Chief Architect – TradeNet Platform

About the role

GovTech is rebuilding TradeNet, Singapore’s national single‑window for trade permits, as a modern cloud‑native platform. As Chief Architect you will own the technical coherence of the effort, defining system structure, interfaces and boundaries while collaborating with product squads, TechOps and programme leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Define the overall architecture – service decomposition, data model, API contracts and infrastructure patterns – and maintain an architecture decision record.
• Lead legacy modernisation, deciding where to strangle, rewrite or retain monolithic components and reconstruct undocumented business logic using AI‑assisted reverse‑engineering.
• Produce architecture documents, design specs and technical RFCs; review code and designs across squads, especially at integration points.
• Pioneer AI/LLM‑assisted engineering workflows for code generation, test creation and documentation, and set quality standards for AI‑generated output.
• Resolve cross‑team technical disputes, balance technical debt against migration timelines, and mentor senior engineers.

Required profile

• 12+ years of hands‑on software engineering, with experience as a principal or staff engineer/architect on large‑scale systems.
• Proven technical leadership across multiple teams (5+ squads, 40+ engineers) without direct managerial responsibility.
• Deep experience modernising legacy monoliths, migrating off‑prem platforms and reconstructing undocumented business logic.
• Strong cloud‑native architecture background (service design, event‑driven, API‑first, infrastructure‑as‑code), preferably on AWS.
• Ability to make hard technical decisions under ambiguity and secure executive alignment.
• Experience designing resilient systems that cannot afford downtime.
• Hands‑on proficiency with Kotlin, Java/JVM, PostgreSQL and modern cloud tooling.
• Experience with AI/LLM‑assisted engineering beyond basic code completion.
• Excellent written technical communication for architecture documents and RFCs.

Required skills

• Kotlin
• Java / JVM ecosystem
• PostgreSQL
• AWS cloud services
• Service‑oriented and event‑driven architecture
• API‑first design
• Infrastructure‑as‑code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation)
• AI/LLM‑assisted development tools

What we offer

• Equal‑opportunity, inclusive workplace that values diverse perspectives.
• Holistic, market‑competitive total rewards including leave benefits and wellness programs.
• Flexible work arrangements (subject to role) to support work‑life balance.