Principal Strategic Architect

Workato•Palo Alto, CA

7h•$187,000 - $253,000

About The Position

Workato transforms technology complexity into business opportunity. As the leader in enterprise orchestration, Workato helps businesses globally streamline operations by connecting data, processes, applications, and experiences. Its AI-powered platform enables teams to navigate complex workflows in real-time, driving efficiency and agility. Trusted by a community of 400,000 global customers, Workato empowers organizations of every size to unlock new value and lead in today’s fast-changing world. Learn how Workato helps businesses of all sizes achieve more at workato.com. Why join us? Ultimately, Workato believes in fostering a flexible, trust-oriented culture that empowers everyone to take full ownership of their roles. We are driven by innovation and looking for team players who want to actively build our company. But, we also believe in balancing productivity with self-care. That’s why we offer all of our employees a vibrant and dynamic work environment along with a multitude of benefits they can enjoy inside and outside of their work lives. If this sounds right up your alley, please submit an application. We look forward to getting to know you! Also, feel free to check out why: Business Insider named us an “enterprise startup to bet your career on” Forbes’ Cloud 100 recognized us as one of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world Deloitte Tech Fast 500 ranked us as the 17th fastest growing tech company in the Bay Area, and 96th in North America Quartz ranked us the #1 best company for remote workers We are seeking an experienced Principal Strategic Architect to join our Professional Services organization. The Principal Strategic Architect serves as the senior-most technical authority for assigned flagship customers, acting as a trusted executive partner to CIOs, CTOs, and business leaders. This role is accountable for shaping long-term customer technology strategy, including enterprise automation, integration, AI-driven and agentic architectures, and governance models built on the Workato platform. The Principal Strategic Architect influences multi-year roadmaps, executive decision-making, and expansion strategy, ensuring customers realize sustained business value at scale. The role blends deep consulting expertise, enterprise architecture leadership, and fluency in emerging technologies to guide customers through complex transformation initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
20+ years of technology transformation consulting experience, including integration, middleware, or API management platforms
15+ years in an Enterprise Architect, Digital Architect, or similar senior architecture role
Demonstrated experience advising C-level executives on technology strategy and enterprise transformation
Strong understanding of enterprise security, governance, and operating models
Proven track record of driving platform expansion and value realization through professional services
Excellent executive communication skills, including board-level presentations and strategic documentation
Ability to operate independently in complex, ambiguous environments and take ownership of outcomes
Travel to the client site up to 50%, but may be higher or lower based on prevailing circumstances

Nice To Haves

Master’s (but not required) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Business, or in a related field. Bachelor’s degrees and those with non-traditional but similar proven experiences may also apply.
Knowledge of key applications such as Salesforce, Netsuite, Workday, ServiceNow, SAP, EBusiness Suite, Databases
Knowledge of AWS, Azure, and GCP
Experience having worked in a start-up environment

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary executive technical advisor to customer CIOs, CTOs, and senior business stakeholders
Own the long-term customer architecture and automation strategy, aligned to business priorities and enterprise standards
Lead executive-level discussions on platform adoption, operating models, governance maturity, and technology investment decisions
Act as the single point of accountability for post-sales technical strategy and architectural decisions for flagship accounts
Shape and guide customers’ AI and agentic automation journeys, leveraging Workato’s AI capabilities and ecosystem
Advise on the design and adoption of agent-based workflows, human-in-the-loop models, and decision automation
Partner with customer executives to define enterprise MCP (Model Context Platform / orchestration) strategies, including:
Context management across applications, data, and workflows
Secure orchestration of AI agents and automations
Governance, observability, and lifecycle management for AI-driven systems
Align AI and agentic initiatives with enterprise security, compliance, and risk requirements
Translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, scalable enterprise use cases that drive measurable business outcomes
Drive software expansion, adoption depth, and renewal confidence through strategic advisory and roadmap alignment
Identify and shape multi-year expansion opportunities tied to automation, integration, and AI-driven transformation
Partner with Account Executives and Customer Success leadership on account strategy, risk mitigation, and executive alignment
Track, articulate, and executive-report value realization outcomes linked to Workato adoption
Lead high-impact professional services engagements requiring executive-level judgment and architectural depth
Apply and evolve Workato advisory methodologies, including GEARS and Embedded Product Guide, across customer environments
Guide customers through:
Enterprise automation and integration target-state definition
Prioritization of integration, automation, and AI use cases
Advanced prototyping and accelerator-led delivery
Recipe and agent lifecycle management best practices
Advise on enterprise operating models that enable scalable automation and AI adoption
Define and enforce architecture principles, standards, and guardrails across customer implementations
Act as escalation authority for non-standard architectures, AI design exceptions, and complex trade-offs
Guide customers on governance models covering integration, automation, and AI agents
Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned with long-term enterprise architecture objectives
Contribute to the evolution of Workato’s architecture frameworks, AI patterns, and best practices
Create reusable executive-level assets such as reference architectures, strategy decks, and white papers
Serve as a Workato evangelist, articulating platform value across automation, integration, and AI
Mentor and enable Strategic Advisors, Technical Architects, and extended post-sales teams
Support partner enablement and delivery excellence across the Workato ecosystem