Software Architect

Suja Maria Thomas

Mob: 959-***-**** Email: adcjvx@r.postjobfree.com

A proficient Mainframe Software Architect/Mainframe Technical Lead who has worked in the Retail Domain with 17 years of solid experience in all phases of a development project and is PMP certified

Currently pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in AI and ML from the International Institute of Information and Technology, Bangalore

Excellent leadership, communication, team building and other interpersonal skills and has been recognized by both the Client and the Organization for the sense of ownership and technical expertise exhibited. A strong-willed and hardworking person with a passion for handling challenging roles.

Summary of Skills

Experience in the following areas:

oPower BI

oPython

oOracle PL SQL

oMainframe Technologies in the following areas:

COBOL

DB2

JCL

VSAM

TELON

PL SQL

17 years of expertise in playing the role of a Developer, Team Lead, Module Lead, Architect and Technical Lead who guides teams with utmost passion to ensure quality deliverables.

Strong hands-on experience in all phases of a project which includes the following:

oAnalysis of Functional and Supplementary Requirements

oDefining Architecture of the system

oCreation of High Level and Low-level Designs using Flowchart diagrams

oEstimation

oCoding

oUnit Testing

oIntegration testing & System testing

oUser Acceptance testing

oDeployment activities and Production support

oLeading the team and Client Interaction

17 years of expertise in Client interaction to understand and clarify requirements leading offshore teams and interacting with onsite client representatives maintaining constant and effective communication thus ensuring quality deliverables.

Expertise in various Process and Quality control strategies to help control defects and ensure project compliance.

Sound knowledge of the Retail domain and various applications e.g. Pricing systems etc and has Certifications in Business domains, Management and Technical areas.

Excellent oral and written communication, problem solving, analytical and interpersonal skills and ability to adapt to fast changing technology. An excellent team player who is approachable, believes in hard work and mentoring new joiners.

Core Competencies

AI and ML technologies: Python

Power BI

Mainframes:

oCOBOL, JCL, DB2, VSAM, TELON, Ezytrieve

Databases: DB2, Oracle PL SQL

Tools/Resources Used: CHANGEMAN, SPUFI, STROBE, OMEGAMON, PLA, INSYNC, QMF, SDSF, CA7, ESP, COBTEST, DTCN, ICETOOL, DFSORT, SAR, REMEDY, FTP, Oracle SQL Developer, Jupyter Notebook

Operating Systems: OS/390

Others: MS Office, MS Visio, MS Outlook

Professional Background

Working for UST-Global, Bangalore since the last 17 years and holding the designation of a Software Architect.

Currently playing the role of a Technical Lead. Previously played roles include –: Software Architect, Project Manager, Designer, Team Lead and Implementer.

Projects details

1.Data Quality Dashboard Project

May 2019 – Till Date

Role: Technical Lead

Client: Albertsons, Canada

Team Size: 4

Duration: 8 months

The scope of this project is Data Quality and Integrity, where there is currently a lack of visibility and associated tracking of the Data Governance tasks that need to be undertaken, statistics associated with these tasks, when and by whom.

This project formulated a Dashboard that helps in automating the close monitoring of tasks right from their reporting till the closure, which was previously all executed manually. The dashboard was created using Power BI and tracking was facilitated by DataStage jobs running in the background.

2.Marketing & Merchandising – Merger Project

Sep 2014 – April 2019

Role: Software Architect

Client: Safeway, Canada

Team Size: 17

Duration: 56 months

After the merger of Albertsons and Safeway, this project involves the rolling out of Safeway applications to the Albertsons stores. This involves in depth analysis on the applications to identify changes required to accommodate the new stores as well as Data Conversion of Albertsons data into Safeway systems.

3.Canadian Divestiture

Oct 2013 – Aug 2014

Role: Technical Lead

Team Size: 15

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 9 months

Sobeys has taken over all stores of Safeway Canada. This project involves the transitioning of Safeway stores and warehouses to Sobeys.

4.People Systems Rapid Response

Feb 2012 – May 2013

Role: Project Manager & Technical Lead

Team Size: 5

Client: Walmart

Duration: 13 months

This project involves various high priority and critical work orders in various areas in the people systems area. The work orders are prioritised based on their criticality and have a a high impact on various areas like employee payrolls.

5.iTrade Floral

Nov 2011 – Feb 2012

Role: Mainframe Designer

Team Size: 2

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 3 months

The iTrade application is a third-party application used to provide a centralized web based commodity workflow solution that enables real time communication between Safeway and its vendors focusing on the order management function of the Produce Supply Chain process. The application is being modified in this project to handle Floral items in addition to the Produce items it currently processes.

6.Mainframe Efficiencies

Mar 2011 – Till Date

Role: Project Manager & Mainframe Lead Designer

Team Size: 3

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

The Mainframe Efficiencies project aims to reduce the msu consumption of all applications running on the Safeway Mainframe. This is done with the help of Strobe and Omegamon reports.

7.Promotional Price Integration

Nov 2009 – Feb 2011

Role: Mainframe Lead Designer

Team Size: 30

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

The Promotional Price Integration project creates an application that would help make the pricing process more efficient and reliable. This would be made feasible with the help of optimal pricing information provided by a third-party vendor. This information would be provided by the vendor daily and the application currently being built will apply these optimal prices to the Pricing database.

8. Price Markdown Execution

July 2008 – Oct 2009

Role: Architect & Mainframe Lead Designer

Team Size:25

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 16 months

The Price Markdown Execution project will provide the Consumer Demand team with a solution that will allow markdowns of unallocated, discontinued, and promo overstock items via automated price integration into the SSIMS / HOST POS system.

Currently, the process of marking down prices is not practical since it is inconsistent and cumbersome. These constraints limit the number of items which can be marked down for Unallocated and Discontinued product. The retail stores are often resorting to emailing requests to the pricing department to move product through their stores. This application will enable the backstage operation to be proactive and more agile in marking products down.

This project will provide Consumer Demand with the ability to identify markdown percentages for items that have been unallocated, discontinued and overstocked due to promotions. Included will be the ability to review items to be marked down, the liability associated with the markdown, and an approval process. Approved markdowns will be automatically integrated to the SSIMS for execution in stores.

9. Price Efficiency Execution Enhancement

Feb 2007 – June 2008

Role: Mainframe Lead Designer

TeamSize:20

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 17 months

The Promotional Price Integration project creates an application that would help make the pricing process more efficient and reliable. This would be made feasible with the help of optimal pricing information provided by a third-party vendor. This information would be provided by the vendor daily and the application currently being built will apply these optimal prices to the Pricing database. In supporting the increasing amount of new marketing initiatives, the current limitations of the various pricing, coupon, and promotions systems requires a costly amount of manual support backstage and at the store level. Follow-through for workarounds to support these new types of promotions and a coordinating printing, hanging, and re-hanging of signage is a misuse of costly resources that also jeopardizes the client’s reputation with our customers’ trust in pricing accuracy.

The proposed solution is to add dates to the key so that a link number can be used more than once if the dates do not overlap. With the implementation of this logic the Promotional Pricing Specialist will be allowed to price into the future even if all links are currently being used. The system will use the next available link that will be released for the desired promotional time.

10. B2B

OCT 2006 – NOV 2006

Role: Module Lead

Team Size:10

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

This project included the process of keeping item information in synch between suppliers and customers. The project was mainly in Java.

Only the SSIMS tables update part was in mainframe. The updates made on the java side were sent to the mainframe on a regular basis. On receipt of this there would be jobs running in the mainframe that would update the mainframe SSIMS tables with the changes that had occurred in the Java side.

11. AST Top X

JAN 2006 – OCT 2006

Role: Module Lead

Team Size:3

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

The requirement of the project was to reduce the CPU time consumed by some of the batch and online programs across all application.

The programs were identified using trending reports generated daily for a period.

The CPU reduction was done using various optimization techniques like DB2 optimization and logical optimization.

The optimized jobs were then modified and monitored to ensure they did not occur in the trending reports generated thereafter.

12. Women Infants and Children

MAY 2006 – JUNE 2006

Role: Module Lead

Team Size: 5

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

This project was meant to process the cheques issued by the client to the needy like women and infants. These cheques were used to buy basic items like baby food etc at reduced rates.

Each region had a unique method of handling the issued cheques and the processing method was also different, so jobs were region specific.

13. Retail Price Optimization

April 2005 – MAY 2006

Role: Module Lead

Team Size: 11

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 13 months

This project was meant to obtain an optimal regular price for items sold at Safeway with the help of a tool provided by Demand-Tec. This was done based on various input parameters provided to Demand-Tec, e.g. Item information, Sales, Inventory, Cost etc.

14. Remote Access Control Facility

Aug 2004 – Mar 2005

Role: Module Lead

Team Size 5

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 7 months

This project was because of the Sorbanes Auxley audit that was conducted at the client side. They identified several security loopholes. One of them was the existence of a single super user that was able to access all systems across various applications.

Because of this, the super-user was overridden with new users were identified and created for each application. Only the required database and dataset accesses were granted to each newly created user. Cross application accesses were strictly restricted to the minimum required levels.

Testing of representative jobs were done in each application to ensure there were no inadequate accesses for any jobs in any application.

15. Country of Origin Labeling

Feb 2004 – Aug 2004

Role: Module Lead

Team Size:12

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 14 months

This project was to enable the warehouse/distribution and sales systems to provide information regarding country of origin for fresh and frozen seafood to the consumers. This was to enable traceability back to the supplier / producer for covered items that meet the 2002 Farm Bill regulation requirements.

The Country of Origin Labeling project is to provide the client with the means to comply with the 2002 Farm Bill regulation This portion of the Farm Bill mandates that retailers are required to inform consumers at the point of selection the country of origin for all "covered commodities". Willful violations of the requirement will subject retailers to penalties.

16. Centralised Systems Enhancement

Nov 2003 – Feb 2004

Role: Mainframe Implementer

Team Size:6

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 15 months

This project was aimed at working on enhancements identified at the Warehouse Inventory Management level. There were enhancements in the processing of Purchase orders like additions of fields in existing online screens.

The layout of various Online and Batch Purchase orders prints was modified and tested.

17. Integrated Signs and Labels

Nov 2002 – Nov 2003

Role: Mainframe Implementer

Team Size:16

Client: Safeway, Canada

Duration: 12 months

This project was aimed at optimizing the printing of Signs and Labels at the store. Previously the signs and labels of all items at the store would be printed daily irrespective of any price change or not. This resulted in a huge loss in terms of manpower and printing costs. After the implementing of this project, only if there is a price change in an item, the respective signs labels or bibs get printed.

The printing of Signs and Labels was done in the order items were arranged in the store. This made the task of the File Maintenance Clerk easier and faster.

Academic Background

Post Graduate Diploma in AI and ML from International Institute of Information & Technology, Bangalore

o Currently in progress

o CGPA of 3.74/4 achieved so far

oCompletion in Jan 2020

Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from Cochin University with Distinction (82%).

Pre-Degree from Mahatma Gandhi University (97%) –M G University level 2nd Rank Holder

Junior Certificate of Education from Lesotho, Southern Africa – Distinction (78%)

Certifications and Trainings

PMP certified

oPMP Number 1461370.

oOriginal Grant Date 13 October 2011,

oExpiration Date 12 October 2020

Brain Bench Certified DB2 professional

Professional Retail Business Credential issued by National Retail Federation

PM Academy Level 2 Certified

Skillport certification in Retail Industry Overview

Skillport certification in Supply Chain Management and e-Business

Skillport certification in Overview to Effective Business Communication

Skillport certification in Effective Telephone Techniques

Business Presentations, Awards & Memberships

Previously led the Mainframe Practices group in the Account

Member of Mainframe Centre of Excellence in UST Global

Member of Technology Experts Group

Conducted presentations for prospective clients on Pricing

Responsible for conducting monthly account sessions to identify Business Value Adds

Best Performer Award UST Global - Q3, 2010

Client Award for contribution to the Project’s success – Most recently awarded in Jan 2015

Quarterly Award for Execution Mindset – Jan 2016

Quarterly Performance Award from the Client - March 2019

Visa/Permanent Residency Details

Australian PR holder

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