Principal Software Architect
About The Position
NOIRLab is seeking a visionary Principal Software Architect to lead the architectural strategy and technical evolution of software systems that power world-class astronomical research, observatory operations, and scientific data management. In this highly influential leadership role, you will define the technology roadmap for a diverse portfolio of scientific and operational platforms spanning cloud computing, distributed systems, high-performance computing (HPC), data-intensive applications, and AI-enabled technologies. You will drive modernization efforts that advance scientific discovery, improve engineering productivity, and ensure the reliability and scalability of mission-critical systems supporting some of the world's most advanced astronomical facilities. Working closely with scientists, software engineers, data specialists, and operations teams, you will provide hands-on technical leadership, translate complex scientific requirements into innovative software solutions, and establish architectural standards that enable long-term sustainability and growth. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of scientific software and enable transformational discoveries through technology.
Requirements
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent professional experience will be considered.
- 15+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including experience as a Software Architect, Principal Engineer, Distinguished Engineer, or similar technical leadership role.
- Demonstrated success designing, delivering, and evolving large-scale distributed and data-intensive software systems.
- Deep expertise in software architecture, system design, API design, scalability, resilience, reliability, and distributed systems.
- Experience designing and operating cloud-native, containerized, microservices-based applications and platforms.
- Strong background in multiple programming languages and modern software development methodologies.
- Experience building and managing platforms that process and store petabyte-scale data.
- Experience with scientific computing, high-performance computing (HPC), distributed computing, or large-scale computational environments.
- Experience designing data pipelines, workflow orchestration systems, and data-intensive platforms.
- Knowledge of event-driven architectures, messaging systems, and asynchronous processing patterns.
- Experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, monitoring, observability, and software delivery automation.
- Understanding of secure software development practices, including authentication, authorization, and data protection.
- Experience evaluating, integrating, or leveraging AI/ML, generative AI, or LLM-powered capabilities within software platforms or engineering workflows.
- Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across scientific, engineering, and operational organizations.
- Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and lead through architectural expertise rather than direct authority.
- Proven hands-on leadership experience through architecture design, prototyping, technical guidance, and code reviews.
Nice To Haves
- Experience developing software for scientific, research, or data-intensive environments.
- Experience supporting scientific instrumentation, observatory operations, or large-scale scientific data pipelines.
- Experience contributing to or leading open-source software projects.
- Experience working in astronomy, astrophysics, earth sciences, national laboratories, research institutions, or other mission-driven scientific organizations.
Responsibilities
- Define and execute the architectural vision, technology roadmap, and long-term strategy for NOIRLab's scientific and operational software ecosystem.
- Establish enterprise-scale architecture principles, engineering standards, governance processes, and best practices.
- Lead architectural reviews and guide critical technology decisions across software, data, infrastructure, and operational domains.
- Partner with scientific and engineering stakeholders to translate complex requirements into scalable, secure, and resilient solutions.
- Identify and address architectural risks, technical debt, and modernization opportunities across the software portfolio.
- Champion modernization initiatives that improve system scalability, reliability, maintainability, and operational efficiency while supporting uninterrupted scientific operations.
- Architect and evolve cloud-native, containerized, distributed, and HPC-based platforms supporting observatory operations, scientific data pipelines, user services, and large-scale data processing systems.
- Design solutions capable of managing petabyte-scale datasets and computationally intensive scientific workloads.
- Develop reference architectures, prototypes, and technical frameworks that accelerate solution delivery and consistency across teams.
- Drive adoption of DevSecOps practices, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, observability, and site reliability engineering principles.
- Participate in architecture reviews, design reviews, code reviews, and implementation of critical software components.
- Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), generative AI, and large language model (LLM) solutions, where they deliver measurable scientific, engineering, or operational value.
- Serve as a trusted technical mentor and thought leader across engineering teams.
- Foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and architectural consistency across science, software, data, and operations organizations.
- Help advance software engineering practices that support innovation, quality, and long-term sustainability.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Ensure compliance with AURA property management requirements and organizational policies.
- Support compliance with applicable government award terms and conditions as defined in organizational award management systems.
Benefits
- paid time off
- retirement plan contributions
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
