Staff Architect II, Software Architecture

Bain & Company • Chicago, IL

33d • $164,500 - $197,500

About The Position

As a Staff Architect II on Bain’s Next Generation Software Solutions (NGSS) team, you will lead software teams in developing, supporting, and maintaining Bain software products. Working under very minimal supervision, you will help execute and deliver complex, strategic technical initiatives. The role combines hands-on engineering with technical leadership: understanding business requirements, writing technical requirements and documentation, leading technical designs, completing coding tasks independently, reviewing code, and ensuring high-quality deliverables.

You will provide architectural leadership across multiple software products and influence internal engineering teams and external vendors. You will help ensure vendor-led development aligns with Bain’s engineering standards, technical direction, and long-term architectural requirements. The role also includes support and operations, such as identifying system defects, participating in Level 1/2 troubleshooting, leading code deployments, and mentoring and training junior engineers.

You will make forward-looking architectural decisions that balance delivery speed, engineering quality, maintainability, and the long-term consequences of technical choices. You will also apply technical judgment to AI-assisted development and the design of AI-enabled systems.

The position is permanent full-time and is listed for Chicago and London. For Illinois, the estimated annualized salary range is $164,500–$197,500, with an annual discretionary performance bonus and possible other discretionary compensation. The role includes a 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after three years of service and is fully vested upon the start date.

Requirements

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• 8–10+ years of software/data architecture and engineering experience, including experience in a senior-level technology leadership role.
• Experience architecting, developing, and operationalizing highly scalable cloud-based B2B software products and services.
• Experience leading, mentoring, and growing multiple teams working across products, services, or projects.
• Experience leading and inspiring development teams in a fast-paced Agile environment.
• Experience developing software products and solutions.
• Experience managing a team of engineers and providing technical leadership.
• Experience managing conflict and dependencies to deliver results.
• Demonstrated ability to influence internal and external engineering teams, guide vendor-led development, and align teams on technical standards, architecture decisions, and delivery expectations.
• Experience owning long-term architectural decisions, evolving software systems, managing technical debt, and ensuring sustainable engineering quality.
• Experience working across multiple software products, projects, and technology stacks and adapting technical approaches to different engineering environments.
• Experience in software product engineering focused on development speed, engineering rigor, maintainability, and long-term product quality.
• Practical experience with AI-assisted software development and designing or developing AI-enabled architectures, including agentic systems and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems.
• Strong technical understanding of Python and familiarity with agentic systems, including their architecture, development, and practical applications.
• Understanding of AI-enabled software development lifecycles, including AI use in requirements development, coding, code review, and engineering workflows.
• Ability to balance immediate delivery needs with long-term architectural considerations for scalability, maintainability, and engineering quality.
• Strong experience and understanding in a number of the following: .NET Core/C#, Java (Spring), Python, Kubernetes/Docker, microservices, Node.js, React.js, Angular.js, Big Data technologies such as Spark, Redshift, and Kafka, AI/ML, NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, and Cosmos DB, and OLAP and OLTP relational databases.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including documenting complex data flows and processes.
• Results-driven, analytical, creative, self-motivated, and proactive approach.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work across many areas and levels of Bain.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to think outside the box and try new things.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Agile software development and processes.
• Strong performance in prior software development positions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage communications among varied project stakeholders and external vendors.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership, governance, and architectural direction to internal and external development teams designing, developing, implementing, and deploying usable, scalable software.
• Participate in system coding and engineering, conduct formal code reviews, and provide feedback on code structure, maintainability, and quality.
• Produce, communicate, and maintain technical designs, architecture artifacts, best practices, and principles for technical and executive-level audiences.
• Provide architectural leadership and technical governance across multiple software products and technology stacks.
• Guide internal engineering teams and external vendors to align technical decisions, development practices, and deliverables with Bain’s engineering standards and long-term architectural direction.
• Challenge technical approaches and drive alignment and accountability for engineering quality, delivery speed, and sustainable technical outcomes.
• Evaluate architectural decisions for long-term maintainability, technical debt, scalability, and engineering quality.
• Guide responsible use of AI in the software development lifecycle, including AI-assisted development, code quality, and the design of AI-enabled and agentic systems.
• Drive innovation to solve critical business challenges.
• Participate in technical discovery, proof-of-concept work, and innovation initiatives to validate tools, technologies, and designs.
• Investigate emerging data technologies and trends and lead knowledge sharing.
• Support recruiting activities, including resume review and interviews.
• Identify system defects, participate in Level 1/2 troubleshooting, and lead code deployments.
• Mentor and train junior engineers.

Benefits

• Annual discretionary performance bonus
• 401(k) company contribution of 4.5%, increasing after three years of service and fully vested upon start date
• Bain pays 100% of individual employee premiums for medical, dental, and vision programs
• Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave, and paid holidays
• Paid Life and Long-Term Disability insurance
• Annual fitness reimbursements

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree