Application Open:
Full-Time
Job Purpose:
The SIS Solutions Architect provides senior technical leadership for the design, integration, optimization, and modernization of MBZUAI’s Student Information System (Banner SaaS) and its enterprise integration ecosystem. The role architects scalable, secure solutions connecting Banner with institutional platforms (LMS, ERP/Finance, CRM, Identity Management, research systems) through API-led patterns, while driving the adoption of AI-enabled automation, DevOps practices, and cloud-native engineering to accelerate delivery and reduce technical debt.
Working as the technical counterpart to the SIS Associate Head (Registrar’s Office), the Solutions Architect translates institutional requirements into robust technical designs, leads data migration and quality initiatives, and ensures system reliability in a research-intensive university environment.
Key Responsibilities:
Integration Architecture & API Design
- Design and maintain the enterprise integration architecture connecting Banner SaaS with LMS, ERP/Finance, CRM, Identity Management, and research platforms using Ellucian Ethos, RESTful APIs, and event-driven patterns.
- Define integration standards, API contracts, and authentication protocols (OAuth 2.0, JWT, OIDC), ensuring security, scalability, and maintainability across all SIS touchpoints.
- Replace manual and legacy batch processes with automated, real-time data synchronization workflows.
Banner SaaS Technical Operations
- Serve as the senior technical authority for the Banner SaaS environment, owning environment management, release validation, performance optimization, and change control.
- Collaborate with the SIS Associate Head to ensure technical configurations accurately reflect functional requirements and academic policies.
- Troubleshoot complex technical issues, integration failures, data inconsistencies, and performance degradation, using systematic root-cause analysis and vendor support channels.
Data Architecture, Migration & Quality
- Design and execute data migration and validation frameworks, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and referential integrity when importing from legacy systems into Banner SaaS.
- Develop and maintain database procedures, reporting queries, and data pipelines using SQL, PL/SQL, and tools appropriate for the SaaS environment.
- Partner with Institutional Research and the SIS Associate Head to ensure SIS data structures support accurate downstream analytics and statutory reporting (e.g., CHEDS/MoE).
AI, Automation & Modernization
- Identify and execute opportunities to apply AI-enabled workflows, LLM-assisted automation, and intelligent tooling to accelerate legacy modernization, report migration, and operational processes.
- Drive adoption of modern engineering practices — CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, infrastructure-as-code — to improve delivery speed and reliability across SIS-related systems.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and Ellucian ecosystem enhancements, recommending adoption strategies aligned with MBZUAI’s strategic objectives.
Ellucian Ecosystem & Vendor Liaison
- Accelerate integrations with Ethos, Degree Works, Ellucian Experience, and third-party platforms (assessment tools, payment gateways, research management), ensuring secure and reliable data exchange.
- Serve as the primary technical liaison with Ellucian and SIS vendors, translating MBZUAI’s requirements into specifications and ensuring vendor solutions align with institutional architecture standards.
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
- Maintain comprehensive technical documentation, architecture diagrams, integration specs, API docs, and runbooks, ensuring operational continuity and knowledge resilience.
- Deliver technical training to IT staff and power users; create developer-facing resources (starter templates, coding standards) that accelerate delivery and enforce consistency.
Other Duties
- Perform all other duties as reasonably directed by the line manager that are commensurate with these functional objectives.
Academic Qualification:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field.
Professional Experience:
Essential
- 8+ years in enterprise application development or integration architecture, with at least 5 years on Ellucian Banner or comparable higher-ed ERP.
- Demonstrated expertise in API design (REST, OAuth 2.0, JWT, event-driven messaging) and building enterprise integration layers.
- Strong SQL, PL/SQL, and Oracle proficiency; proven data migration and validation experience at institutional scale.
- Cloud platform and DevOps experience (CI/CD, containerization, environment management); ability to adapt on-premise approaches to SaaS constraints.
- Understanding of higher education processes (student lifecycle, registration, financial aid, academic records) and how they map to SIS functionality.
- Experience in a research-intensive university.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to partner effectively with non-technical business stakeholders.
Preferred
- Experience with Ellucian Ethos, Degree Works, Ellucian Experience, or related ecosystem tools.
- Hands-on Banner SaaS experience (release management, extension frameworks, Ethos Data Connect).
- Experience applying AI/LLM-enabled workflows to legacy modernization or operational automation.
- Prior experience supporting large-scale on-premise to SaaS migrations.
- Familiarity with reporting tools (Power BI, Cognos, Tableau) and their integration with SIS data.
