Principal Enterprise Architect

MedRisk LLC• US, CA

About The Position

The Principal Enterprise Architect is the senior-most technical architecture leader in the organization, responsible for setting and stewarding the long-term enterprise architecture vision and leading the enterprise architecture practice. This role combines deep, broad technical expertise with executive-level influence, advising senior leadership on multi-year technology strategy, chairing enterprise architecture governance, and mentoring other architects across the organization. The ideal candidate has a proven track record leading architecture at scale and is equally comfortable in a whiteboard design session and an executive strategy conversation.

Requirements

At least 15 years of progressive experience in software/technology roles, including at least 7 years in an enterprise architecture capacity.
Proven track record leading an enterprise architecture practice, team, or governance function, not just contributing to one.
Demonstrated experience setting multi-year enterprise technology strategy and successfully driving its adoption across a large, complex organization.
Enterprise architecture framework mastery (e.g., TOGAF); TOGAF certification (or equivalent) required.
Deep technical fluency across applications, infrastructure, data, integration, and security domains, with the credibility to go deep in at least one.
Strong software architecture background (e.g., C#, .NET, T-SQL, web services, modern JavaScript frameworks) with the ability to evaluate solutions at a technical depth.
Experience with cloud platforms, particularly Microsoft Azure, including cloud governance, multi-cloud strategy, and cost management at scale.
Familiarity with common design patterns (GOF) and modern architecture patterns (microservices, event-driven, API-first, integration patterns).
Demonstrated experience establishing and running formal governance processes, such as architecture review boards, at an organization-wide level.
Experience advising C-suite or board-level stakeholders on technology strategy and major investment decisions.
Exceptional executive communication and stakeholder-management skills; ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical, senior, and board audiences.
Strong facilitation, negotiation, and influencing skills to drive alignment across multiple teams and domains without direct authority.
Excellent documentation skills, including creating current/future-state models and reference architectures.
Data architecture and data governance literacy: able to speak fluently to data domains even though not a dedicated Data Architect.
Security and risk architecture fluency: sufficient depth to engage and constructively challenge the CISO's team, not simply defer to it.
Strong workshop facilitation skills: able to run design sessions, architecture review boards, and cross-team alignment meetings at an executive level.
Strong storytelling and visual communication skills: able to translate dense architecture into a clear, one-page narrative that resonates with executives and the board.
Pragmatism ("pragmatic idealism"): able to balance textbook-correct architecture against what the organization can realistically execute given budget, skill, and timeline constraints.
Demonstrated experience mentoring and developing other architects, and building organizational architecture maturity.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Palantir Foundry and Snowflake Platform a plus.
Experience with technical due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, or major partnerships is a strong plus.
Experience with the healthcare industry and workers' compensation is a plus.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve the organization's 3 to 5 year enterprise architecture vision and strategy, and translate it into actionable multi-year technology roadmaps.
Lead and chair the enterprise architecture governance function (e.g., architecture review board), setting the standards, patterns, and decision rights other architects and teams operate within.
Serve as the senior technical advisor to the SVP of Technology & AI and the broader executive team on technology strategy, major investments, and architectural risk.
Lead, mentor, and upskill Enterprise, Application, Data, Infrastructure, and Security Architects; build enterprise architecture capability and maturity across the organization.
Own cross-portfolio technology investment prioritization, arbitrating trade-offs between competing initiatives and domains at the enterprise level.
Lead technical due diligence and architecture integration planning for mergers, acquisitions, and major partnerships.
Arbitrate and resolve complex, cross-domain architectural conflicts that cannot be resolved at the Enterprise Architect level.
Evaluate emerging technologies and platforms at a strategic level, and provide point-of-view recommendations on adoption, build-vs-buy decisions, and vendor/platform selection.
Represent the organization's architecture practice externally (industry forums, vendor strategic relationships, analyst briefings) as needed.
Ensure architecture decisions and standards support scalability, security, regulatory compliance, and long-term cost-efficiency across the enterprise.
Communicate architectural vision, trade-offs, and risk in terms accessible to both technical teams and the executive audience, including the board when required.