Lead Pega Systems Architect

Role: Lead Pega Systems ArchitectLocation: Frankfurt Germany (Remote)Type: Contract/Permanent Summary of PositionThe Lead Systems Architect (LSA) is the senior technical authority responsible for designing, integrating, and scaling Pega Customer Decision Hub (CDH) solutions within a client’s enterprise ecosystem. The LSA specializes in backend system integrations; ensuring real-time, reliable, secure, and high-volume data exchange between CDH and customer platforms such as CRM, MDM, billing, data lakes, marketing clouds, event hubs, and channel systems.This role provides architectural leadership, establishes integration standards, and ensures the technical integrity and performance of all CDH-related services. Key ResponsibilitiesEnterprise Architecture & Integration DesignArchitect end-to-end integration patterns between Pega CDH and enterprise systems using REST/JSON, SOAP, Kafka, MQ, SFTP, and ETL pipelinesDefine high-level and detailed architecture blueprints, including data flow diagrams, sequence diagrams, integration specifications, and deployment architecturesEnsure integrations support real-time decisioning, high throughput, low latency, and high availability across all customer touchpointsSelect and enforce standards for authentication, authorization, encryption, error handling, retries, logging, and API versioning Technical Leadership & Delivery OversightServe as the technical lead for integration workstreams across all environments (Dev → Prod)Review and approve all system integration designs, mappings, and interface specificationsGuide developers and architects in building scalable and reusable componentsEnsure delivered integrations align with enterprise security, compliance, and architectural governance CDH Enablement & Ecosystem OrchestrationDesign data sourcing strategies for interaction history, customer profile feeds, decisioning data, and AI model inputsCollaborate with Decisioning Architects and Data Architects to ensure integrations enable real-time eligibility, suitability, arbitration, and propensity scoringOptimize container behaviour for inbound channels including web, mobile, contact center, ATM/kiosk, and IVR Client Engagement & AdvisoryLead workshops with IT, enterprise architects, and application owners to define integration requirementsPresent architectural recommendations, integration patterns, and trade-offs to executive and technical stakeholdersTroubleshoot complex integration issues, identify root causes, and drive long-term resolutions Quality, Performance & GovernanceDefine non-functional requirements (NFRs) including performance benchmarks, throughput thresholds, and resiliency SLAsOversee performance testing, failover validation, environment readiness, and capacity planningEnsure solutions adhere to SDLC best practices and are built for maintainability and scale Required Experience & Skills8+ years of architecture experience in enterprise systems, customer platforms, or integration engineering5+ years in Pega Platform or Pega CDH delivery, preferably in an LSA or senior integration roleDeep expertise in RESTful service design, event-based architectures, and API/microservices frameworksStrong understanding of relational/NoSQL databases, real-time streaming (Kafka, Kinesis), and middlewareProficiency with security standards, high-availability patterns, and cloud-native architecturesAbility to translate business requirements into robust, scalable integration solutionsExcellent communication skills for technical and executive audiences Preferred / CertificationsCertified Pega Lead System Architect (CLSA) requiredExperience with enterprise marketing technology, CDPs, CRMs, and data hub architecturesCloud certifications (AWS, Azure, or GCP) are a plus