Lead Solution Architect

Amstelveen Full-time Temporary 9,500 - 11,500 € per month

Purpose of the job

The Lead Solution Architect owns the Architecture practice within SkyTeam and directly manages the Solution Architecture team. The role is accountable for architecture governance, solution quality, architecture standards, technology investment planning, and the long-term evolution of SkyTeam’s application, integration, data, and AI architecture capabilities. The role ensures technology investments, products, services, platforms, and data capabilities align with SkyTeam’s business strategy and technology roadmap.

SkyTeam delivers digital capabilities that enable a seamless travel experience across its member airlines and partners. The Lead Solution Architect is accountable for the long term effectiveness, sustainability, scalability, and risk profile of SkyTeam’s technology ecosystem, ensuring technology initiaitves align with business strategy, security requirements, and long-term objectives. The role owns architecture governance, technology standards, data and AI architecture, technology investment planning, and technology governance processes across SkyTeam. The role manages the Solution Architecture team, serves as the final authority for major technology initiatives, and acts as the principal technology advisor to Digital leadership on technology strategy, modernization, data, and AI initiatives.

KEY RESULT AREAS / KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Architecture Leadership and Governance* Own SkyTeam’s architecture standards, governance processes, reference architectures, and technology design principles, and technology governance forums.

• Serve as the final architectural approval authority for major technology initiatives and architecture exceptions.
• Accountable for the architectural quality, scalability, resilience, security, and maintainability of solutions delivered across the technology portfolio.
• Define and monitor architecture KPIs and drive continuous improvement across the architecture practice.

Team Leadership* Lead, mentor, and develop the Solution Architecture team, fostering a high-performing architecture capability.

• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and oversight to Solution Architects throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Allocate architectural resources across initiatives and establish priorities based on business needs and strategic objectives.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, development planning, and performance management for Solution Architects.

Technology, Data and AI Strategy

• Own SkyTeam’s target-state technology, data, and AI architecture roadmaps.
• Establish architectural principles and governance for applications, integrations, data platforms, analytics, automation, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Ensure solutions are designed to support future AI and Agentic AI capabilities through strong data foundations, interoperability, and governance.
• Accountable for architecture investment planning and prioritization, ensuring technology investments support business objective and long-term strategy.
• Evaluate and provide approval recommendations for major technology initiatives, platforms, and architecture-related investments.
• Identify technology risks, architectural debt, and capability gaps, and recommend investment priorities.

Portfolio Oversight

• Provide architectural oversight across SkyTeam products, platforms, and strategic initiatives.
• Resolve architecture decisions and design trade-offs across teams, vendors, and member airlines.
• Act as the escalation point for architecture-related risks and issues.
• Ensure compliance with architecture, security, privacy, and operational standards.

Stakeholder and Partner Management

• Partner with business leaders, product teams, member airlines, and technology providers to align architecture decisions with business objectives.
• Represent SkyTeam architecture in strategic discussions with