyze technology industry and market trends for potential impacts on enterprise technology architecture.
• Coach, mentor, and collaborate with technical subject matter experts and EA peers to develop Communications architecture enabling new business capabilities and operating models.
• Drive digital innovation using innovative technologies and approaches to renovate, extend, and transform the existing core technology base and IT estate.
• Define high-level migration plans addressing gaps between future and current states, typically in sync with IT budgeting or other capital planning processes.
• Understand technology trends and practical application of existing, new, and emerging technologies for new business and operating models.
• Guide technology investment decisions based on analysis and evaluation, ensuring nonfunctional requirements are met.
• Design governance, assurance, and standards activities for enterprise technology architecture compliance.
• Oversee research, evaluation, and selection of technology and product standards, as well as design standard configurations.
• Identify organizational and financial impacts of the enterprise Communications architecture.
• Advocate for and augment business and IT strategies, leading communication or marketing activities for enterprise success.
• Lead technology change to deliver business outcomes while leveraging subject matter experts.
• Oversee technology implementation and modification activities, particularly for new or shared infrastructure solutions.
• Consult on application or infrastructure development projects to harmonize systems with the enterprise Communications architecture.
• Create and deliver working, production-ready IT services supporting agile teams.
• Work closely with product managers, product owners, and EA peers to enable infrastructure agility, scalability, and resilience.
• Collaborate with business constituents, EA team members, project teams, and IT staff to fulfill responsibilities.
• Document necessary enterprise Communications architecture design and analysis work, including project postmortem documentation and metric collection.

Requirements:

• Willingness to permanently relocate to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Communication Engineering, or Software Engineering from a recognized and approved program. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in disciplines such as Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems (MIS), Computer Information Systems (CIS), Engineering, Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Finance, or Business Administration.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Digital & IT systems/platforms analysis, programming, computing hardware, cloud computing architecture, mobile software implementation, data networking, telecommunication, and information protection.
• At least 6 years of experience in developing Digital & IT reference architecture, technology strategies, and roadmaps for the Communications Domain.
• Six or more years of business experience in strategic and operations planning and/or business analysis or experience as an enterprise architecture consultant for the Communications Domain.
• Knowledge of industry-standard Enterprise Architecture (EA) Frameworks and tools.
• Excellent spoken and written English is essential. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.
• Ability to compose and edit concise, well-organized reports and presentations for various levels of management.
• Highly articulate in English (and preferably in Arabic) and able to discuss Digital & IT Architecture and technology directions appropriately.
• Strong professionalism, maturity, multi-discipline technical knowledge, and interpersonal skills to manage highly professional and senior personnel.
• Business knowledge and acumen to select appropriate Digital & IT solutions and directions.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills and ability to moderate discussions.
• Mastery of Communications architectures and related aspects.
• Understanding of applications, computing, and security architectures.
• Knowledge of IT service management (ITSM) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture tools, related graphical models, and frameworks.