Enterprise Architect (Cloud & Digital Sovereignty)

Company Description

Sopra Steria offers tailored, end-to-end corporate technology and software solutions to help clients make bold choices and deliver results. Successfully so! With more than 51.000 colleagues in 30 countries, we rank as Europe’s leading digital solutions provider. Some of the most successful companies in Europe rely on our technology due to our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and value in business development.  

The world is how we shape it. Let’s shape it together. 

Job Description

We are looking for an Enterprise Architect specializing in Cloud & Digital Sovereignty to help shape our enterprise cloud strategy and architecture.

In this role, you will define and evolve our cloud architecture across public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud, and sovereign cloud environments, ensuring that technology choices align with business objectives as well as security, regulatory, data residency, and digital sovereignty requirements.

You will work at the intersection of enterprise architecture, cloud, security, legal and regulatory requirements, helping the organisation make informed architectural decisions in an increasingly complex European cloud landscape.

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Strategy: Define and evolve the enterprise cloud architecture strategy across public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud, and sovereign cloud environments, aligned with business, technology, security, and regulatory objectives.
• Target Architecture: Define target-state cloud architectures and reference patterns covering compute, storage, networking, identity, integration, platform services, and cloud-native capabilities.
• Digital Sovereignty: Translate digital sovereignty requirements into architecture principles and design choices, considering areas such as data residency, jurisdiction, operational control, technological dependency, and exposure to extraterritorial legislation.
• Cloud Governance: Define and promote cloud governance principles and guardrails, including landing zones, account and subscription structures, policy enforcement, tagging, cost governance, and workload placement.
• Security Architecture: Establish cloud architecture principles for identity and access management, network security, encryption, key management, secrets management, and Zero Trust.
• Sovereign Cloud: Assess sovereign and trusted cloud models and determine where they fit within the enterprise cloud strategy, based on workload sensitivity, regulatory requirements, risk, and business needs.
• Regulatory Collaboration: Work closely with Legal, Compliance, Security, Risk, and Data Protection stakeholders to translate applicable regulatory and sovereignty requirements into architecture decisions.
• Cloud Migration & Modernisation: Guide application, platform, and infrastructure teams through cloud migration and modernisation initiatives while maintaining architectural consistency and addressing relevant sovereignty requirements.
• Portability & Reversibility: Define architecture principles for portability, interoperability, exit strategies, and reversibility to manage strategic dependencies and vendor lock-in.
• Architecture Reviews: Lead architecture reviews and contribute to technology risk assessments for cloud initiatives, with particular attention to data classification, jurisdiction, security, resilience, and sovereignty.
• Executive Advisory: Advise senior stakeholders on cloud architecture, digital sovereignty, technology dependencies, associated risks, and strategic trade-offs.
• Technology & Regulatory Watch: Monitor developments in cloud technology, European digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and regulation and assess their potential impact on the enterprise architecture roadmap.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in cloud architecture, infrastructure architecture, enterprise architecture, or comparable technical leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in at least one major cloud ecosystem, such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, combined with a good understanding of broader hybrid and multi-cloud architecture principles.
• Strong understanding of digital sovereignty and cloud-related regulatory considerations, including topics such as data residency, jurisdiction, GDPR, NIS2, and extraterritorial legislation such as the US CLOUD Act.
• Experience designing or governing cloud landing zones, multi-account or multi-subscription environments, and cloud security architectures.
• Strong understanding of identity and access management, network architecture, encryption, key management, secrets management, and Zero Trust principles in cloud environments.
• Understanding of cryptographic key management models, including concepts such as BYOK, HYOK, and HSM-based key management.
• Experience with hybrid and multi-cloud architecture patterns, including portability, workload placement, and exit or reversibility considerations.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks and modelling approaches such as TOGAF, Zachman, or ArchiMate.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Security, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Data Protection, infrastructure, and application teams on complex cloud and sovereignty questions.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical, regulatory, and sovereignty-related trade-offs to both technical and senior business stakeholders.

Certifications & Additional Expertise

Relevant certifications or equivalent professional experience are considered an advantage, for example:

• TOGAF
• ArchiMate
• Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect
• AWS Solutions Architect
• Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect
• CISSP or CCSP
• ISO 27001-related expertise
• Knowledge of European or national cloud assurance and sovereignty frameworks

Experience with sovereign or trusted cloud environments, European public-sector cloud programmes, or highly regulated industries is a strong advantage.

What Will Help You Succeed

• You can translate complex security, regulatory, and sovereignty requirements into pragmatic architecture decisions.
• You are comfortable navigating the intersection between technology, risk, legal requirements, and business priorities.
• You can clearly explain the trade-offs between sovereignty, security, functionality, cost, scalability, and operational complexity.
• You build effective collaboration between Architecture, Cloud, Security, Legal, Compliance, and business stakeholders.
• You combine long-term architectural thinking with a pragmatic understanding of implementation and delivery.
• You can challenge cloud and technology choices constructively and provide realistic alternatives.
• You stay informed about developments in the European cloud ecosystem and can assess their relevance for the organisation.

Additional Information

Our employees are known for making bold choices and delivering results. Work among high-level professionals at the forefront of corporate software solutions and innovation at Europe’s Leading Digital Service Provider.  

We offer a generous employee benefits package that includes: 

• A competitive salary and an indefinite contract
• A company car or mobility budget
• Comprehensive insurance coverage (hospitalisation, outpatient care and group insurance)
• 32 days paid time off (20 days + 12 bonus days)
• Laptop, phone and mobile subscription
• Continuous learning opportunities through the Sopra Steria Academy to support your career development

People are the cornerstone of our success. That’s why we aspire to be bold together. Our goal is to provide healthy team environments to build high-functioning teams that inspire and help each other to deliver excellence for our customers.  

Excited about this job opportunity? Ready to shape the world with us? Great! We are looking forward to your application! 

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Sopra Steria is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, ancestry, nationality, color, family or medical leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. We foster a work environment that is inclusive and respectful of all differences.