Middleware Specialist for HIAL

Job Title: Senior Middleware Specialist for HIAL

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Work Model: Hybrid

Duration: 12 months

Extension: 1 Time

Must Haves

• 7 10+ years of progressive, hands on experience in middleware engineering, integration services, or related technical domains, with a demonstrated ability to lead complex platform upgrades and modernization initiatives.
• Proven experience supporting and sustaining large scale, mission critical application environments across diverse technology stacks, preferably within highly regulated sectors such as healthcare or public service.
• Hands on expertise in the following technology stack: IBM DataPower (migrating from physical appliance to OpenShift Container Platform), and IBM App Connect Enterprise, Java Spring Boot microservices.
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and CI/CD pipeline development for deploying, automating, and managing containerized middleware solutions, including IBM DataPower, on OpenShift or cloud-native platforms.

Description / Responsibilities / Skills

Project Description

• Support the Provincial Common Integration Service team managing HIAL and the ONE Access Gateway (OAG).
• Responsible for HIAL migration to AWS & upgrade initiative, overseeing modernization efforts across the technology stack.
• Redesign and implementation of HIAL Full Message Body Logging (FMBL).
• Upgrade of operating system such as RHEL 7 and Java Springboot.
• Work closely with cross functional teams to ensure upgrades are executed with minimal service disruption.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert level troubleshooting to resolve complex middleware, integration, and infrastructure challenges during the upgrade lifecycle.
• Develop and maintain detailed implementation plans, technical procedures, runbooks, and operational guides for cross functional support teams.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Security, Privacy, and Infrastructure teams to ensure all upgrade activities meet enterprise standards.
• Coordinate with Infrastructure, UNIX, Network, Middleware Support, Backup & Storage, and QA teams.

Required Skills

• In depth knowledge of PKI security infrastructure, digital certificates, TLS configurations, encryption standards, and enterprise network architecture.
• Solid experience with system administration and networking, including Windows Server and Linux environments, IP networking, routing, and firewall concepts.
• Familiarity with healthcare integration standards such as HL7v3, HL7v2, FHIR, or SOAP based healthcare messaging.
• Experience with system monitoring, performance tuning, capacity planning, and ensuring data integrity, following ITIL processes.
• Technical Depth: hands-on ownership of HA/DR patterns, TLS/mTLS, cert management, and message durability/persistence.

Deliverables

• Execute end-to-end HIAL technology upgrade and migration to AWS with minimal disruption to mission critical provincial health services.
• Perform hands on upgrade and deployment activities across all Agency environments: Development, QA, PST, PPE, and Production.
• Update, maintain, and obtain approval for all required project and operational artifacts including operational guides, build books, runbooks.

Knowledge Transfer

• Ensure full knowledge transfer is provided to the Agency team before end of engagement.
• Resource must provide all related documentation as part of knowledge transfer protocol.
• A walkthrough of any demos, development, etc. will be required before the end of the engagement.

Deliverables

• Execute the end-to-end HIAL technology upgrade and migration to AWS with minimal disruption to mission critical provincial health services.
• Perform hands on upgrade and deployment across Development, QA, PST, PPE, and Production environments.
• Coordination across cross functional support teams including Cloud Operations, Virtual Infrastructure, UNIX, Network Services, Backup & Storage, and QA.
• Ensure strict adherence to Agency change management and release management processes including documentation and approvals.
• Update, maintain, and obtain approval for operational guides, build books, implementation plans, health check procedures, and runbooks.

Experience & Skill Set Requirements

Required Skills (beyond Must-Haves)

• In depth knowledge of PKI security infrastructure, digital certificates, TLS configurations, encryption standards, and enterprise network architecture, with proven troubleshooting expertise in secure system to system communication.

Desired Skills

• Solid experience with system administration and networking, including Windows Server and Linux environments, IP networking, routing, and firewall concepts, with the ability to diagnose and resolve infrastructure level issues.
• Familiarity with healthcare integration standards such as HL7v3 (asset), with additional exposure to related formats like HL7v2, FHIR, or SOAP based healthcare messaging considered an advantage.
• Strong understanding of Information Management principles, including data governance, information lifecycle management, security policies, and compliance practices.
• Working knowledge of quality assurance practices, including test planning, defect management, risk assessment, and validation of middleware or integration components.
• Experience with system monitoring, performance tuning, capacity planning, and ensuring data integrity, following ITIL processes for incident, problem, and change management.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross functional teams, providing leadership, technical guidance, and subject matter expertise in middleware technologies and integration patterns.

Required Experience

• Technical Depth in Middleware & Integration Stack (IBM DataPower, OpenShift Containers, RHEL). Hands on ownership of upgrades, migrations, performance tuning, HA/DR patterns, TLS/mTLS, cert management, and message durability/persistence.
• Troubleshooting, Monitoring & Operational Excellence (ITIL) Diagnostics, RCA, observability (logs/metrics), incident/problem management, and production stability.
• QA, Testing Readiness & Validation. Ability to support test planning, environment setup, non functional testing, and defect triage.
• Architecture, Security, and Compliance Alignment. Understanding of enterprise security, PKI, privacy requirements, hardening standards, and architectural alignment.
• Documentation, Technical Artifacts & Knowledge Transfer, Ability to produce high quality build books, operational guides, scripts, and support artifacts.
• Cross Functional Leadership & Communication Ability to coordinate with Architecture, Security, Network, Unix, QA, and business partners; clarity in communicating risks and technical concepts.
• Healthcare / Mission Critical Domain Understanding, Awareness of HL7v3, regulated environments, PHI handling, and 24 7 availability constraints.

Responsibilities

• Perform all technical activities required for the HIAL technology upgrade and migration to AWS, including system preparation, deployment, configuration, optimization, and validation across all the Agency environments.
• Provide expert level troubleshooting to resolve complex middleware, integration, and infrastructure challenges that arise during the upgrade lifecycle.
• Develop and maintain detailed implementation plans, technical procedures, runbooks, and operational guides for execution by cross functional support teams.
• Identify risks and issues early, propose mitigation strategies, and communicate impacts to project stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Security, Privacy, and Infrastructure teams to ensure all upgrade activities meet enterprise standards and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate with Infrastructure, UNIX, Network, Middleware Support, Backup & Storage, and QA teams to ensure all upgrade activities are executed efficiently and consistently.
• Support QA testing by preparing environments, resolving defects, and validating readiness for deployment.
• Ensure full adherence to the Agency change and release management processes throughout all upgrade stages.
• Prepare and maintain project documentation, status reports, and readiness checklists to support go live and operational transition.

Deliverables

• Migration of IBM DataPower from physical form factor to container
• Upgrade of operating system, such as, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• Upgrade of HIAL Integration Bus (HIB) containerized applications
• Redesign and implementation of Full Message Body Logging (FMBL) components and servers
• Perform hands on upgrade and deployment activities across all the Agency environments, including Development, QA, PST, PPE, and Production, ensuring consistency, stability, and alignment with enterprise standards.
• Coordination across cross functional support teams, including Cloud Operation team, Virtual Infrastructure & UNIX teams, Middleware Support, Network Services, Backup & Storage, and Quality Assurance, to ensure efficient planning, execution, and validation of all upgrade activities.
• Ensure strict adherence to the Agency change management and release management processes, including preparation and submission of required documentation, scheduling, approvals, and communication for environment promotions.
• Update, maintain, and obtain approval for all required project and operational artifacts, including (but not limited to): Operational guides, Build books, Implementation and rollout plans, Health check procedures, Runbooks and support documentation