Principal Application Data Architect

XIFIN • San Diego, CA

13h

About The Position

XiFin is seeking a Principal Application Data Architect to own the architecture of our core backend systems—how services behave, how transactions flow, and how applications interact with our databases at scale. This role is for a senior technologist who thinks in systems, not silos, and who understands that long‑lived platforms succeed or fail based on architectural clarity.

You’ll serve as the authoritative owner of backend application design, working across engineering, database, and platform teams to define patterns, resolve tradeoffs, and preserve architectural intent. You will not manage people or operate infrastructure day‑to‑day—instead, you’ll focus on the decisions that shape system behavior over years, not just releases. This role owns the living architectural artifacts that define how our backend systems are intended to behave and ensures that intent survives people, projects, and change.

This role exists to own backend application architecture and intent, including how applications use the database, how transactions and workloads are designed, and why the system behaves the way it does in production. Ideal candidates come from an application or systems architecture background with deep database awareness versus an operations‑only DBA career path.

Requirements

• Has designed and evolved complex backend systems with heavy transactional workloads
• Understands application‑to‑database interactions deeply (transactions, pooling, SQL behavior)
• Is trusted to make architectural judgment calls when no option is perfect
• Enjoys clarifying and simplifying systems others find “tribal” or opaque
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent practical experience
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and owning backend application architecture for complex, transaction-heavy systems
• Demonstrated understanding of application-to-database interactions, including transaction design, concurrency, connection pooling, and Oracle OLTP behavior.
• Experience defining architectural standards, patterns, and decision records used across multiple engineering teams
• Background in logical data modeling and schema design, with clear articulation of architectural intent
• Experience modernizing or decomposing legacy systems using incremental, risk-aware approaches

Responsibilities

• Backend System Architecture Blueprint
• Application–Database Interaction Model
• Logical Data Architecture & Schema Intent
• Backend Architectural Decision Records (ADRs)
• Backend Design Review Criteria
• Backend Modernization Roadmap
• Legacy System Decomposition Map
• Backend Architecture Onboarding Guide
• Engineering & DBA Enablement Sessions

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, vision, and telehealth
• 401(k) with company match and personalized financial coaching to support your financial future
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contributions
• Wellness incentives that reward your preventative healthcare activities
• Tuition assistance to support your education and growth
• Flexible time off and company-paid holidays
• Social and fun events to build community at our locations!

What This Job Offers

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