Principal Architect

Associated Materials, LLC•Cuyahoga Falls, OH

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The IT Principal Architect is the senior technical authority for Application, Data and Integration Architecture across a ~$1B manufacturing business. This role drives execution and innovation by modernizing legacy systems - especially custom MES solutions - while accelerating cloud and API modernization to improve agility, reliability, and customer experience (CX). Operating in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment, the Principal Architect partners with business and IT leaders to define target-state architecture, pilot and prove new capabilities through POCs, and guide delivery teams to scalable, secure, supportable solutions. This is a hands-on architect-leader: a self-starter who can zoom from strategy to implementation, influence without direct authority (dotted-line leadership), and align multiple stakeholders around practical architectural decisions.

Requirements

12+ years of progressive architecture and engineering experience, including enterprise application and integration architecture.
Deep experience in manufacturing environments and plant-critical systems (MES experience required; custom MES modernization strongly preferred).
Proven track record modernizing legacy applications and integrations while maintaining operational continuity.
Strong cloud architecture experience (hybrid/cloud modernization, resiliency, security, DevSecOps alignment).
Strong API and integration architecture experience (API lifecycle governance, iPaaS/middleware, event/API patterns).
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence (dotted-line leadership), align stakeholders, and drive decisions.

Nice To Haves

Experience with enterprise-scale integration patterns and manufacturing domain architecture.
Experience delivering AI/ML, advanced analytics enablement, or intelligent automation with governance and monitoring.
Familiarity with industrial data patterns (time-series/event data, traceability, quality data models) and OT/IT boundaries.
Experience building reference architecture, standards, and guardrails for multiple teams.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end architecture for critical manufacturing and enterprise platforms, including MES ecosystems, ERP adjacencies, integration layers, and customer-facing touchpoints.
Define pragmatic target-state architectures and roadmaps that balance speed, cost, and risk while improving business outcomes.
Translate strategy into execution artifacts: reference architectures, patterns, integration standards, and actionable modernization plans.
Partner with platform leaders to ensure architectural decisions are implemented consistently across delivery teams.
Lead modernization of legacy and custom-built MES landscapes, including rationalization, modularization, and phased migration strategies.
Assess technical debt, scalability, and reliability risks; propose sequencing plans that protect plant uptime and operational continuity.
Drive improvements in shop-floor data quality, event capture, and traceability to support quality, throughput, and compliance needs.
Migrate On prem and Co-lo workloads to Azure or AWS
Lead cloud modernization across applications and infrastructure including hosting strategy, resiliency (DR, Backups), observability, and cost optimization.
Ensure designs meet non-functional requirements: availability, latency, recoverability, security, and supportability, especially for plant operations.
Define and drive API modernization strategy: API-first design, governance, versioning, security, documentation, and reuse.
Modernize integration patterns (e.g., point-to-point to API/event-driven where appropriate), improving reliability and speed of change.
Enable scalable data and integration flows between Backshop floor, ERP, supply chain, and CX systems.
Identify high-value AI/ML and intelligent automation opportunities (e.g., quality & claims analytics, predictive maintenance enablement, scheduling optimization).
Partner with Data/Analytics and Security teams to implement responsible AI patterns, including governance, monitoring, and data controls.
Rapidly pilot emerging technologies: run POCs, validate value, and create repeatable patterns for scaling into production.
Architect solutions that improve customer experience: order visibility, lead-time accuracy, service responsiveness, and digital self-service enablement.
Serve as a trusted advisor to Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Corporate IT leaders, translating business needs into technology direction.