Solution Architect (Contract / Consultant)
Location: Remote (North America preferred)
Engagement Type: Contract – Project-Based
Practice Area: Enterprise Platforms & Modernisation
About VersaFile
VersaFile is a North American technology consulting firm specialising in enterprise content management, workflow automation, and modern platform transformations. We work with enterprise clients across regulated industries to modernise mission-critical systems using proven, low-risk delivery approaches.
We are currently seeking an experienced Solution Architect (Consultant) to support a major Pega platform upgrade initiative for a large enterprise client.
The Opportunity
This role will play a lead architectural role on a Pega platform modernisation project, upgrading an existing on‑prem Pega 8.8 implementation to Pega Platform 25.1.x, deployed on Red Hat OpenShift using a container-first, parallel upgrade strategy.
You will be responsible for defining target-state architecture, validating upgrade paths, guiding technical delivery teams, and ensuring architectural integrity across application, integration, infrastructure, and CI/CD layers.
Key Responsibilities
Architecture & Technical Leadership
- Define and validate the end-to-end Pega upgrade architecture, including platform, application, database, and integration layers.
- Lead architectural decision-making for the upgrade from Pega 8.8.2 to Pega 25.1.x, including deprecated feature remediation and compatibility validation.
- Produce and maintain target architecture diagrams, technical design documentation, and upgrade runbooks.
- Ensure alignment with Pega guardrails, enterprise standards, and platform best practices.
Platform & Infrastructure Architecture
- Collaborate with infrastructure and OpenShift engineers on:
- OpenShift cluster topology and sizing
- Namespace and environment strategy (TST / QA / PROD)
- Persistent storage, networking, and ingress/load balancer integration.
- Validate DR/HA approaches, backup, rollback, and recovery strategies.
CI/CD & Deployment Strategy
- Contribute to the design of a reusable CI/CD pipeline for Pega using OpenShift-native tooling, Helm charts, and controlled promotion gates.
- Support shift-left validation by ensuring upgrade activities are validated in lower environments prior to production promotion.
Integration & Data Considerations
- Review and validate existing integrations, including REST/SOAP interfaces, BIX exports, and messaging components.
- Ensure secure integration patterns, authentication, TLS configuration, and data exchange compatibility post-upgrade.
- Support database upgrade planning and schema migration coordination with DBAs.
Delivery Support & Stakeholder Engagement
- Provide architectural oversight during non‑production and production upgrade activities.
- Support technical risk identification, dependency management, and mitigation planning.
- Participate in technical workshops, design reviews, and steering committee updates as required.
Required Experience & Skills
- 8+ years of enterprise solution architecture experience on complex, multi‑tier platforms.
- Strong hands-on experience with Pega Platform upgrades, ideally from Pega 8.x to Pega Infinity / 25.x.
- Experience designing and reviewing solutions deployed on Red Hat OpenShift / Kubernetes.
- Deep understanding of:
- Enterprise integrations (REST, SOAP, MQ/JMS)
- CI/CD pipelines and automated deployments
- Database upgrade and migration strategies (SQL Server preferred)
- Ability to lead architecture across distributed delivery teams and vendors.
- Client-facing capability
Nice to Have
- Pega Lead System Architect (LSA) or Senior System Architect (SSA) certification.
- Experience with parallel upgrade strategies and zero/minimal-downtime cutovers.
- Prior experience in insurance or other highly regulated enterprise environments.
- Familiarity with OpenShift on VMware and hybrid infrastructure models.
Why Work with VersaFile
- Opportunity to lead architecture on a high‑impact enterprise modernisation programme.
- Flexible, remote consulting engagement.
- Collaborative delivery model with senior technical peers.
- Clear scope, phased delivery, and strong governance framework.
How to Apply
Qualified consultants are encouraged to apply with their resume highlighting relevant Pega upgrade and platform architecture experience. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to participate in a technical discussion focused on upgrade strategy and architecture trade‑offs.