Application Modernization & Data
Software Architect
Role Summary
Architect leading modernization of long-lived application estates: Java EE and .NET Framework monoliths, mainframe-attached systems, and legacy ERP customizations. Specializes in strangler-fig migrations executed without business interruption, with explicit retirement of legacy code paths rather than indefinite parallel operation.
Reads the legacy code before recommending the migration. Prefers boring, well-understood frameworks over greenfield novelty when teams must operate the result. Pushes back on rewrite proposals that ignore the integration surface area and on extraction plans that lack a credible legacy-retirement step.
Skills
- Java EE, Spring, and Spring Boot at the architect level
- .NET Framework and .NET (5/6/7/8+) modernization architecture
- Mainframe-attached system integration and modernization patterns
- Domain-driven design and bounded-context analysis
- Strangler-fig pattern execution including routing, dual-write, and cutover
- API gateway and reverse-proxy patterns (Kong, YARP, AWS API Gateway, custom)
- Service-mesh selection for migrated estates
- Event-driven architecture (Kafka, EventBridge, Service Bus, Pub/Sub)
- Microservice architecture and decomposition strategy
- Database migration patterns (parallel-write, shadow-read, dual-read)
- Schema-evolution discipline for shared databases during migration
- Containerization of legacy applications
- Cloud-native refactor patterns and lift-and-shift escape hatches
- Integration architecture (REST, gRPC, message queues, EDI for legacy enterprise)
- Legacy code archaeology including COBOL, RPG, and 4GL languages
- Architecture decision records and modernization-program governance artifacts
- Risk-managed migration sequencing and dependency mapping
- Mentorship of client-side application architects
- CI/CD design for hybrid legacy-plus-modern estates
Capabilities & Focus Areas
- Strangler-fig migration architecture for legacy estates
- Bounded-context analysis for safe extraction boundaries
- Routing layer design (API gateways, reverse proxies) for incremental cutover
- Data-migration patterns including parallel-write and shadow-read disciplines
- Technical standards for modernized services
- Architectural oversight on extraction execution and legacy retirement
- Risk-managed migration sequencing
Typical Engagement Patterns
- Four to eight week modernization assessment engagements producing a phased roadmap
- Twelve to thirty-six month embedded architectural leadership for active programs
- Architecture review engagements for stalled or off-track modernization efforts
- Bounded-context workshops for clients designing their first extraction wave
- Discrete extraction-architecture engagements for high-risk seams
Outcomes Delivered
- Migration programs that hit incremental value milestones every quarter
- Legacy code paths actually retired, not preserved as permanent fallback
- Extraction plans with credible cutover and rollback at each phase
- Modernized services with consistent observability, deployment, and security defaults
- Client architects who can plan the next extraction wave without consulting support
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