Head of Development / Senior Solutions Architect

Safe City Group

  • Dubai
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 14 days ago
We are seeking a highly experienced technical leader to take ownership of both our forward-looking AI initiatives and the strategic takeover of a mission-critical public safety/mobility platform.This is a hybrid role bridging executive engineering leadership, AI operationalization, and hands-on solutions architecture. You will be responsible for leading the transition of a complex, mixed-documentation legacy estate (ASP.NET 4.8/WCF) from an external vendor, designing its modernization path to .NET 8, and simultaneously building out production-ready, localized AI/ML capabilities.The ideal candidate is a pragmatic, highly technical leader who can walk into a complex legacy environment, make it understandable, steadily modernize it without breaking production, and seamlessly integrate advanced AI/ML capabilities within strict governance frameworks.The Real-World Context
  • You will see legacy code and uneven documentation. Some services are modern .NET 8; others are ASP.NET Framework 4.8 and WCF relying on "tribal knowledge."
  • You will own the vendor transition. You need to define the boundaries, repo strategy, and handover steps to move ownership safely in-house.
  • You will build the future. You will have the authority and influence to leave this platform cleaner, safer, and AI-enabled, transitioning from partly manual deployments to automated, secure DevSecOps pipelines.
Key Responsibilities1. Platform Takeover & Architecture Modernization
  • Map the As-Is: Figure out what is currently running. Map components, integrations, environments, and deployment paths of the vendor-operated platform.
  • Own the Modernization Path: Design a phased, risk-controlled architectural roadmap from ASP.NET 4.8/WCF to a clean .NET 8 (LTS) microservices ecosystem.
  • Set the Standards: Establish API contracts, coding standards, and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) to ensure the new internal team operates consistently.
2. Engineering Delivery & DevSecOps
  • Execute the software development lifecycle (SDLC) in line with approved governance and Zero Trust security principles.
  • Partner with Ops/DevOps to replace manual deployment habits with auditable CI/CD pipelines (approval gates, mandatory SAST scanning, artifact integrity, zero-downtime rollbacks).
  • Oversee technical delivery timelines, resource allocation, and overall release readiness.
3. AI Implementation & Operationalization
  • Execute the AI roadmap, leading the development, integration, and deployment of AI/ML models (NLP, Computer Vision, Predictive Analytics).
  • Implement MLOps pipelines and full model lifecycle management to ensure AI solutions are scalable, monitored, and production-ready.
  • Ensure AI systems strictly comply with data governance and enterprise security policies.
4. Cloud Infrastructure & System Integration
  • Implement cloud architecture standards within Azure, optimizing for both modern AI workloads (GPU, model hosting) and legacy .NET integrations.
  • Oversee complex data architectures bridging legacy and modern systems (SQL Server, MySQL).
  • Monitor cost optimization, system performance, and infrastructure scalability.
5. Team Leadership & Localized AI Optimization
  • Build, manage, and mentor an onsite, high-signal team of senior engineers, architects, and AI specialists.
  • Translate tribal knowledge into structured, understandable documentation for the team.
  • Supervise AI localization, ensuring Arabic NLP tuning, validation, and regional adaptability are culturally and linguistically precise.
6. Stakeholder Communication & Authority
  • Translate deep technical challenges (both legacy untangling and AI scaling) into structured risk reports for executive leadership.
  • Present updates clearly in both Arabic and English.
  • Authority Level: Approves technical implementations, enforces governance, and escalates architectural risks. (Cannot override enterprise architecture board decisions).

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