Systems Architect - Bpms

Costco IT is responsible for the technical future of Costco Wholesale, the third largest retailer in the world with wholesale operations in fourteen countries. Despite our size and explosive international expansion, we continue to provide a family, employee centric atmosphere in which our employees thrive and succeed. As proof, Costco ranks seventh in Forbes “World’s Best Employers”.

This is an environment unlike anything in the high-tech world and the secret of Costco’s success is its culture. The value Costco puts on its employees is well documented in articles from a variety of publishers including Bloomberg and Forbes. Our employees and our members come FIRST. Costco is well known for its generosity and community service and has won many awards for its philanthropy. The company joins with its employees to take an active role in volunteering by sponsoring many opportunities to help others.

Come join the Costco Wholesale IT family. Costco IT is a dynamic, fast-paced environment, working through exciting transformation efforts. We are building the next generation retail environment where you will be surrounded by dedicated and highly professional employees.

The Costco team is looking for a dedicated and highly skilled Systems Architect to join its Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) development team. The BPMS Systems Architect will be responsible for the overall design of merchandising products and define the technical design to fulfill requirements to business users. This role will provide technical expertise to the Product Owner and Delivery Pods as they reconcile the needs/requirements of users with the capabilities of the tools available. The Systems Architects work closely with Solution Architects, Delivery Pods, and Product Owners to design, implement, and deliver new or enhanced capabilities across the IBM BPM technology stack. The Systems Architect will also be responsible for defining non-functional requirements (i.e. performance, resilience, etc.) to ensure the scalability and reliability of the merchandising ecosystem. This individual will be a proven mentor who is able to work effectively cross-functionally with technical and non-technical teams, and will quickly develop an advanced understanding of business requirements and how technology fits those needs.

The BPM Systems Architect is a key member responsible for the design, development, configuration, implementation, testing, and troubleshooting of Costco’s BPM platform. The Systems Architect will have deep knowledge and hands-on experience in enterprise-wide platforms, and solve technical problems while working on technology initiatives. The Systems Architect will have strong architectural, leadership, and technical skills. This role will engage in initiatives, working with other engineers, architects, software developers, and subject matter experts in the creation of design, process and governance to ensure platform stability and implement architectural changes as necessary. The BPM Systems Architect is in charge of giving the team technical direction and designing and putting into practice rigorous development, documentation, design, and code review processes. This role is responsible for overseeing the overall performance and availability of the BPM platform at Costco. The BPM Systems Architect will provide the root cause of problems while working toward solutions to technical issues, conduct POCs working closely with Architects and developers, lead process optimization efforts, deploy new releases and/or enhancements, and maintain the platform’s operational functions.

The Systems Architect should be a passionate, driven, self-starting problem-solver who is comfortable with change and excels in a fast-paced environment. They will have deep knowledge and experience working with eCommerce technologies and Cloud Microservices development - bonus for REACT technologies. They will have practical experience in a broad range of skills from database architecture and management to security, performance analysis, continuous integration and deployment, and support of large distributed system operations. This individual will be a proven mentor who is able to work effectively cross-functionally with technical and non-technical teams, and will quickly develop an advanced understanding of business requirements and how technology fits those needs.

If you want to be a part of one of the worldwide BEST companies “to work for”, simply apply and let your career be reimagined.

ROLE

Identifies high level requirements to support the definition and refinement of a robust testing strategy.

Defines the non-functional requirements (e.g., performance, security, resiliency, etc.) which support the development of epics and user stories aligned to a value stream.

Identifies technical dependencies across several product/application teams to support the implementation of new or enhanced functionality.

Supervises systems and data analysis performed by Systems Analysts on products/applications to understand functional design requirements.

Defines remediation tactics for large and complex defects impacting several features and/or capabilities within a given product/application.

Collaborates with Environment Analysts to define and refine the environment strategy needed to support day-to-day development activities.

Defines product/application specific coding standards and patterns to guide the implementation of new features and capabilities.

Supervises the development and preparation of technical documentation prepared by Systems Analysts (e.g., runbooks, etc.).

• Develops the conceptual systems architecture design and the supporting technologies needed to enable new or enhanced functionality within the Merchandising ecosystem.

• Supports overall architecture of all aspects of BPMS, applying principles that promote availability, reusability, interoperability, and security into the design framework.

Defines new solution blueprints and technical blueprints to support the implementation of new features and capabilities

Performs development, optimization, and automation activities to support the implementation of a product/application.

Reviews technical documentation and requirements prepared by FSEs to confirm accuracy and provide feedback and suggestions

Leads discussions with Quality Engineers to review high level testing requirements to support the implementation of new features and capabilities and provides remediation tactics to resolve large defects or issues (impacting several application modules or features) identified by Quality Engineers

Identifies technical dependencies across several product/application teams to support the implementation of new or enhanced functionality.

Participates in Scrum ceremonies (e.g., Sprint Planning, Retrospectives, Reviews) and in the Daily Stand-up to provide updates pertaining to architectural designs or changes impacting the delivery pod.

Collaborates with Systems Analysts to decompose solution blueprints and designs into detailed technical requirements.

Adopts architecture best practices to deliver higher quality and scalable solutions.

Provides the team with the development strategy, solution recommendations, and estimates for a given product/application.

Partners with project managers, solution leads, and other stakeholders to establish the rough order of magnitude estimates, to create and maintain a robust framework to support applications, and to deliver quality solutions.

Contributes, interprets, and communicates enterprise, technical, project, and operational strategies to the team.

Develops team vision to drive new capabilities against a published roadmap, in conjunction with management.

Ensures that proposed and existing systems are aligned with organizational standards, goals, and objectives.

Formulates and directs activities that align short term goals and long term initiatives while providing accurate and timely estimates of work breakdown schedules.

Tests and resolves problems, performs root cause analysis, identifies gaps, recommends solutions and preventative measures, and leads team members to solution delivery plans.

Runs proof of concepts and uses diagnostic/debugging skills to solve current challenges in multi-platform systems

Provides leadership/mentoring to team members, implements development efficiencies, creates appropriate documentation, drives operational efficiencies and technical growth within the team, and supports the release model

Optimizes team efficiency and performance through high level and hands-on technical direction.

Provides technical leadership in implementation of applications, strategic planning sessions, and documentation of requirements, tool implementation, database query languages, and programming languages.

Presents technical designs and solutions to executives, management, and other audiences to gain consensus and/or project approval.

Demonstrates a strong understanding of emerging technologies to support the development of new solutions.

Collaborates with team members (e.g., Solution Architects, Systems Analysts) to define project specifications and release documentation for all phases of the product development cycle from product definition to design, through implementation.

Develops solutions to Costco IT business problems that impact the BPM platform and with Enterprise Architecture to ensure solution alignment with strategic direction.

Conducts peer code reviews for the software changes made by other engineers within a team.

Implements Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) on solutions.

Understands Costco’s BPM configuration and the interaction between BPM and its underlying applications, services, and databases in order to ensure optimal performance.

Participates in process flow design and process refactoring along with the Product Owner.

REQUIRED

Minimum 5 years’ experience in performing Web and UI development using Java, JavaScript, SQL.

Experience building and developing business applications.

Must possess a strong understanding of the software development process.

Strong knowledge of object oriented concepts.

Strong knowledge and experience working with databases.

Strong verbal and written communication skills and be able to communicate to both technical and Business audiences.

Demonstrated ability to execute against iteration plans and deliver assignments within scope, schedule, and budget.

Ability to work with all management levels.

Experience with Agile, Scrum, and SDLC including Requirements design, Installation, Development, Testing (application code and user acceptance), and Deployment.

Proficient working with code versioning tools.

Ability to share technical knowledge and clearly communicate technical concepts.

Understanding of Security Architecture, Authentication, and Authorization SAML and OAuth.

Understanding of performance management techniques.

Understanding of both-front end and back-end design patterns.

Must have high integrity, accountability, a positive attitude, and be willing to do what it takes to make the team successful.

Team player, good interpersonal and communication skills. Creative, likes challenges.

Strong organizational and time management skills with ability to multitask and prioritize work effectively in a fast-paced working environment.

Extremely responsive, able to work under pressure in crisis with a strong sense of urgency.

Responsible, conscientious, organized, self-motivated, and able to work with limited supervision.

Detail-oriented and possess strong problem-solving skills and ability to analyze for potential future issues.

Must be able to support off-hours work as required, including weekends, holidays, and 24/7 on call responsibilities on a rotational basis.

Recommended

10+ years’ experience in:

Developing business processes using IBM BPM, IBM Blueworks or another major BPM product.

Describing the solutions and generating the (BPM) architecture artifacts.

Process modeling using IBM Blueworks Live.

5+ years’ experience in:

Integrating an application with other applications using SOA/web services.

Application development in Java, JavaScript, .Net, or PHP.

Working knowledge of databases (DB2, SQL Server, Oracle etc.).

Programming experience with related technology such as XML, Java, various JavaScript frameworks, mobile application development, SQL queries, and database schema design.

Required Documents

• Cover Letter

• Resume

California applicants, please click here to review the Costco Applicant Privacy Notice.

Pay Range: $160,000 - $205,000, Bonus and Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) eligible

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health benefits - medical/dental/vision/hearing aid/pharmacy/behavioral health/employee assistance, health care reimbursement account, dependent care assistance plan, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance, AD&D insurance, life insurance, 401(k), stock purchase plan to eligible employees.

Costco is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Costco is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other legally protected status. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to [email protected]

If hired, you will be required to provide proof of authorization to work in the United States. Applicants and employees for this position will not be sponsored for work authorization, including, but not limited to H1-B visas.