Lead Solutions Architect

S R International • Phoenix, AZ

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The State of Arizona’s Arizona Department of Economic Security is seeking a Lead Solutions Architect to lead enterprise application architecture and development, with an emphasis 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. The position is hybrid in Phoenix, Arizona, with four days per week working from home; local candidates only. The contract runs through June 30, 2027. Working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for 40 hours per week, with overtime available. The work location is 1400 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007.

The successful candidate will lead architecture and development teams, define enterprise architecture strategies and multi-year roadmaps, assess AI models and cloud services, and ensure solutions meet security, privacy, compliance, and performance needs. They will work with business and technical stakeholders and communicate architecture decisions, risks, strategies, and business value to executive leadership.

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.

Benefits

• Flexible work from home options available.

What This Job Offers

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