Principal Architect

About the Role

• We are hiring for a Principal Architect to define and govern the application and service architecture of a mature Java enterprise platform being modernized toward Spring Boot services and Angular. The role works across all pods and is a peer to the Principal Engineer for Data and Platform Architecture.
• You will define the target architecture, establish decision guardrails, and prove critical patterns with reference implementations. You will not act as a central approval queue. Engineering Leads retain pod delivery ownership, while you guide decisions that affect multiple domains, shared contracts, or the long-term platform shape.

What You Will Own

• Define the target application, service, API, integration, security, and deployment architecture.
• Establish incremental migration patterns from Java EE, Wildfly, and JSF to Spring Boot and Angular.
• Create reference implementations and architecture decision records for high-impact patterns.
• Review cross-domain and irreversible design decisions with Engineering Leads and Staff Engineers.
• Define standards for service boundaries, API contracts, resilience, observability, and backward compatibility.
• Partner with the Data and Platform Principal on data ownership, migration sequencing, and shared platform concerns.
• Maintain a pragmatic technical debt and decommissioning strategy for the existing platform.
• What You Bring
• 12+ years of software engineering and 4+ years in architecture roles on enterprise platforms.
• Deep Java and Spring Boot architecture experience, including REST services and distributed-system patterns.
• Strong understanding of Java EE application servers, Hibernate or JPA, and incremental modernization.
• Working knowledge of modern Angular architecture and frontend-backend contract design.
• Experience with containers, CI/CD, security, observability, and production reliability.
• Ability to communicate architecture through code, diagrams, decision records, and direct coaching.

What Sets You Apart

• You have led the architecture of a live Java EE to Spring Boot modernization without a big-bang rewrite.
• Your standards are specific enough to guide teams and flexible enough to handle real product constraints.
• You influence senior engineers through technical credibility rather than organizational authority.

Success in This Role

• Pods make consistent architecture decisions without waiting for routine approvals.
• Modernization reduces coupling and operational risk in measurable increments.
• Cross-pod designs have clear ownership, documented trade-offs, and working reference patterns.