Solutions Architect

The City of Overland Park has a full-time Solutions Architect position available in the Information Technology Department.

SUMMARY:

Designs, deploys, and maintains reliable digital solutions and system integrations that bridge business requirements with technical implementation. Works under the strategic guidance of the Senior Solutions Architect and IT Business Process Manager to meet the practical needs of City departments. Applies established enterprise standards to ensure mid-to-large-scale cloud deployments and applications are secure, scalable, and compliant with relevant regulations. Contributes to on-call support as needed.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Works as a solutions architect for the Information Technology Innovations team.
• Develops and documents solution architectures, ensuring alignment with the city's established enterprise architecture frameworks and technology standards.
• Implements established security and compliance standards (CJIS, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST) within assigned projects and integrations.
• Reviews, refactors, and finalizes code and applications generated by business power-users via AI tools (Gemini Canvas), ensuring the code is secure, efficient, and ready for production.
• Designs, builds, and maintains robust API integrations (REST, SOAP) to ensure seamless data flow and integrity across various City IT systems.
• Deploys and manages cloud resources (Google Cloud Platform), focusing on performance optimization, secure configuration, and operational efficiency.
• Provides informal guidance and peer review for junior technical staff and systems integration specialists.
• Utilize SQL select statements including aggregations, joins, inserts, updates and deletes.
• Understanding of GIS and geospatial data.
• Continually expands knowledge and awareness of web security threats
• Writes system integrations to enhance the functionality and/or performance of vendor-based applications.
• Collaborates with business analysts, department stakeholders, and the Senior Solutions Architect to gather requirements and design effective technical solutions for specific departmental needs.
• Assists in the technical evaluation, configuration, and implementation of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software and cloud services.
• Supports innovation initiatives by participating in technology pilots and assisting in the deployment of emerging technologies (such as ML models or automation scripts).
• Acts as a technical coach for department power-users, helping them refine their AI prompts to yield better technical outputs and troubleshooting complex logic errors in their generated apps.
• Acts as an escalation point for complex technical issues (Tier 3 support), troubleshooting integration failures, system performance issues, and complex programming logic problems.
• Builds and maintains the API endpoints and database connections required to link AI-generated Workspace tools to backend GCP infrastructure.
• Creates and maintains comprehensive technical documentation for assigned systems, ensuring knowledge transfer to operational IT teams.
• Participates in improving work processes to address key organizational business/technical issues with IT solutions and identifies areas for improvement and guides the implementation of improved processes.
• Participates in the development of project plans, time and cost estimates, implementation schedules, and timelines.
• Conducts research; evaluates software, applications, tools, hardware; and develops recommendations relating
• to software, hardware, applications, tools, and systems. Prepares and presents staff recommendations as needed.

REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION & SPECIAL LICENSE(S)/CERTIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a related field or an equivalent combination of formal education and work experience.
• Access to the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System (KCJIS) may be required, so the following KCJIS requirements apply: must be at least 18 years of age; must not have been convicted of a felony; must not have been convicted of a serious misdemeanor; and must not have an arrest history the nature and severity of which warrant disqualification.

EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of 4 to 7 years of progressively responsible IT experience, with at least two (2) years focused on system architecture, software integration, or application development.

SKILLS:

• Strong hands-on experience with SQL, database management, and API design/integration.
• Strong experience leveraging APIs for systems integrations and data exchange.
• Strong proficiency in code review and refactoring, with specific experience in the Google Workspace development ecosystem (Apps Script, AppSheet, Workspace APIs).
• Proficient in at least one C-based or scripting language (e.g., Python, JavaScript, C#, or PHP).
• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (GCP preferred).
• Working knowledge of identity systems (SSO, SAML/OIDC) and data privacy regulations (CJIS, HIPAA, and relevant city/state/federal laws).
• Strong ability to translate complex technical topics into accessible terms for stakeholders and non-technical staff.
• Problem solves, takes initiative and produces quality work.
• Demonstrates curiosity and seeks out complex issues and how to solve them.
• Strong analytical and research skills
• Strong communication skills to work effectively with peers, supervisors

MENTAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team.
• Ability to prioritize work and multiple tasks.
• Ability to analyze basic and complex problems and recommend possible solutions and alternatives.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to carry out assignments from written and oral instructions.
• Ability to train and guide others.
• Abstract and logical thinking and reasoning.
• Decision making ability.
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment and priorities.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to make and receive phone calls.
• Hand and eye coordination adequate for data entry.
• Visual stamina and acuity adequate to review alpha/numeric data and to spend long periods looking at computer screen.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY (Direct & Indirect):

None.

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by

employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

No City residency requirement.

Must successfully pass a background check, drug screen, physical exam and essential functions test.

Normal Work Hours: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

Salary Range: Grade K $102,115.51 - $142,960.85

Application Deadline: Open until filled

Benefits: Full-time

All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States and proof of eligibility must be provided if selected for hire.

EO/M/F/D/V