Senior Solutions Architect (Digital Platforms)

Safaricom PLC is a leading telecommunications company in Kenya. M-Pesa Africa, a division of Safaricom, focuses on digital payment solutions and platforms across various markets.

This senior individual contributor role involves setting architectural standards and strategic direction for building, scaling, and securing digital experiences and payment acceptance on M-Pesa's platforms. The architect will operate at the intersection of the M-Pesa Super App, mini-app ecosystem, QR/hosted payment pages/NFC channels, and partner integrations. The role requires vision, mentorship, and the ability to translate complex digital platform challenges into scalable architectural solutions, influencing engineering, product, compliance, and group-level stakeholders.

1. Own the end-to-end architecture of the M-Pesa Super App, including its mini-app platform, SDK, and marketplace ecosystem across all six markets.
2. Design, version, and govern the lifecycle of M-Pesa’s SDKs (mini-app, payment, and partner/developer-facing), ensuring consistency, backward compatibility, and positive developer experience.
3. Define and govern technical standards for mini-app onboarding, integration, security review, and lifecycle management.
4. Architect the Super App’s core and service layer to support scalable, secure, and performant digital experience delivery.
5. Drive the adoption of modern digital platform architectures, including composable UI patterns, micro-frontends, headless/BFF design, and cloud-native deployment aligned with M-Pesa’s infrastructure strategy.
6. Establish and champion architecture governance frameworks, design review standards, and reference architectures for digital and mobile platforms across all markets.
7. Define UX-to-architecture standards, mini-app certification criteria, and release governance, ensuring traceability from submission to production.
8. Collaborate with Compliance, Legal, Risk, and Market teams to ensure digital platform architectures meet local regulatory obligations, data protection, and app store requirements.
9. Own the architecture of M-Pesa’s digital payment channels (QR, hosted payment pages, NFC/Tap-to-Pay), ensuring consistent design standards.
10. Define channel-level security, tokenisation, and merchant integration standards for various payment acceptance flows.
11. Architect the technical roadmap for emerging payment channels, ensuring interoperability with core wallet, switching, and settlement systems.
12. Architect integration patterns between the Super App, core M-Pesa systems, third-party mini-app developers, and partner platforms.
13. Collaborate with API gateway and platform engineering teams to define event-driven, API-first exchange patterns.
14. Design and govern the mini-app SDK, developer portal, and sandbox/testing environments to support a scalable third-party developer ecosystem.
15. Own the SDK release process, including versioning strategy, deprecation policy, and documentation standards for internal and external developers.
16. Design digital platform architectures that ensure app performance, offline resilience, and graceful degradation across varied network conditions and device profiles.
17. Define security architecture for the Super App and mini-app ecosystem, including sandboxing, permission models, and secure inter-mini-app communication.
18. Partner with Risk and Security teams to embed fraud prevention and abuse detection into the mini-app onboarding and runtime experience.
19. Serve as the senior digital platforms architecture voice in Architecture Review Boards, design forums, and group-level governance bodies.
20. Mentor and coach mid-level and junior architects, building digital platform architecture capability within the team.
21. Produce executive-ready architecture artefacts, including C4/Mermaid diagrams, ADRs, and digital platform strategy presentations for CTO/CIO audiences.
22. Lead vendor evaluations for mini-app platforms, mobile development frameworks, and digital experience technologies.

1. Strong understanding of Super App and mini-app architecture patterns, including hybrid/WebView runtimes, mini-app SDKs, and marketplace/platform governance models.
2. Extensive experience with mobile and web application architecture, including native, hybrid, and cross-platform frameworks, and cloud platforms on AWS and/or Azure.
3. Working knowledge of native iOS and Android platform constraints (app lifecycle, distribution/app store requirements, platform-specific security models) to guide architectural decisions.
4. Proven experience designing, versioning, and maintaining SDKs for external developers or partners, including API contract design, backward compatibility, and developer documentation.
5. Proficiency in integration patterns including REST/GraphQL APIs, event streaming (Apache Kafka), and backend-for-frontend (BFF) design for consumer-facing platforms.
6. Strong knowledge of digital platform architecture patterns including micro-frontends, composable UI, headless architecture, and offline-first/resilient mobile design.
7. Experience with digital platform security architecture including app sandboxing, permission models, secure SDK design, mTLS, and OAuth2/OpenID Connect.
8. Working knowledge of digital payment channel architecture, including QR code standards (EMVCo/static/dynamic), hosted payment page design, and NFC/HCE-based Tap-to-Pay acceptance.
9. Knowledge of platform documentation and governance practices including ADRs, C4 modelling, developer portal design, and architecture review board processes.
10. Strong communication skills to explain complex digital platform concepts.
11. Analytical, structured thinker with strong problem-solving ability.
12. Collaborative and influential across multi-market teams.
13. Self-driven, accountable, and delivery focused.
14. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a related field.
15. 8+ years of experience in solutions/platform architecture, mobile or digital engineering, or closely related technical disciplines, with at least 3 years in a senior or lead capacity.
16. Proven track record designing enterprise-scale digital or Super App platforms in financial services, fintech, or telecommunications.
17. Demonstrated ownership of a super app / mini-app platform architecture, including SDK design and third-party mini-app governance, at scale.
18. Track record owning SDK strategy for external developers or partners, including versioning, backward compatibility, and deprecation at enterprise scale.
19. Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and mobile/web application architecture.
20. Proficiency in integration patterns: event streaming, API gateway design, and BFF/composable architecture.
21. Strong understanding of app platform security and governance frameworks (OWASP MASVS, app store/marketplace policies, or equivalent).
22. Experience with high-availability architecture and performance optimisation for high-traffic consumer-facing platforms.
23. Preferred: Experience in mobile money, payment systems, or digital financial services platforms in emerging markets.
24. Preferred: Familiarity with mini-app engine technologies (e.g., WeChat Mini Programs, Alipay GMP, or equivalent hybrid mini-app runtimes).
25. Preferred: Exposure to AI/ML-driven personalisation, in-app recommendation engines, or conversational/agentic interfaces.
26. Preferred: Experience operating across multi-country regulatory environments in Sub-Saharan Africa.
27. Preferred: Professional certifications such as TOGAF, AWS/Azure Solutions Architect, or equivalent.
28. Preferred: Familiarity with developer ecosystem programmes, including partner onboarding, certification, and marketplace monetisation models.