Platform Engineer

The client is running an initiative to modernise approximately 300 IBM ACE integration applications.

Given the scale of the estate and the platform decisions still to be finalised — container platform, compute model, and the per-application migration approach — a contained pilot, rather than a big-bang rollout, is the next step to prove the pattern before wider adoption.

This engagement resources a two-person pilot team to take a small, representative set of ACE workloads from the ~300-application estate, containerise them, and produce a proven, reusable pattern that the wider modernisation programme can adopt.

• Prove a containerisation pattern for migrating IBM ACE integration workloads onto AWS container services, implemented in Go and/or Java.

• Deliver pilot workload(s) into a running state on AWS, replacing or wrapping selected existing ACE integration flows.

• Produce reusable platform scaffolding and a migration playbook — reference architecture, CI/CD pipeline templates, and a Go-vs-Java decision framework — so the pattern can be applied across the remaining ~300-application estate.

In scope

• Platform architecture: confirm target container platform (ECS and/or EKS) and compute model (Fargate vs EC2) for the pilot, building on the platform team's existing ECS-vs-EKS evaluation.

• Go vs Java decision framework: define selection criteria for choosing Go or Java per workload archetype (e.g. throughput, message-flow complexity, team familiarity, library/connector availability), and apply it to the pilot workloads.

• Pilot implementation: select 15 representative ACE workloads, reverse-engineer their integration logic, and re-implement or wrap them as containerised services.

• Platform scaffolding: base container images, CI/CD pipeline templates, configuration and secrets handling, and observability/logging integration for containerised workloads.

• Migration playbook: a documented, repeatable pattern (with worked examples from the pilot) that the wider ~300-application programme can follow.

• Documentation & knowledge transfer: architecture decision records (ADRs), runbooks, and a walkthrough session with the platform and integration teams.

Out of scope

• Migration of the full ~300-application estate — this engagement delivers the pilot and the reusable pattern, not the programme-wide rollout.

• Selection of the long-term target migration approach for the remaining ~300-application estate — that decision sits with the platform architecture team.

• Underlying AWS landing-zone, networking or IAM design outside what the pilot workloads require.

Lead Software / Platform Engineer

• Strong proficiency in Go and Java, with the judgement to choose between them per use case.

• Hands-on experience with AWS container services — ECS, EKS and Fargate — including production operation.

• Experience with, or fast ability to learn, IBM ACE / IIB integration flow concepts, sufficient to reverse-engineer existing flows.

• CI/CD pipeline design (e.g. GitHub Actions, AWS CodePipeline, or equivalent) and Docker/container fundamentals.

• Observability/APM integration experience; familiarity with Dynatrace is advantageous.

• Track record leading platform or application migrations at scale, ideally in a regulated/financial-services environment.

Mid-level Software Engineer

• Solid software engineering experience in Go or Java.

• Working knowledge of Docker and container fundamentals.

• Willingness and ability to learn IBM ACE integration concepts on the job.

• Experience with unit and integration testing practices.

• Exposure to AWS services; container-service experience advantageous but not required.

• Both roles report to the Architect / Platform Owner for the Integration & API Platform.

• Work is coordinated with the wider container modernisation initiative and the platform team's existing ECS/EKS evaluation.

• Progress reviewed on a regular cadence against the deliverables in Section 5.

• All code, configuration, pipelines and documentation produced are delivered as the client's property on completion or termination of the engagement.

• Pilot workload(s) running successfully in the target platform, functionally equivalent to the original ACE flow(s).

• Go vs Java decision framework documented and demonstrably applied to the workload selection.

• Migration playbook reviewed and confirmed as usable by the platform team for subsequent workloads.

• Deliverables reviewed and formally accepted by the Architect / Platform Owner.