The RoleAs a Principal Architect, you will serve as the senior-most technical authority on complex, large-scale software delivery engagements. You will design and govern the application architectures, platform foundations, and engineering systems that power how enterprises build and ship software-leading clients from fragmented, legacy delivery models toward modern, cloud-smart practices built on well-structured applications, automated pipelines, and repeatable engineering standards. You will be accountable for application design decisions, integration strategy, platform architecture, and long-term technical direction-while acting as a trusted advisor to client leadership and a delivery partner to Presidio account and practice teams. Whether the engagement centers on modernizing a complex application portfolio, establishing cloud-smart architecture standards, or building the automation and delivery infrastructure that lets engineering teams move with speed and confidence, you will bring the depth, breadth, and presence to lead it.
- Do you have a passion for designing and governing complex application architectures-and the platform and delivery infrastructure needed to bring them to life at scale?
- Do you have a track record of modernizing application portfolios, defining cloud-smart architecture standards, and establishing engineering practices that help teams deliver better software faster?
- Do you have a knack for helping organizations decompose legacy systems, design scalable APIs and microservices, and build the automated pipelines that make continuous delivery a reality?
- Do you thrive for the chance to be consultative while leading the architecture of mission-critical delivery platforms on a trajectory to success?
Responsibilities Include:- Define and govern end-state application architectures-spanning microservices design, API strategy, data models, integration patterns, and the platform and automation layers that support continuous delivery from development through production
- Lead application architecture reviews, design sign-offs, and code-level technical discussions with engineering teams and client stakeholders-ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, secure, and aligned to Presidio reference architectures and industry best practices
- Lead architecture reviews and design sign-offs with client stakeholders, ensuring solutions are defensible, well-documented, and aligned to Presidio reference architectures and industry best practices
- Drive technical excellence across engineering teams: design patterns, test-driven development, clean architecture principles, API-first design, domain-driven design, continuous integration, and GitOps delivery workflows
- Collaborate with business, product, engineering, and operations teams to define requirements, integration approaches, and scalable, reusable application and platform solutions
- Establish and enforce cloud-smart application architecture standards-microservices, event-driven systems, API gateways, service mesh, and containerized workloads-ensuring consistency, reusability, and long-term maintainability across the portfolio
- Own cross-workstream architectural alignment on large programs-ensuring architectural intent is preserved through execution, deployment, and production readiness
- Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex application, pipeline, or platform issues spanning teams, environments, or client organizations
- Be a hands-on problem solver and lead from the front in continuously exploring new delivery platforms, developer toolchains, and automation technologies
- Assemble and present technology delivery pitches and architectural strategies to senior technical and non-technical executive audiences
- Support pre-sales and solutions teams on pursuits to bring in new business-contributing to SOW development, technical approach design, and proposal reviews
- Work closely with the client engagement partner to improve and expand the client relationship, identifying technical growth opportunities across the account
- Attract and retain diverse and highly skilled engineering talent; mentor architects and senior engineers to accelerate their progression into architectural leadership
- Efficiently manage day-to-day technical operations, architectural governance, and client communication across active engagements
Required Skills and Professional Experience:- Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience and / or military experience; Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related engineering or technical field plus three (3) years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or closely related technical roles
- 10+ years of experience in an Architect role, leading the design, development, and operation of distributed, cloud-smart applications and enterprise platforms-with deep expertise in application architecture patterns, system integration, security, scalability, performance, and cost optimization; Master's degree (or foreign equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering or technical field, etc.
- 4+ years with multiple cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, including cloud-smart application deployment and hybrid infrastructure models
- Strong proficiency in modern application frameworks and backend development in one or more languages such as Python, Go, Java, C#, or JavaScript/Node.js-with the ability to engage at the code and design level to guide architectural decisions within engineering teams
- Hands-on experience with containerization and orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, OpenShift) and Infrastructure as Code tools (Terraform, Ansible, Pulumi)
- Demonstrated expertise and leadership working with business units, product management, engineering, and operations to architect solutions that meet functional, performance, scalability, and reliability requirements on realistic implementation schedules
- Deep expertise in modern application architecture patterns: microservices, event-driven architecture, API-first and API gateway design, domain-driven design (DDD), CQRS, saga patterns, and twelve-factor application principles
- Demonstrated expertise designing and governing CI/CD pipelines and delivery automation using tools such as GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, or Tekton-with hands-on experience in GitOps, trunk-based development, and automated testing strategies
- Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle) and NoSQL technologies (MongoDB, Cassandra, Elasticsearch, Couchbase) in distributed application contexts
- Architecture governance and documentation standards including Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), design review processes, and technical standards frameworks
- Security-by-design expertise: DevSecOps practices, shift-left security integration, zero-trust application patterns, and compliance-aware architecture for regulated environments
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills-equally effective with engineering teams and C-suite audiences; able to translate technical tradeoffs into business impact
Preferred Skills and Professional Experience:- Experience designing and operating internal developer platforms (IDPs) or platform engineering practices using tools such as Backstage, Port, or equivalent
- Observability and SRE expertise: distributed tracing, log aggregation, synthetic monitoring, and reliability engineering practices using OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or equivalent
- AI/ML platform exposure and experience integrating GenAI capabilities into application architectures-including LLM APIs, RAG patterns, and AI-assisted developer tooling
- FinOps-aware architectural design: cloud cost governance, per-service cost attribution, and resource optimization strategies for application workloads
- Experience with message queues, event streaming platforms, and async architecture patterns (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Azure Service Bus, AWS SQS/SNS)
- Agile delivery expertise: SAFe, Scrum, or Kanban at scale; experience aligning architectural runway with product delivery cadences
- Relevant certifications: AWS/Azure/GCP Solutions Architect (Professional), CKA/CKAD, GitHub Actions, or equivalent
- Background in pre-sales solutioning, SOW development, or technical account growth strategy
