Solution Architect

Job description

Company description

Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. We do this by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing and food products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.

The Inter IKEA Group is a part of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., owner of the IKEA Concept and worldwide IKEA franchisor.

IKEA Supply is part of IKEA Range & Supply and is responsible for securing that the product offer is produced and delivered to our customers. We lead the supply agenda across many functions and work together with all business areas, different business units, but also retail markets to secure customer availability in all markets and sales channels at lowest total cost.

IKEA Purchasing and Logistics Services US Inc. is part of our Purchasing and Logistics Area Americas which also has an office in Curitiba, Brazil and Mexico City, Mexico, and is a subsidiary of the Inter IKEA Group.

Supply Chain Development (SCD)  is on an exciting journey! By gathering the end-to-end supply chain development and innovation agenda into one organization, embedding management and development of processes and digital solutions into the business, we will meet the future with the right competences and business capabilities. By this we will also create the preconditions to a world class supply chain that enable IKEA to efficiently respond to the ever-changing customer needs.

Within the SCD area of  Intralogistics  we are responsible for establishing, leading, supporting and developing logistics solutions for the various IKEA units that have a logistical and fulfilment component, including the development and innovation agenda of intralogistics at IKEA global. In practical terms, Intralogistics shall lead and educate in creating concepts, processes and solutions for IKEA Handling and Storage as well as to act as center of expertise for all establishments of logistics units around the globe. The organization is in strong lead towards a more mechanical and automated goods handling.

Do you get energy from influencing, interacting and working together to deliver great business results, this is probably a very interesting assignment for you!

Job description

Supply Chain Development (SCD)  is on an exciting journey! By gathering the end-to-end supply chain development and innovation agenda into one organization, embedding management and development of processes and digital solutions into the business, we will meet the future with the right competences and business capabilities. By this we will also create the preconditions to a world class supply chain that enables IKEA to efficiently respond to the ever-changing customer needs.

Within the SCD area of  Intralogistics  we are responsible for establishing, leading, supporting and developing logistics solutions for the various IKEA units that have a logistical and fulfilment component, including the development and innovation agenda of intralogistics at IKEA global. In practical terms, Intralogistics shall lead and educate in creating concepts, processes and solutions for IKEA Handling and Storage as well as to act as center of expertise for all establishments of logistics units around the globe. The organization is in strong lead towards a more mechanical and automated goods handling.

Do you get energy from influencing, interacting and working together to deliver great business results, this is probably a very interesting assignment for you!

About the assignment...

·  Shape ideas – in close collaboration with relevant internal and external stakeholders – into concrete, robust and appropriate solution architectures (high level design) and transition roadmaps (for implementation) that achieve the business outcome for a fast-growing business (for running business and initiatives).
·  Secure that the solution architecture reflects customer and co-worker experience, time to market, sharing and collaboration, functional, technical, infrastructure, operational, security, financial, social and environmental considerations. Actively contribute to the resolution of conflicting requirements.
·  Secure that the transition roadmaps reflect the level of uncertainty of the future state. Balance the transformations of foundational building blocks with continued business value delivery. Make sure that the transition roadmap enables early customer feedback and learning. Secure feedback loops to improve the architecture and plans.
·  Communicate the solution architectures and transition roadmaps to relevant internal and external stakeholders within and across organization(s). Seek understanding and agreement to ensure aligned and consistent solution implementations across IKEA.
·  Ensure that the solution architecture and roadmaps complies with relevant policies, principles, rules and standards. Align with agreed IT landscape architectures, its vision and goals and transition roadmaps. Suggest changes, when compliance hinders business value.
·  Ensure that the agreed solution architectures and transition roadmaps guide the scoping of business initiatives, the low-level design and govern the implementation of solutions.
·  Collaborate closely with relevant internal and external stakeholders to improve solution architecture with learnings from the implementation and industry practices. Support stakeholders and initiatives with solution and technical expertise. 
·  Pro-actively identify and advise on opportunities to deliver better business result (e.g. related to technology trends and players, roadmaps, customer value, cost, benefits, impact, risks, dependencies).
·  Collaborate closely with IT suppliers, influence them with IKEA requirements and have a critical dialog about proposals to secure the best result for IKEA.
·  Participate in cross area design board to secure holistic architecture decisions.
·  Participate in developing the architecture capability at IKEA.
·  Participate in technology, identification, and selection.
·  Lead solution architecture activities within the assigned area e.g. the creation, revision and implementation of vision and goals, standards and reference solution architectures (reusable for the enterprise), handling of deviations and exceptions, ensuring architecture requirements for life cycle management of products and services, perform design reviews, provide guidance for service improvements and service transition.
Qualification

About you...

As a person, you have a strong interest in supply chain and intralogistics as well as in technology, digitalization, automation. You have a passion for planning and leading in a global assignment and to drive and develop the business and yourself to deliver excellent results. Moreover, you have a desire to collaborate and interact with various stakeholders.

We also see that you have:

·  good understanding of the IKEA business model – strategies, roadmaps, priorities, processes, organizations, concepts, policies, IKEA IT landscapes
·  extensive understanding of the assigned technical area and inter-dependencies both within and outside the organization (the assigned commercial off-the-shelf solutions and/or IKEA build solutions, their functionality, build-in key concepts and structure, components or modules, and their implementation at IKEA)
·  extensive understanding of the technical drivers, business needs and non-functional requirements for the assigned area
·  good understanding of digital technologies/trends, industry standards, application and infrastructure market, and digital practises with potential to benefit or impact IKEA
·  good understanding of IKEA enterprise architecture framework and modelling techniques
More Information

We offer you a position in a fast paced, truly global environment where Development and constantly being on the way is in focus! And as the world’s leader at life at home, you have exceptional opportunities to grow together with us in an international network with future oriented projects and technical innovations.

The position is based in King of Prussia, PA, U.S. and will require some travelling.

At IKEA, we value diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are committed to providing coworkers with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We encourage individualism and invite you to come join our team and be yourself with us! 

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, or any other applicable characteristic protected by law. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need.  

Want to learn more about current opportunities? Come say Hej (hello in Swedish) here: https://about.ikea.com/en/work-with-us