Associate Director, Solution Architecture

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts • Boston, MA

1d • $198,090 - $242,110 • Hybrid

About The Position

This is a critical, hands-on leadership role responsible for guiding a team of architects while personally driving the development of reliable and scalable digital technology solutions. Reporting to the Director of Digital Technology and Delivery, you will work closely with senior business and technology partners to provide the architectural leadership required to deliver a highly personalized, consistent, and engaging customer experience. This role is eligible for our Flex Persona for candidates local to our Boston, MA office.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading and mentoring a team of architects, combined with a strong, current, and continuous hands-on technical ability.
• Deep, hands-on expertise architecting, solutioning, and delivering enterprise-scale mobile and/or web applications.
• You are expected to be able to jump in and code on POCs and contribute to design sessions at a granular level.
• A strong foundation in modern application architecture (APIs, microservices, cloud), with strategic experience governing solutions in secure cloud environments (e.g., AWS, PaaS).
• Demonstrable experience with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies and their practical application in digital solutions.
• A strategic mindset for managing technical debt, with experience implementing processes to improve code quality and system longevity.
• Extensive experience forging and leveraging strong relationships across both technical and business divisions to drive architectural alignment.
• Expertise in modern security practices and Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.
• Master’s degree in computer science or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of technology leadership, including a solid understanding of technology selection, architecture, full-stack implementation, and at least 3-5 years in a formal people management role.
• A proven self-starter with a "player-coach" mindset and the demonstrated ability to make strategic decisions.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to any audience, from developers to senior executives.
• The ability to handle multiple strategic priorities simultaneously, combined with strong self-motivation, attention to detail, and excellent organizational skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with the following technologies: Mobile Development: Android Native, iOS Native, Reactive Native Angular Web Technologies: Content Management systems as Drupal, Content Delivery Networks like Akamai or F5 API and Security: Gateway security like F5 and Apigee DevOps and Cloud: AWS, Spring boot, Confluent Kafka Databases: Relational, Object-Oriented, NoSQL, InMemory Performance and Monitoring: Performance testing tools (LoadRunner, JMeter, Gatling), Performance monitoring and Observability (Splunk Observability, New Relic), AWS Monitoring (CloudWatch, Performance Insights), Debug and analysis tools (Splunk, Log Rocket), and BrowserStack

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of high-performing solution architects, fostering their technical growth and career development.
• Roll up your sleeves and lead by example, guiding your team while personally building hands-on Proofs-of-Concept (POCs) for new technologies, including AI, machine learning, and intelligent agents.
• Provide technology direction and thought leadership for the digital solutions portfolio, ensuring continuous improvement in the performance of our member-facing applications.
• Engage in deep, hands-on technical work alongside your team and development PODs to solve complex architectural challenges and ensure solutions are implemented to the highest standard.
• Govern the architectural design of member-facing applications, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards for performance, security, and scalability.
• Establish and enforce architectural best practices, serving as the ultimate authority on technical standards and complex issue resolution for your team.
• Forge strategic partnerships with leaders across technology (Enterprise Architecture, Security, Infrastructure, Data) to ensure architectural initiatives align with broader business and technology goals.

Benefits

• Comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), and a suite of well-being benefits to eligible employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager