
Hi A***,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m J***, an HR Recruiter at StrategyBrain, partnering with I***G. I came across your profile and was impressed by your leadership in IT architecture at I***g and your hands-on M&A, cloud transformation, and agile adoption work at A***s.
We’re currently looking for a Director of Enterprise IT Architecture & Strategy to define and maintain an enterprise architecture framework, lead review boards, and drive cloud modernization and post-merger integrations. Based on your background, I’d love to hear if this opportunity aligns with your career goals. Would you be open to a brief chat?
Best regards,
J***
Hi J***, thanks for reaching out! The Director of Enterprise IT Architecture & Strategy role sounds like a perfect match for my M&A, cloud modernization, and agile adoption experience. I’d love to chat,let me know when you’re free.


Hi A***,
Great to hear this role aligns so well with your background. I’d love to set up a call to dive deeper,are you available Tuesday, May 7th between 2:00,4:00 PM CET or Thursday, May 9th from 10:00,12:00 PM CET? Let me know what works best.
Meanwhile, here’s a quick overview:
I***G is a mid-sized, fast-growing enterprise IT consultancy specializing in cloud transformation, M&A integration and agile delivery. We pride ourselves on an innovative, collaborative culture that empowers teams through continuous learning and strategic client partnerships.
Director of Enterprise IT Architecture & Strategy
• Define and evolve our enterprise IT architecture framework to support business strategy and M&A objectives,leveraging your proven M&A and cloud modernization experience.
• Lead architecture review boards and work with cross-functional teams to design secure, scalable cloud and on-prem solutions.
• Drive IT transformation initiatives,from agile adoption to end-to-end cloud platform modernization.
• Oversee post-merger integration of diverse landscapes, mentoring architects and senior engineers to embed best practices and foster innovation.
What’s in it for you?
• High-visibility leadership role reporting to the CTO, with a clear path to VP level as we expand.
• A dedicated team, ongoing training budget and executive sponsorship to ensure your success.
• Competitive compensation, performance bonus and participation in our equity program.
Please let me know which time suits you, and if you have any questions about the company, responsibilities or next steps. Looking forward to our conversation!
Best regards,
J***
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain (partnered with I***G)
Thursday, May 9th at 10:00 AM CET works for me. Ahead of our call, could you share the current architecture team size and primary tech stack, and what you see as the biggest immediate challenge for this role?


Hi A***,
Thanks for confirming Thursday, May 9th at 10:00 AM CET. Ahead of our call, here’s a quick snapshot:
1. Architecture team size
, Seven core architects (5 Enterprise Architects, 2 Solution Architects) who partner closely with our broader engineering teams.
2. Primary tech stack
, Public cloud: AWS (EKS, Lambda, RDS) & Azure (AKS, Functions)
, Containerization: Kubernetes & Docker
, Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
, Languages & frameworks: Java, .NET Core, Python, microservices
, API management/gateways, hybrid on-prem (VMware/Linux/Windows)
3. Biggest immediate challenge
, Rolling out a unified enterprise architecture framework across hybrid-cloud landscapes while driving the post-merger integration of a recently acquired business unit’s legacy systems, all on an accelerated cloud modernization timeline.
Given your strong M&A and cloud strategy background, I’m excited to hear your ideas on how to tackle these priorities. Looking forward to our conversation on Thursday at 10:00 AM CET. Let me know if anything else comes up beforehand!
Best regards,
J***
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain (partnered with I***G)
Thanks, J***! Quick question: which EA frameworks or modeling tools are you using today, and how does the architecture team collaborate with engineering squads day-to-day? Also, regarding the acquired unit’s legacy systems, can you share which platforms and languages they’re primarily on?


Hi A*** , great questions:
1. EA frameworks & modeling tools
• We follow TOGAF principles, using ArchiMate as our modeling language.
• Our architects work in Sparx Enterprise Architect and Archi for visualizations, with all models stored in Confluence (paired with an ADR library in Git).
2. Day-to-day collaboration
• Architects are embedded in agile squads , joining sprint planning, backlog grooming and design reviews.
• We hold a bi-weekly Architecture Review Board to validate major designs and unblock teams.
• Routine collaboration happens via Jira (architecture backlog), Confluence (docs) and dedicated Slack channels, plus monthly “Architecture Guild” workshops for cross-team alignment.
3. Acquired unit’s legacy landscape
• On-prem Windows/VMware hosts running .NET Framework (C#/ASP.NET 4.x) applications backed by SQL Server.
• A set of Java 8 web services on Linux/Tomcat with Oracle databases.
• We’re now driving containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) and a lift-and-shift into AWS EKS as part of the post-merger roadmap.
Let me know if you’d like any more detail before Thursday’s call,looking forward to diving deeper!
, J***
Thanks for the overview! I’m curious how you tie your ArchiMate models and ADR library into your CI/CD pipelines,are there automated compliance checks or guardrails? And for the legacy .NET/Java apps moving into EKS, are you doing a straight lift-and-shift or refactoring parts first?


Hi A***,
Great questions,here’s a bit more color ahead of our call:
1. Integrating ArchiMate & ADRs into CI/CD
- We store all ArchiMate sketches and ADRs in Git alongside our code and IaC. Every merge request kicks off a lightweight “architecture compliance” stage:
• A custom script verifies that any new service/component has an associated ADR (title, context, decision rationale) before the PR can merge.
• We run architecture linting (via a Node.js-based linter plugged into our pipeline) to flag deviations from core patterns (e.g. required security zones, network segmentation).
• Critical ADRs (major tech choices) are surfaced in Confluence dashboards automatically via webhook, so our Architecture Review Board can spot-check high-risk changes.
- This ensures guardrails without slowing down squads,if something falls outside policy, the pipeline comment directs you to the relevant ADR or pattern.
2. Migrating legacy .NET/Java apps into EKS
- We typically start with a “lift-and-shift” into EKS via Docker images and Terraform-based cluster provisioning, giving us the quick win of running everything in the same orchestration fabric.
- In parallel, we identify the highest,value candidates for strangler-pattern refactoring:
• For smaller .NET apps, we introduce .NET Core micro-services one piece at a time.
• For Java 8 services, we containerize first, then carve out stateful modules (e.g. caching, batch jobs) into separate pods, moving to managed services (RDS/ElastiCache) where it makes sense.
- This two-track approach lets us accelerate the migration timeline while iterating toward full cloud-native patterns and removing outdated on-prem dependencies.
Happy to dive into the tooling details and roadmap sequencing on Thursday’s call. Let me know if anything else pops up before then!
Best,
J***
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain (for I***G)
Thanks Jasmine,could you share how you define and maintain your linter rules? And for the strangler-pattern refactoring, how do you pick the first services to refactor and tackle their data migrations?


Hi A***,
Glad these details are helpful,here’s a bit more on each topic:
1. Defining & maintaining our linter rules
- We keep all rule definitions in a shared Git repo as JSON/YAML files and package them as a private npm module. Each rule encodes a pattern (e.g. required network zones, naming conventions, mandatory ADR links) and includes a severity level (error, warning).
- New rules are proposed via pull requests: architects add rationale, sample violations and remediation guidance. We review them in our bi-weekly Architecture Guild workshop, then publish a new linter version once the board signs off.
- Every quarter we audit rules to retire obsolete checks and incorporate learnings from recent projects (e.g. new cloud services, updated security standards). Teams automatically receive updates via our CI pipeline’s version lock on the linter module.
2. Strangler-pattern refactoring & data migrations
- Service selection: we start with bounded contexts that are high-value but low-risk,small teams of users, well-defined APIs, minimal cross-service data dependencies. This lets us exercise the pattern end-to-end without broad disruption.
- Refactoring approach:
• Lift legacy app into EKS to unify runtime.
• Deploy strangler façade in front of the first service, redirecting non-critical endpoints to the new microservice.
- Data migration:
• We spin up a parallel data sync using CDC (Debezium/Kafka or AWS DMS) so the new microservice has a warm copy.
• Once sync lag is negligible, we flip reads to the new service behind a feature flag. Writes initially go to both stores until validation is complete, then we retire the old database.
• Roll-back hooks and end-to-end tests guard each cutover.
Given your deep experience with compliance pipelines, I’d welcome any thoughts on extending these guardrails. Let me know if you’d like to dive into tooling specifics or pipeline snippets before our call. Looking forward to Thursday at 10 AM CET!
Best,
J***
Thanks, J***,could you share a sample linter rule JSON/YAML schema or a CI snippet showing how you version-lock and consume the npm module in your pipelines? And for the CDC migrations, how do you handle mid-stream schema changes and guarantee referential integrity across both stores?


Hi A***,
Happy to share concise examples,hope these help illustrate our approach:
1. Sample linter-rule schema (YAML)
```yaml
# rules.yaml
rules:
- id: “ARC-001”
description: “Service must declare a security zone”
pattern:
hasTag: “security-zone”
severity: error
remediation: “Add a ‘security-zone’ tag in the service ADR.”
- id: “NAM-002”
description: “K8s resources must use lowercase hyphenated names”
pattern:
regex: “^[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?$”
severity: warning
remediation: “Rename your Deployment/Service to match kebab-case.”
```
We package these (plus any new/updated rules) into a private npm module and lock it in package.json:
```json
{
"dependencies": {
"@i***e/arch-linter": "1.3.2"
}
}
```
2. CI snippet (GitLab CI example)
```yaml
stages:
- lint
- build
lint:
image: node:18
stage: lint
script:
- npm ci # installs @i***e/[email protected]
- npx arch-linter ./arch/*.yaml
rules:
- changes:
- arch/**/*.yaml
- src/**/*.js
- .linterrc.json
build:
# …
```
This “npm ci” step always installs the exact linter version locked in package-lock.json, so teams can opt-in to upgrades only when the Architecture Guild releases a new minor/major.
3. CDC migrations & mid-stream schema changes
- Schema evolution: we treat DDL as first-class events. Using Debezium (or AWS DMS), we capture both DML and DDL. We evolve tables via an “expand/contract” pattern:
• Phase 1: Add new nullable columns or tables, deploy code that writes both old and new schemas.
• Phase 2: Backfill new columns via CDC stream or a one-off job.
• Phase 3: Enforce NOT NULL or foreign-key constraints once data is fully synced.
- Referential integrity: Debezium emits changes grouped by transaction ID. We use Kafka Streams to buffer events in a mini-window so that parent records always arrive before children. On the target side:
1. Apply parent table inserts/updates
2. Then apply child table events
3. If out-of-order, we hold child events until parent key exists (with a small retry/backoff).
- Dual-writes & cutover guarded by feature flags: writes go to both old and new stores during the migration window. We monitor lag and referential-integrity metrics (counts, foreign-key checks). Once we see zero lag and no FK violations, we flip reads to the new store and retire the old pipeline.
Feel free to review on our call Thursday,I’m happy to walk through any part of the YAML/JSON or CDC-stream processing logic in more detail. Looking forward to it!
Best,
J*** Thanks J***, that’s super clear. How do you version and publish new linter releases without breaking squads,any conventions for major rule changes,and for your CDC pipeline, how do you size the Kafka Streams window and handle late‐arriving DDL/DML events that miss the mini-window?


Hi A***,
Great questions,here’s how we handle both:
1. Linter versioning & major-rule conventions
• Semantic versioning: we follow MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. Breaking or behavioral changes bump the MAJOR.
• Deprecation policy: new rules start in WARN severity and are documented in release notes. After one MINOR cycle we bump to ERROR (with clear migration guides).
• Opt-in preview channel: we publish “next” tags for upcoming MAJOR changes so squads can test rules against their repos before we officially release.
• Quarterly review: the Architecture Guild audits and ratifies each MAJOR change, ensuring teams have at least a 4-week runway to adapt.
2. Kafka Streams window sizing & late-arrival handling
• Window sizing: we analyze historical out-of-order latency (99.9th percentile) and add a buffer (typically +20%) to define our tumbling/join windows,commonly a 2,5 minute window for DML, slightly longer for DDL.
• Grace periods: we configure a grace interval equal to the max allowed lateness (e.g. 1,2 minutes) so late events can still be accepted into the original window.
• Late-event fallback:
, Events arriving after the grace period go to a dead-letter “late-arrivals” topic.
, A separate reprocessing job ingests that topic, replays events through a Kafka Streams job with an extended window to reconcile missing or out-of-order DDL/DML.
• DDL handling: schema changes emit control records on a dedicated change-log topic. We keep that topic compacted and use it to update our stream-table lookups, so new schema definitions are always applied before data events.
I’m looking forward to diving deeper on Thursday at 10:00 AM CET. Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like ahead of our conversation!
Best,
J***
HR Recruiter, StrategyBrain (for I***G)