Lead Solutions Architect

S R INTERNATIONAL INC • Phoenix, AZ

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The State of Arizona’s Department of Economic Security is seeking a Lead Solutions Architect to lead enterprise application architecture and development, with a strong focus on AI-enabled solutions. The role combines technical leadership, employee management, cloud architecture, and AI strategy to deliver scalable, secure, and cost-effective enterprise systems.

This position is based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a hybrid arrangement of four work-from-home days per week. Candidates must be local. The contract runs through June 30, 2027. Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for 40 hours per week; overtime is available.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience in a lead role managing employees.
• Experience with AI/ML, Generative AI, LLMs, NLP, vector databases, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Strong understanding of enterprise and cloud architecture, distributed systems, microservices, and API-first design.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as Salesforce, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), including AI/ML services.
• Experience with Jira or Azure DevOps.
• Knowledge of Agile/Scrum methodologies.
• Strong technical leadership, team mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering.
• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions and communicate architecture decisions to executive stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• TOGAF or other enterprise architecture frameworks, such as Zachman.
• Product management experience.
• Experience with Azure AI Studio, MLOps, data engineering, CI/CD, and AI model deployment and monitoring.
• Knowledge of AI security, privacy, responsible AI practices, and compliance frameworks such as NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act.
• Experience with cloud cost optimization, AI computing costs, and token-based pricing models.
• Programming knowledge in Python, SQL, Java, or Go.
• Experience with technical roadmapping, budgeting, vendor management, and build-versus-buy evaluations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, AI-enabled enterprise applications.
• Develop enterprise architecture strategies and multi-year technical roadmaps.
• Evaluate AI models, third-party APIs, and cloud services to identify suitable solutions.
• Guide development teams, cloud architects, data scientists, and machine learning engineers.
• Ensure AI solutions meet security, privacy, compliance, and performance requirements.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, product managers, legal teams, and security leaders.
• Manage technical vendors, budgets, and cloud cost optimization.
• Communicate technical strategies, architecture decisions, risks, and business value to executive leadership.

What This Job Offers

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