*Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future*
About Us:
Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build, and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant, a member of the NASDAQ-100, is ranked 195 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com.
About Cognizant’s IoT Practice:
Intelligent, IoT-enabled products will soon result in the proliferation of data and disrupt virtually all industries. To be successful, both large and small companies must leverage IoT capabilities by designing modern products that fundamentally connect people with processes. Within Cognizant IOT, we engineer industry-aligned, IoT-enabled products that merge industry needs with human drivers. Our intelligent products will revolutionize experiences and result in exciting, transformative outcomes. Without human-centered thinking, connected products are just standalone things—but with it, our modern connected products facilitate a unified way of life enjoyed by all.
Roles & Responsibilities
The Solution Architect serves as a senior advisory resource focused on manufacturing systems architecture, plant‑floor data flows, and analytics enablement within regulated life sciences manufacturing environments. The role begins with a time‑bound engagement to assess and modernize legacy integrations between manufacturing equipment and an existing MES platform, addressing immediate risks related to cybersecurity, performance, availability, and supportability.
Following the initial engagement, the role continues as a manufacturing solution architecture and analytics advisor, supporting additional modernization initiatives, advanced analytics, and AI‑enabled manufacturing improvements across sites and use cases.
The architect delivers clear, actionable architectural guidance and defines implementation‑ready scopes of work for execution teams.
Initial Engagement Focus (Time‑Bound)
- Analyze existing legacy codebases and custom integrations between plant‑floor equipment and MES systems.
- Assess data flows across PLCs, OEM equipment, proprietary and file‑based protocols, SCADA, and middleware layers.
- Evaluate current architecture against uptime, cybersecurity, data integrity, regulatory compliance, and maintainability requirements.
- Identify immediate operational and architectural risks impacting production stability.
- Define a future‑state manufacturing data architecture that supports high availability, secure OT/IT integration, and modernization.
Ongoing Advisory Scope
- Act as a trusted advisor on manufacturing systems, data architecture, and analytics strategy.
- Guide modernization toward scalable architectures, such as:
- Event‑driven and publish‑subscribe (UNS‑aligned) data models
- Modern SCADA and data acquisition platforms (e.g., Ignition‑based solutions)
- Data modeling and contextualization layers (e.g., HighByte or equivalent)
- Align architecture decisions with manufacturing performance objectives, including OEE, downtime analysis, quality, and traceability.
- Support enablement of AI and advanced analytics use cases while maintaining GxP compliance.
- Ensure solutions balance near‑term problem resolution with long‑term platform extensibility and sustainability.
Use of AI in the Architect’s Workflow
The Solution Architect actively uses AI‑enabled tools as part of their professional workflow to:
- Accelerate analysis of legacy architectures, code patterns, and integration flows
- Identify architectural risks, design patterns, and modernization options
- Evaluate and compare reference architectures and technology tradeoffs
- Support structured documentation, diagrams, and recommendation artifacts
AI tools are used to augment expert judgment, not replace it, ensuring all recommendations remain practical, defensible, and appropriate for regulated manufacturing environments.
Key Deliverables
- Current‑state architecture assessment and risk summary
- Future‑state architecture diagrams and design principles
- Phased modernization roadmap (stabilization → modernization → analytics/AI enablement)
- Clearly defined implementation work packages for delivery teams
- Ongoing advisory input into manufacturing data and analytics initiatives
Required Experience & Background
- Deep experience with manufacturing plant‑floor data architectures, including PLCs and OEM equipment.
- Strong knowledge of MES, SCADA, and industrial data acquisition platforms.
- Hands‑on experience with Ignition or equivalent SCADA solutions.
- Familiarity with pub‑sub architectures (e.g., MQTT) and UNS concepts.
- Experience supporting OEE and manufacturing performance data flows.
- Proven background in pharma, medical device, or life sciences manufacturing, including GxP considerations.
- Strong understanding of OT cybersecurity and resilient industrial architectures.
- Ability to translate complex legacy environments into clear, executable architecture guidance.
Role Outcome
The Solution Architect enables immediate stability and risk reduction while establishing a clear architectural foundation for modernization, advanced analytics, and AI‑driven manufacturing improvements. The role ensures manufacturing teams are not only solving today’s problems, but are positioned for sustained performance and future innovation.
Compensation: Along with Base salary, this position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans. Application will be accepted by 5/29/2026
Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
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What we offer
- The chance to work with impact. Here, you’re empowered to bring your biggest thinking to help our company and clients improve everyday life.
- Ownership over your career. Stay at the top of your game through our award-winning learning and development ecosystem. And when your ambitions change or we offer new opportunities, we help you pivot by providing reskilling, on-the-job learning and guidance to find new roles that might be a better fit.
- The opportunity to thrive on a high caliber team with heart. We celebrate each other’s experiences and perspectives and promote a sense of belonging through our affinity groups and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- A comprehensive total rewards package, including a competitive salary and a pension plan with matching contributions.
- Flexible health and financial benefits to support you and your eligible dependents—from day one.
- True work-life balance. Be at your best through paid time off, flexible work arrangements, volunteering opportunities, social events, and so much more.
About us
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.
Other employment-related information
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] with your request and contact information.
Language requirements vary depending on roles, but we ask that all candidates have basic English proficiency for company-wide communications purposes. For roles based in Quebec, professional English proficiency is required, as you’ll deliver services to and collaborate with stakeholders outside the province who may not speak French.
