Solutions & Communications Architect (Fractional Contract)

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Solutions & Communications Architect (Fractional Contract) based in India. This is a senior architecture role focused on designing and launching a secure, unified communications and workflow platform. You will lead the architecture from initial discovery through the delivery of a working pilot. The scope spans identity, data protection, integrations, approvals, monitoring, and auditability. You will work with AI-enabled workflows and automated systems while maintaining strong human oversight and security controls. The first month is highly hands-on and fast-paced, with a transition afterward to a lighter ongoing engagement of approximately 8 hours per week. This role offers significant autonomy and ownership, with a strong emphasis on thoughtful engineering and risk management. It is ideal for an experienced architect who can move quickly while knowing when to pause, challenge assumptions, and protect system integrity. Lead the discovery and architecture of a secure, unified communications and workflow environment connecting teams and systems with a central platform. Understand business, technical, security, and operational requirements thoroughly before designing or implementing solutions. Design end-to-end architectures covering identity verification, access controls, data protection, integrations, system connectivity, monitoring, and audit trails. Establish approval checkpoints and human-in-the-loop controls to ensure sensitive communications, actions, and data transfers are properly reviewed before execution. Build and launch a functional pilot within the initial intensive delivery period, including monitoring, backup plans, validation processes, and evidence that the solution operates as intended. Review technical work and deliverables from team members, identifying security, quality, architectural, or completeness concerns and redirecting work when necessary. Document architectural decisions, assumptions, risks, security considerations, and recommended next steps to support long-term scalability and governance. Support the continued maintenance, optimization, and expansion of the platform during the ongoing fractional engagement. Evaluate AI-assisted analysis and design outputs critically, ensuring automated recommendations are independently validated before being incorporated into production solutions. Requirements Senior-level experience in solution architecture, enterprise architecture, integration architecture, platform architecture, security architecture, or a closely related discipline. Demonstrated experience designing and building AI-enabled workflows, case or work-management platforms, automated systems, or solutions incorporating robust audit trails. Strong knowledge of identity and access management, data protection, least-privilege principles, security controls, and secure system design. Proven experience designing secure environments for multiple clients, organizations, or user groups while maintaining strict data isolation. Experience translating ambiguous or evolving requirements into practical, secure, and scalable technical solutions. Comfortable using AI tools to accelerate research, analysis, architecture, and design while maintaining personal accountability for validating their outputs. Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical decisions, risks, and trade-offs clearly to both technical teams and non-technical executives. Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, make sound technical judgments, and take ownership of quality and security. Experience designing systems for users with varying levels of technical proficiency is a plus. A track record of rapidly turning unclear requirements into safe, functional pilots is highly valued. Willingness to challenge assumptions and stop or escalate work when a solution is not secure, sufficiently