Architect
Xero, New Zealand

• You’ll be working alongside multiple teams in a product portfolio to define target state architectures to enable the product strategy. You’ll take a longer term view, with breadth over depth to create a vision and work tirelessly to get buy-in across the business. You will collaborate with teams through the full product development lifecycle from planning through to delivery. Solving complex technical problems with elegant solutions is what you do. The value you provide includes:
• Deliver visualized clarity - Create and distribute views of software and system architecture to stakeholders ensuring they are able to understand, evaluate, and reason about the architecture. Continuously monitor visual representations and update them as changes or additions are observed
• Frame the future - Define the architecture with future flexibility in mind whilst keeping things well bounded. Employ evolutionary architecture that supports guided, incremental change across a defined domain.
• Demystify complexity - Decompose the complexity of our domains into a manageable model that describes the boundaries of a system and exposes important details and significant constraints. Synthesize and translate complex ideas into actionable requirements and design solutions.
• Bridge between worlds - Act as an agent of change recognising that no change happens in isolation and must engage and work with a wide range of stakeholders. Use domain and technical knowledge to help facilitate sessions and achieve a desired outcome.
• Ensure systemic cohesion - Design architecture that brings clarity at a high level, how significant elements fit together, and identifies the key risks to be mitigated. Use quantitative measures to ensure the fitness of the architecture is aligned to our principles.
• Provide goldilocks governance - Champion a 'trust and verify' approach to governance that teams are operating within established principles amp; guardrails. Embrace Xero's decentralised approach to decision making and effectively communicate those decisions out

• You will consistently exhibit a well-rounded standard of technical judgement, innovation and execution to tackle open-ended problems. You’ll reach successful decisions despite conflicting perspectives, acting thoughtfully when considering the tradeoffs. You’ll employ the following competencies to deliver desired outcomes:
• Problem solving - Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions. Looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answers.
• Interpersonal savvy - Relates well to all kinds of peopleup, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization. Builds constructive and effective relationships using diplomacy and tact. Can defuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
• Business acumen - Knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practices, trends, technology, and information affecting the Xero organization. Is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace.
• Organisational agility - Knowledgeable about how Xero works and uses that to help get things done both through formal channels and the informal network. Understands the origin and reasoning behind key policies, practices, and procedures.
• Technical acumen - Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment. Is personally committed to and actively works to continuously learn new technologies and technical concepts. Understands that different situations and levels may call for different technical knowledge.
• Communication skills - Is able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles. Can get messages across that have the desired effect. Encourages direct and tough debate but isn’t afraid to end it and move on.
• Dealing with ambiguity - Can effectively cope with change and make decisions without having the total picture. Is comfortable when things are up in the air handling any associated risk and uncertainty.

• Ideally you will have the following:
• Demonstrated experience designing large

Job Rewards and Benefits