Principal Architect

Presidio

16h•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Principal Architect, you will serve as the senior-most technical authority on complex, large-scale software delivery engagements. You will design and govern the application architectures, platform foundations, and engineering systems that power how enterprises build and ship software—leading clients from fragmented, legacy delivery models toward modern, cloud-smart practices built on well-structured applications, automated pipelines, and repeatable engineering standards. You will be accountable for application design decisions, integration strategy, platform architecture, and long-term technical direction—while acting as a trusted advisor to client leadership and a delivery partner to Presidio account and practice teams. Whether the engagement centers on modernizing a complex application portfolio, establishing cloud-smart architecture standards, or building the automation and delivery infrastructure that lets engineering teams move with speed and confidence, you will bring the depth, breadth, and presence to lead it.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience and / or military experience; Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related engineering or technical field plus three (3) years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or closely related technical roles
10+ years of experience in an Architect role, leading the design, development, and operation of distributed, cloud-smart applications and enterprise platforms—with deep expertise in application architecture patterns, system integration, security, scalability, performance, and cost optimization; Master’s degree (or foreign equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering or technical field, etc.
4+ years with multiple cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, including cloud-smart application deployment and hybrid infrastructure models
Strong proficiency in modern application frameworks and backend development in one or more languages such as Python, Go, Java, C#, or JavaScript/Node.js—with the ability to engage at the code and design level to guide architectural decisions within engineering teams
Hands-on experience with containerization and orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, OpenShift) and Infrastructure as Code tools (Terraform, Ansible, Pulumi)
Demonstrated expertise and leadership working with business units, product management, engineering, and operations to architect solutions that meet functional, performance, scalability, and reliability requirements on realistic implementation schedules
Deep expertise in modern application architecture patterns: microservices, event-driven architecture, API-first and API gateway design, domain-driven design (DDD), CQRS, saga patterns, and twelve-factor application principles
Demonstrated expertise designing and governing CI/CD pipelines and delivery automation using tools such as GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, or Tekton—with hands-on experience in GitOps, trunk-based development, and automated testing strategies
Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle) and NoSQL technologies (MongoDB, Cassandra, Elasticsearch, Couchbase) in distributed application contexts
Architecture governance and documentation standards including Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), design review processes, and technical standards frameworks
Security-by-design expertise: DevSecOps practices, shift-left security integration, zero-trust application patterns, and compliance-aware architecture for regulated environments
Excellent verbal and written communication skills—equally effective with engineering teams and C-suite audiences; able to translate technical tradeoffs into business impact

Nice To Haves

Experience designing and operating internal developer platforms (IDPs) or platform engineering practices using tools such as Backstage, Port, or equivalent
Observability and SRE expertise: distributed tracing, log aggregation, synthetic monitoring, and reliability engineering practices using OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or equivalent
AI/ML platform exposure and experience integrating GenAI capabilities into application architectures—including LLM APIs, RAG patterns, and AI-assisted developer tooling
FinOps-aware architectural design: cloud cost governance, per-service cost attribution, and resource optimization strategies for application workloads
Experience with message queues, event streaming platforms, and async architecture patterns (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Azure Service Bus, AWS SQS/SNS)
Agile delivery expertise: SAFe, Scrum, or Kanban at scale; experience aligning architectural runway with product delivery cadences
Relevant certifications: AWS/Azure/GCP Solutions Architect (Professional), CKA/CKAD, GitHub Actions, or equivalent
Background in pre-sales solutioning, SOW development, or technical account growth strategy

Responsibilities

Define and govern end-state application architectures—spanning microservices design, API strategy, data models, integration patterns, and the platform and automation layers that support continuous delivery from development through production
Lead application architecture reviews, design sign-offs, and code-level technical discussions with engineering teams and client stakeholders—ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, secure, and aligned to Presidio reference architectures and industry best practices
Lead architecture reviews and design sign-offs with client stakeholders, ensuring solutions are defensible, well-documented, and aligned to Presidio reference architectures and industry best practices
Drive technical excellence across engineering teams: design patterns, test-driven development, clean architecture principles, API-first design, domain-driven design, continuous integration, and GitOps delivery workflows
Collaborate with business, product, engineering, and operations teams to define requirements, integration approaches, and scalable, reusable application and platform solutions
Establish and enforce cloud-smart application architecture standards—microservices, event-driven systems, API gateways, service mesh, and containerized workloads—ensuring consistency, reusability, and long-term maintainability across the portfolio
Own cross-workstream architectural alignment on large programs—ensuring architectural intent is preserved through execution, deployment, and production readiness
Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex application, pipeline, or platform issues spanning teams, environments, or client organizations
Be a hands-on problem solver and lead from the front in continuously exploring new delivery platforms, developer toolchains, and automation technologies
Assemble and present technology delivery pitches and architectural strategies to senior technical and non-technical executive audiences
Support pre-sales and solutions teams on pursuits to bring in new business—contributing to SOW development, technical approach design, and proposal reviews
Work closely with the client engagement partner to improve and expand the client relationship, identifying technical growth opportunities across the account
Attract and retain diverse and highly skilled engineering talent; mentor architects and senior engineers to accelerate their progression into architectural leadership
Efficiently manage day-to-day technical operations, architectural governance, and client communication across active engagements