Ottawa (Downtown), ON, CA
Solution Architect- Cloud Database Platforms
Take a central role
The Bank of Canada has a vision to be a leading central bank—dynamic, engaged and trusted—committed to a better Canada. No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada’s economy, in an organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in our environment.
Building on the principles that have always guided us – excellence, integrity and respect – we strive to be forward-looking and innovative, to welcome people with diverse perspectives and talents, and to earn trust by living up to our commitments and by clearly explaining the intent of our policies and actions.
With our defined-benefit pension plan, benefits, and high flexibility for work life balance - find out more about why we are annually ranked as one of Canada's top employers: Working Here - Bank of Canada
Find out more about the next steps in our Recruitment process.
About the Position
As the organization accelerates its strategic transformation to Microsoft Azure and cloud-native technologies, database architecture is evolving toward scalable, resilient, and platform-driven delivery models. In this cloud-centric model, Azure provides the foundation for high availability, security, and managed data services, reducing reliance on traditional on-premises database infrastructure.
We are seeking a forward-thinking Solutions Architect to join the Core Technology Services (CTS) portfolio within the ITS Department. Our team is recognized Bank wide for being diverse, inclusive, and passionate about enabling a digital, ready, and resilient organization.
Reporting to the Assistant Director, Enterprise Storage and Database Services, you will contribute to a worldclass organization that pairs strong engineering practices with automation, standardization, and modern delivery approaches.
What You Will Do
In this evolving hybrid–to–cloud operating model, you will serve as a hands-on Solution Architect responsible for architecture, evolution, and modernization of database platforms within hybrid and cloud environments. This role focuses on Azure-native data services, resilient database design, and enabling enterprise migration from traditional database ecosystems to modern cloud platforms.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Cloud Database Architecture & Platform Enablement
- Architect secure and scalable database platforms leveraging Azure-native capabilities that meet enterprise requirements for high availability, resiliency, security, performance, and scalability.
- Define target-state architectures for Azure-based data platforms aligned with enterprise standards and roadmaps.
- Act as a senior technical authority guiding architectural decisions, standards alignment, and long-term platform direction.
- Guide modernization strategies including adoption of managed PaaS services, workload right-sizing, and cost/performance optimization.
- Deliver architectural solutions independently and collaboratively, ensuring alignment with enterprise cloud governance.
- Transition from On-Premises to Cloud Architecture
- Lead architecture for database migration initiatives from on-premises environments to Azure, actively participating in application migrations and providing architectural leadership and hands-on design for Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server workloads.
- Drive automation, standardization, and centralized management of database platform configurations and operational processes to improve consistency, reduce complexity, and strengthen governance across cloud and hybrid environments.
- Where on-premises database platforms remain, optimize high availability, redundancy, backup/recovery, and failover configurations to ensure resilience and smooth integration with cloud-based deployments.
- Provide technical leadership across all phases of delivery from planning and architecture towards operationalization and optimization
- Ensure solutions integrate effectively across infrastructure, data flows, and application ecosystems.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly and adapt delivery for diverse audiences, including technical teams, leadership, and business partners.
- Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure cloud-native architecture, security, and platform best practices are consistently adopted and embedded across the organization.
What You Need to Succeed
You are self-motivated, intellectually curious, and able to quickly understand complex issues with minimal supervision. You thrive in a collaborative environment and take pride in clear, effective communication.
You bring:
- Experience architecting data platforms within Azure environments, including landing zone concepts, private PaaS deployments, multi-region and multi-site architectures.
- Deep expertise designing cloud-native database solutions using Microsoft Azure data platforms, including Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Oracle Database@Azure, and PostgreSQL on Azure.
- Proven experience with traditional database platforms, including Oracle 19c, Microsoft SQL Server 2019 or higher, and related ecosystem tools
- Solid understanding of traditional high availability and resiliency technologies such as Oracle RAC, Data Guard, RMAN backup and recovery, Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), with the ability to pivot to cloud models rapidly.
- Experience designing and supporting migration initiatives, ideally involving medium- to large-scale environments and complex enterprise deployments.
- Practical experience with automation, orchestration, IaC tooling (e.g., ARM, Bicep, Terraform), and cloud native policy enforcement.
- Strong understanding of modern security paradigms including Zero Trust, SASE, identity-first access models, micro-segmentation, and security-as-code approaches in cloud environments (building upon your existing knowledge base).
- Ability to evaluate, manage, and integrate cloud service providers and third-party vendors in a distributed architecture model.
- Strong problem-solving abilities and collaborative mindset.
Assets
- Experience working across diverse business and technology environments, with exposure to cloud migrations, hybrid architectures, and modern security practices.
- Relevant professional certifications, including Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, Oracle Cloud certifications, OCP, or equivalent credentials.
Your Education and Experience
Your education and professional background demonstrate readiness for a cloud centric architectural role. Ideally, you have a relevant degree or diploma and 7+ years of experience, with hands-on exposure to both traditional and cloud-native database platforms and architectures.
Innovative Mindset
We value candidates who demonstrate adaptability, curiosity, and a willingness to learn new technologies, including AI and digital tools. We seek individuals who can think critically about data, question existing processes, and find ways to simplify our work while embracing change and new ways of doing things.
Language requirement
The Bank’s work environment is conducive to the use of both of Canada’s official languages - English and French. Although the position language requirement is English or French essential, we do encourage everyone to improve second their language proficiency for future career growth and to contribute towards fostering a bilingual environment.
What you need to know
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- Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
- Security level required: Be eligible to obtain Secret
- There will be no relocation assistance provided
- Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available.
- The official title for this position is “Solutions Architect ”
Hybrid Work Model
The Bank offers work arrangements that provide employees with flexibility, enable high-performing teams, and support an excellent workplace culture. Most employees can telework from home for a portion of each month as part of the Bank’s hybrid work model, and they are expected on site at the Bank location a minimum of 12 days per month to help build connections between colleagues. You must live in Canada, and within reasonable commuting distance of the office.
What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit A great deal to consider.
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- Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $126,765 to $149,135 (job grade 18)
- The Bank offers an incentive for successfully meeting expectations at 7 to 10% of your base salary. The Bank offers additional performance pay (5%) for those who exceed expectations. Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
- Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health and dental coverage that meets your needs
- Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
- Option to join the indexed, defined-benefit pension plan after 24 consecutive months of service
We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.