IT ARCHITECT-INFRASTRUCTURE (Enterprise Architect)

POSITION OVERVIEW

Applications accepted from: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED

Division: OFFICE OF THE CIO

Reporting Location: 611 WALKER / 1200 TRAVIS

Workdays & Hours: MONDAY - FRIDAY, Office Hours

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES / ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Houston, TX, is the fourth largest city in the country, with a budget of over 6 billion dollars, a strong workforce of 22,000 employees, and 22 departments with fascinating data and a wide range of questions. Houston promotes healthy and resilient communities through smart civic investments, dynamic partnerships, education, and innovation. It is a place where anyone can prosper and feel at home.

The City offers its employees various benefits , including healthcare, wellness, professional development, and an excellent pension plan .

The Enterprise Architect - Infrastructure advances the City’s enterprise architecture with a strong focus on infrastructure, cloud platforms, and technology lifecycle management. Operating within the Office of the CIO’s Performance, Architecture & Innovation (PAI) division, the role defines and maintains standards, aligns solutions with the HITS Strategic and Operational Plans, and drives modernization across networks, platforms, and cloud environments. The architect collaborates with HITS divisions and Federated IT to document current- and target-state architectures, develop reference models and reusable patterns, and guide delivery teams through architectural checkpoints. Responsibilities include managing application/technology portfolios, tracking technical debt, and evaluating emerging technologies to inform decisions, promote reuse, and ensure resilient, scalable, secure, and cost-effective Citywide services.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Standards

• Develop, refine, and maintain enterprise architecture standards, patterns, and reference models for infrastructure, cloud, network, compute, and platform services, ensuring alignment with the HITS Strategic and Operational Plans.
• Lead or participate in architectural reviews to validate solution alignment with enterprise principles, performance goals, security requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Support the definition of current-state and target-state architecture models; identify gaps and contribute to actionable transition roadmaps.

Governance

• Contribute to governance activities, including the Cloud Governance Committee and demand intake processes, by preparing architectural assessments, identifying risks, and recommending reuse of approved platforms.
• Maintain application and technology portfolios, tracking lifecycle status, supportability, technical debt, and alignment to enterprise standards.
• Provide architectural guidance for technology selection, vendor evaluations, and major project decisions to ensure long-term sustainability and cost-effective investment.

Collaboration

• Engage with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application teams, and Federated IT groups to document architectures, promote shared standards, and ensure alignment.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and architectural clarity through diagrams, reusable assets, presentations, and community-of-practice contributions.
• Partner with BRMs to support requirements clarification, and alignment of departmental initiatives with enterprise capabilities.

Review

• Conduct architectural checkpoints throughout delivery to validate design quality, security controls, performance expectations, and operational readiness.
• Assess technical risks, dependencies, and integration impacts; provide mitigation strategies and escalate concerns.
• Ensure designs and recommendations conform to City policies, information security standards, and applicable regulations.

Technology Lifecycle

• Manage technology lifecycles, identifying end-of-life, obsolescence, consolidation opportunities, and remediation priorities.
• Track technical debt and recommend modernization strategies that improve resilience, scalability, and efficiency (e.g., cloud adoption, infrastructure optimization, DR enhancements, platform rationalization).

Evaluation

• Evaluate relevant technologies (cloud capabilities, automation tools, infrastructure platforms, vendor offerings); lead/assist comparisons, pilots, and proofs of concept to validate feasibility.
• Guide delivery teams throughout implementation, migrations, and cutovers; capture lessons learned and refine standards.

Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS

• Extensive experience designing or governing enterprise infrastructure solutions across cloud, network, compute, identity, or platform services.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft technologies and Azure administration, including cloud governance, identity (Azure AD / Entra), landing zones, networking, and platform services.
• Demonstrated experience developing or maintaining enterprise architecture assets such as reference architectures, standards, diagrams, models, and technology roadmaps.
• Hands-on experience with technology lifecycle management, technical debt identification, and modernization planning across large enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with governance processes including intake, architectural review, vendor evaluation, and solution risk assessments.
• Strong analytical and communication skills, capable of explaining architectural decisions, trade-offs, and constraints to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including infrastructure operations, application development, cybersecurity, and federated IT groups.

Compliance & Security Requirements:

• CJIS Certification (or ability to obtain within 90 days of hire) is mandatory.
• Must successfully pass a comprehensive background check, including criminal history, and fingerprinting per Houston Police Department and CJIS standards.
• Candidate must maintain eligibility for access to sensitive law enforcement systems and data.

WORKING CONDITIONS
There are no major sources of discomfort, i.e., essentially normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, and air conditions. Significant time spent using computer display, keyboard, and mouse.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION
Requires a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Management and Information Systems (MIS) or a closely related field.

Holds multiple system-specific technical certifications; recognized as having mastery of a particular technical discipline.

A Master’s degree in Computer Science or Management and Information Systems or closely related field may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the experience requirement.
EXPERIENCE
At least ten (10) years of specialized experience in an IT infrastructure system.
LICENSE
None

PREFERENCES

**Preference shall be given to eligible veteran applicants provided such persons possess the qualifications necessary for competent discharge of the duties involved in the position applied for, such persons are among the most qualified candidates for the position, and all other factors in accordance with Executive Order 1-6. **

Preference will be given to candidates with the following skillsets:

• Experience implementing or governing enterprise infrastructure in hybrid or multi-cloud environments, particularly Azure.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain technology or application portfolios, including identifying lifecycle risks, unsupported technologies, and modernization opportunities.
• Prior participation in architectural review boards, cloud governance bodies, or enterprise standards committees.
• Experience documenting complex infrastructure environments using modeling tools or EA frameworks.
• Knowledge of IT governance, SDLC, ITIL, and Agile/DevOps practices as applied to infrastructure and cloud services.
• Relevant industry certifications such as Azure Administrator, Azure Solutions Architect, CompTIA Cloud+, VMware, Cisco, or infrastructure architecture credentials.
• TOGAF or Zachman certification.

GENERAL INFORMATION

SELECTION / SKILLS TESTS REQUIRED Department may administer skills assessment test

SAFETY IMPACT POSITION - NO

If yes , this position is subject to random drug testing and if a promotional position, candidate must pass an assignment drug test.

SALARY INFORMATION Factors used in determining the salary offered include the candidate’s qualifications as well as the pay rates of other employees in this classification.

PAY GRADE : 33



APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Only online applications will be accepted for this City of Houston job and must be received by the Human Resources Department during active posting period. Applications must be submitted online at: www.houstontx.gov .To view your detailed application status, please log-in to your online profile by visiting: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/default.cfm or call (832) 393-0450.

If you need special services or accommodations, call (832) 393-0450. (7-1-1).

If you need login assistance or technical support call 855-524-5627.

Due to the high volume of applications received, the Hiring Department will contact you directly, should you be selected to advance in our recruitment process.


All new and rehires must pass a pre-employment drug test and are subject to a physical examination and verification of information provided.

EOE Equal Opportunity Employer
The City of Houston is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

The city offers a competitive benefits program, including competitively priced health coverage and a defined contribution pension plan. Benefits include:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Wellness
• Supplemental Insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability
• Retirement pension
• 457 deferred compensation plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• 10 days of vacation each year
• 13 city holidays, plus one floating holiday
• Compensable Sick Leave
• Personal Leave
• Flexible schedules
• Hybrid-Telework for eligible positions
• Professional development opportunities
• Transportation/parking plan
• Section 125 pretax deductions
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
• Paid Prenatal, Parental and Infant Wellness Leaves
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

For plan details, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/hr/benefits.html

Closing Date/Time: 6/4/2026 11:59 PM Central

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• Houston Airport System

• 2812331839

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