Principal Architect

Graco•Minneapolis, MN

2d•$111,100 - $194,400•Hybrid

About The Position

Graco manufactures and markets premium equipment to move, measure, control, dispense and spray a wide variety of fluid and powder materials. This role is currently based at our Minneapolis office and will transition to our new headquarters in Dayton, MN, in 2027. The Principal Domain Architect provides enterprise-wide technical leadership by defining and driving architectural strategies that enable scalability, innovation, and long-term success. This position partners closely with senior engineering, product, and business leaders to align technology roadmaps with strategic objectives, while ensuring that systems are secure, reliable, and future-ready. The Principal Architect leads architectural governance, fosters engineering excellence, and steers major technology initiatives across domains and platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or related field.
7+ years of overall IT experience with strong domain expertise in architecture.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management and problem-solving skills.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage moderately complex, medium to large-scale technology initiatives with global teams and system integrators.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
This role is not eligible for immigration sponsorship now or in the future (e.g., H-1B, TN, F-1 OPT).

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Experience in the manufacturing industry or other complex, process-driven environments.
Experience with cloud modernization and digital transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead architecture for large-scale, cross-domain programs spanning cloud platforms, data ecosystems, microservices, and enterprise applications.
Develop and govern reference architectures, architectural standards, and best practices to promote reusability, scalability, and system integrity.
Evaluate, select, and evangelize emerging technologies, frameworks, and platforms to support modernization and innovation (e.g., cloud-native, AI/ML, event-driven architecture) with knowledge of emerging trends across the tech industry.
Mentor senior engineers and architects, cultivating architectural thinking and leadership across the engineering organization.
Drive technical due diligence, system audits, and efforts to reduce technical debt while enhancing performance, reliability, and maintainability.
Champion technical excellence and advocate for best practices throughout the IT organization.
Represent Graco's engineering capabilities in industry discussions, conferences, and partnerships.
Define and evolve the architecture vision for one or multiple domains, ensuring alignment with long-term business and technology strategies.
Collaborate with executive stakeholders to define technology roadmaps, assess risks, and support strategic planning and digital transformation efforts.
Facilitate technical planning, architecture reviews, and trade-off discussions to guide design decisions and manage complexity across teams.
Build and maintain relationships with business and IT teams to foster collaboration.