Principal Architect

Unissant Inc. delivers innovative capabilities to the agencies that keep our nation healthy and safe. We apply our domain expertise data acumen and technology know-how to achieve breakthrough results for our clients. Working collaboratively we advance missions and careers through a focus on honesty integrity and dependability. We continuously look for talent excited to join that effort. To learn more about our exciting organization please visit us at .

We are seeking a Principal Architect to join our team and support our government client on a large multi-year IT services program.

The Principal Architect is accountable for the programs reference architecture cross-team technical standards architecture governance and decision-making interoperability patterns and evaluation of major technical trade-offs. This role will work closely with client technical stakeholders program leadership and delivery teams to ensure the programs cloud security data analytics AI-enabled services and integration capabilities are secure scalable interoperable and aligned to mission needs.

The ideal candidate is a strategic hands-on technology leader with demonstrated experience serving as a Principal Chief or Enterprise Architect on a large-scale federal IT services program. They bring deep technical expertise in cloud-native architecture security identity and access management APIs large-scale data platforms and DevSecOps.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Own maintain and evolve the programs reference architecture ensuring alignment across cloud and security data platforms analytics AI-enabled services integrations and APIs.
• Establish document communicate and govern cross-team technical standards architectural patterns and engineering practices to promote consistency interoperability security scalability and maintainability.
• Lead architecture governance processes including architecture review boards technical design reviews decision-making forums and approval processes for significant technical and architecture decisions.
• Define interoperability patterns for data exchange service integration API design event-driven solutions external systems and platform extensibility.
• Conduct facilitate and document major technical trade-off analyses to inform architecture platform infrastructure security and technology decisions.
• Evaluate architecture alternatives based on security scalability performance availability cost maintainability delivery risk operational impact and mission alignment.
• Partner with client technical stakeholders program leadership product leadership and technical leads to ensure the architecture meets performance security privacy availability scalability operational readiness and mission requirements.
• Develop maintain and manage architecture-related artifacts including reference architectures solution architecture diagrams technical standards architecture decision records integration diagrams data-flow diagrams and technical roadmaps.
• Ensure architecture documentation supports client oversight audit requirements program transition institutional knowledge retention and reuse.
• Collaborate with engineering cloud cybersecurity data analytics AI/ML product and agile delivery teams to ensure approved architectural decisions are implemented consistently.
• Provide technical leadership and escalation support for complex cross-team architecture issues technical dependencies design conflicts and integration challenges.
• Resolve architecture conflicts and provide recommendations that balance program requirements technical feasibility delivery schedules risk cost and sustainability.
• Evaluate emerging technologies architecture approaches and platform capabilities to identify opportunities to improve mission outcomes delivery speed security posture reliability cost efficiency and program sustainability.
• Support the development and refinement of technical roadmaps modernization strategies target-state architectures and transition plans.
• Communicate architectural decisions technical risks solution alternatives and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders including government client leadership.

Work Experience and Job Skills

• Demonstrated experience serving as a Principal Architect Chief Architect Enterprise Architect or comparable senior technical architecture leader on a federal IT services program supporting 80 or more FTEs.
• Deep expertise in cloud-native architecture including secure cloud foundation design cloud network and security patterns identity and access management API architecture and platform integration.
• Experience architecting large-scale data platforms including data ingestion transformation storage cataloging metadata management data quality data governance and secure data-sharing patterns.
• Experience establishing and operating architecture governance frameworks across multiple work streams delivery teams vendors or stakeholder organizations.
• Experience leading architecture review boards technical design reviews standards-setting activities and complex technical decision-making bodies.
• Strong understanding of interoperability and integration patterns including APIs service-oriented architecture event-driven architecture data exchange external system integration and platform extensibility.
• Working knowledge of DevSecOps principles and practices including CI/CD pipelines infrastructure as code automated testing security automation deployment controls monitoring logging and operational readiness.
• Experience conducting and documenting major technical trade-off analyses involving architecture alternatives security considerations scalability performance cost delivery risk maintainability and operational impact.
• Ability to develop and maintain clear concise and actionable architecture documentation for technical delivery teams client stakeholders auditors and transition personnel.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams including cloud engineers software engineers cybersecurity professionals data engineers data scientists product owners scrum teams and program management personnel.
• Strong analytical problem-solving conflict-resolution and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while effectively coordinating decisions and activities across distributed teams.
• Prior experience supporting government client programs in a comparable mission or technical domain is preferred.
• Experience architecting AI/ML platforms and services including model serving retrieval-augmented generation vector search AI orchestration and data pipelines supporting AI workloads is preferred.
• Experience designing architectures for federated multi-tenant multi-team or multi-system operating models is preferred.
• Experience with AWS Microsoft Azure Google Cloud Platform or multiple major cloud service providers is preferred.
• Experience supporting federal modernization cloud migration enterprise data digital services cybersecurity systems integration or large-scale technology transformation programs is preferred.

Education

• Bachelors Degree is required.
• Preferred fields of study include Computer Science Information Technology Information Systems Engineering Operations Management or a related technical field.
• MBA or Masters Degree in a relevant field of study is preferred.
• Equivalent combinations of education certifications and relevant professional experience may be considered where permitted by contract requirements.

Certificates Licenses and Registrations

• Relevant architecture certifications are preferred.
• Preferred certifications include TOGAF AWS Certified Solutions Architect Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect SAFe Architect or comparable cloud DevSecOps security data architecture and enterprise architecture credentials.

Communication Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to present architecture recommendations technical standards technical trade-off analyses risks roadmaps and performance information to stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to executive leadership government clients program management delivery teams and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to write clear concise and well-organized architecture documentation technical standards decision records diagrams and related content in a highly confidential manner.

Clearance Requirements

• U.S. citizenship or eligibility to obtain a government PIV credential is required.
• Ability to successfully complete a federal background investigation and receive a federal suitability determination is required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required client access credentials and any applicable clearance is required.
• Ability to satisfy E-Verify employment eligibility verification requirements is required.

Travel

• This position is primarily remote.
• The client may direct or approve occasional in-person participation for planning transition training meetings workshops or other program events.
• All reimbursable travel outside the local commuting area requires advance approval.

Environmental Requirements

• Mainly a routine office environment.
• May be required to lift up to ten (10) pounds.
• Must be flexible in working extended hours when required to support program priorities critical delivery milestones and client needs.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties responsibilities and skills required. Unissant management reserves the right to modify add or remove duties and to assign other duties as addition where applicable and available reasonable accommodation(s) may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of this position.

Please note: Candidate(s) will be required to go through pre-employment screening.

Unissant Inc. is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer! (EOE; M/F/Disability/Vets)

Required Experience:

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