AEM Architect (10-Month Contract)

Company Description

Saatchi & Saatchi is an advertising agency with the belief that creativity, data, media and technology should all work together, and we use that to influence human behavior and drive success for clients.

Our Toronto-based company is at the forefront of innovation, constantly exploring emerging technologies and advancements in artificial intelligence. We pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where creativity and expertise thrive. As we continue to grow and evolve, we are seeking a hands‑on, highly skilled and versatile AEM Architect to join our dynamic team. This role is critical in working with our VP of Technology to keep our company ahead of the curve and ensure our team can tackle technical challenges with confidence and expertise.

Job Description

We are looking for an Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Architect to join our team of bright thinkers and doers. You will translate client requirements into technical designs and define end‑to‑end architecture for modern marketing platforms.

As an AEM subject matter expert (SME), you’ll guide thinking and mentor teams of front‑ and back‑end developers, provide leadership on trade‑offs between technology implementation choices, and develop best‑in‑class solutions to meet our clients’ requirements.

This is a visible, client‑facing role on a marquee enterprise account. You will be the trusted technical advisor to senior client stakeholders—shaping architectural direction, guiding decisions on trade‑offs, and building consensus across teams to land the strongest solution for the business.

Responsibilities

• Innovative Solutions: Translate client requirements into technical designs, including enterprise‑level architecture, and implement strategies using components of the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) platform to support multi‑site, multi‑channel, multi‑lingual delivery environments.

• Cutting‑Edge Development: Architect and deliver digital experiences on Adobe Experience Manager AMS and AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS), spanning AEM Sites, Assets, Forms, and headless content delivery.

• Feature Development: Design and implement capabilities such as multi‑site and multi‑channel delivery, personalization and targeting, content aggregation and syndication, multi‑lingual support, automated workflows, headless delivery via GraphQL and Content Fragments, and SPA‑based experiences using the AEM SPA Editor.

• Team Leadership: Manage a team of highly skilled developers and quality engineers, ensuring that the solutions developed meet the clients’ requirements to the highest quality standards.

• Agile Practices: Lead team activities like sprint planning, backlog grooming, demos, and retrospectives, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Problem Solving: Diagnose and resolve technical problems related to content management implementation, ensuring seamless operation.

• Quality Assurance: Conduct code reviews for ongoing projects to ensure optimal code quality and appropriate design patterns are used.

• Project Ownership: Act as the overall solution owner for your projects, ensuring timeliness and quality of delivery of the projects you oversee.

• DevOps & Deployment: Own CI/CD delivery through Adobe Cloud Manager pipelines, Git‑based branching strategies, Maven builds, and Dispatcher/CDN (CloudFront/Fastly) configuration across environments.

• Performance & Security: Establish standards for performance (caching, dispatcher rules, asset optimization) and security (OWASP, dispatcher hardening, access control, WAF rulesets) across delivery environments.

• Client Leadership & Advisory: Serve as the trusted technical advisor to client stakeholders—presenting architectural decisions, trade‑offs, and estimates with clarity, and guiding clients toward the best outcomes with confident, well‑reasoned recommendations.

Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years architecting and implementing Adobe solutions, with 5+ years in an architect or technical lead role.

• Expertise: Proficient in Adobe Experience Manager (required) and at least one of the following: Adobe Analytics, Campaign, Commerce, Content Management, Adobe Experience Platform, Edge Delivery Services, or Target.

• AEM Proficiency: Proficient in AEM foundational concepts - Apache Sling, Apache Felix (OSGi), JCR/Oak - and the related building blocks (templates, components, dialogs, Touch UI with Coral/Granite UI), plus the full AEM development and deployment lifecycle on AEMaaCS and AMS.

• Content Management: Strong grasp of AEM WCM capabilities including Multi‑Site Manager and Blueprinting, Content Fragments, Experience Fragments, and online marketing capabilities such as advanced targeting/personalization and A/B or multivariate testing.

• Certifications: Technical certifications across one or more of the Adobe products mentioned above.

• Technical Skills: Deep understanding of Java, Jakarta EE (formerly J2EE), Servlets, OSGi, and HTL/Sightly, combined with strong command of enterprise Java frameworks such as Spring.

• Web & Frontend: Expertise in core web technologies - HTML5, CSS3, and modern JavaScript/TypeScript - including SPA frameworks such as React or Angular (used with the AEM SPA Editor), and web services development using RESTful and GraphQL APIs.

• Lifecycle Knowledge: Proficient knowledge of the end‑to‑end content lifecycle, web content management, content publishing/deployment, and delivery processes.

• Integration Expertise: Solid understanding of integration patterns for content‑centric applications, including integrations across the Adobe Experience Cloud (Target, Analytics, Campaign, Commerce) and with external systems via REST, GraphQL, and Adobe I/O Runtime.

• Agile Methodologies: Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies (Agile, SCRUM).

• Headless & Modern Delivery: Experience delivering content headlessly via Content Fragments and the AEM GraphQL API, with exposure to Edge Delivery Services and the Universal Editor considered a strong plus.

• Migration Experience: Prior experience migrating from AEM 6.x (on‑prem or AMS) to AEM as a Cloud Service is highly desirable.

• AI & Emerging Tech: Familiarity with Adobe Sensei and GenAI capabilities within AEM, and interest in applying AI to content operations, authoring, and personalization.

• Stakeholder Influence: A talent for building trust with senior stakeholders and driving alignment on complex technical decisions through clear communication and evidence. You can advocate confidently for a well‑reasoned position and adapt gracefully as new information emerges.

• Executive Communication: Skilled at translating technical trade‑offs into clear business and cost terms for senior, non‑technical audiences, so decisions are well‑understood and easy to support.

• Leadership of Senior Engineers: Experience leading and mentoring seasoned senior developers, earning technical authority through credibility and collaboration.

• Judgment & Collaboration: Strong judgment on when to decide, when to align, and when to escalate, with a calm, constructive presence that helps diverse teams and stakeholders move forward together.

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field.

Additional Information

• Location & Eligibility: Candidates must be based in Canada, with valid Canadian work authorization of at least 12 months.

• Hybrid Work: This role is primarily remote, with occasional visits to client offices within the GTA and a monthly in‑office day with the Saatchi & Saatchi team at our Toronto office (111 Queen St. E, Suite 200, Toronto, ON M5C 1S2).

• Time Off:

- Up to 3 weeks vacation, with additional paid closure between Christmas and New Year’s

- Extended long weekends for provincial holidays — we give you both the Monday and Friday so you get a full 4‑day break

- Prorata of 10 personal days per year

• Benefits: Comprehensive group coverage including:

- Medical, dental, and vision care

- Psychological and paramedical services

• Compensation: The salary range for this position is $110,000–$140,000 per year, based on experience, skills, and relevant certifications. We believe in pay transparency and are committed to offering competitive, market‑aligned compensation.

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision‑making. We believe in a human‑first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people.

Saatchi & Saatchi is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of our community. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply. If you require a specific accommodation please contact Human Resources at 416‑925‑7733 or by email at inquiries@publicisna.com.

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