A large Belgian cooperative that provides invoicing, payroll and support services to independent professionals is defining its IT strategy and modernising a legacy Microsoft application landscape. This hands-on role combines practical software work with enterprise architecture: you will use .NET Core and Archimate modelling to document the current estate and define a concrete, implementable target architecture touching applications, integration and data/BI.
The mission
The organisation supports roughly 20,000 users annually and runs most business logic in internally developed, Microsoft-centred systems. The immediate project is to produce a clear AS-IS map and a TO-BE architecture that enables incremental modernisation, reduces technical debt and aligns application, infrastructure and data choices (including BI and analytics). Deliverables include architecture documentation, integration patterns and a pragmatic roadmap for implementation.
On a day-to-day basis you will work with the CIO ad interim, development and product managers, infrastructure leads, tech leads and system administrators to translate strategic decisions into developer-ready artefacts. You will analyse code and databases, define integration approaches (APIs, events), propose cloud versus on-prem options and validate technology choices so the existing teams can implement the TO-BE architecture.
Your responsibilities
- Document the current application landscape, data flows and technical dependencies and identify the highest-risk areas for modernisation.
- Define a target application architecture and integration model, including Open API and event-driven patterns, that can be implemented incrementally by development teams.
- Propose infrastructure and cloud options, including identity and access patterns, and map their impact on security and operations.
- Validate and formalise the technology stack and development standards, with emphasis on pragmatic choices for .NET Core, SQL Server and JavaScript-based front ends.
- Produce architecture artefacts (Archimate diagrams, integration contracts, CI/CD recommendations) and a phased implementation roadmap.
- Coach tech leads and developers on architectural patterns, quality gates, Git-based workflows and CI/CD practices to ensure the architecture is adopted in engineering work.
Your profile
Essential skills
- Minimum 10 years in software development and application architecture, with prior hands-on developer or tech lead experience.
- Proven track record modernising legacy Microsoft environments and defining implementable architectures.
- Practical experience with .NET Core, SQL Server, Git (GitHub), JavaScript/TypeScript and Open API specifications.
- Competence in Archimate modelling and producing clear architecture documentation for technical and management audiences.
- Experience with cloud concepts (Azure or equivalent), BI/analytics architectures and security considerations.
- Strong communication and stakeholder skills, able to translate business processes into technical design.