Lead Software Architect- DevOps Focused
About the RoleThis is a senior-level architecture and technical leadership opportunity with a strong emphasis on Azure cloud architecture and DevOps. The ideal candidate will have the technical depth to design and oversee complex systems, combined with the leadership ability to influence engineering teams, establish architectural standards, and drive long-term technology strategy. You’ll work closely with engineering leadership, product teams, infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and reliable technical solutions. This opportunity is structured as a 6-month contract-to-hire.ResponsibilitiesAzure Cloud Architecture Define and evolve cloud architecture strategy with a strong focus on Microsoft Azure.Design scalable, secure, resilient, and highly available Azure-based solutions.Evaluate Azure services, platforms, and technologies based on business and technical requirements.Guide cloud modernization and migration initiatives.Establish Azure architecture standards, patterns, and best practices.Ensure cloud solutions support scalability, performance, security, reliability, and cost considerations.DevOps & Engineering Enablement Drive and establish DevOps strategy and best practices across engineering teams.Improve and standardize CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.Guide teams on Infrastructure as Code, automation, monitoring, observability, and operational excellence.Help improve development-to-production workflows and engineering efficiency.Promote automation and repeatable processes across the software delivery lifecycle.Partner with engineering and infrastructure teams to improve reliability and deployment velocity.Architecture & Technical Strategy Define and continuously evolve the organization's software architecture strategy.Establish technical direction aligned with business objectives and long-term scalability.Develop architecture standards, principles, reference architectures, and design patterns.Lead architecture and design reviews across multiple teams.Evaluate technologies, frameworks, platforms, and emerging capabilities.Identify technical risks and recommend practical solutions.System & Solution Design Lead the architecture of complex, distributed systems and applications.Provide guidance around microservices, APIs, cloud-native architecture, integrations, and data management.Design solutions that are scalable, resilient, secure, and maintainable.Identify potential performance, reliability, scalability, and security concerns early.Ensure individual solutions align with the organization's broader architecture strategy.Technical Leadership Influence technical direction across multiple engineering teams.Partner with Engineering, Product, Security, Infrastructure, and business stakeholders.Translate business requirements into practical technical solutions.Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.Mentor senior engineers, architects, and technical leads.Help establish a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.Security, Reliability & Performance Incorporate security into architecture and technology decisions.Provide guidance on system reliability, availability, performance, and scalability.Support appropriate disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.Identify and address technical risks and architectural weaknesses.Help establish secure and reliable cloud and application architectures. Qualifications10+ years of software engineering experience.4+ years of architecture, technical leadership, or comparable senior-level experience.Strong experience with Microsoft Azure and Azure cloud architecture.Strong hands-on understanding of DevOps practices and methodologies.Proven experience designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines and automation.Experience with Infrastructure as Code and modern cloud engineering practices.Strong background in distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and cloud-native architectures.Experience influencing technical direction across multiple teams or an organization.Strong understanding of security, reliability, scalability, performance, and system integration.Ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and executive/business stakeholders.Required SkillsStrong experience in several of the following areas is expected: Microsoft AzureAzure cloud architectureDevOpsCI/CDInfrastructure as CodeCloud-native architectureMicroservicesAPIs and system integrationAutomationObservability and monitoringSecurityDistributed systemsScalability and performanceModern software development practicesPreferred SkillsEnterprise-scale or SaaS experience.Experience with large-scale Azure modernization or migration initiatives.Event-driven architecture.Domain-Driven Design (DDD).Platform engineering.Experience establishing or leading an Architecture Review Board.Experience developing architecture standards or Centers of Excellence.Cloud or software architecture certifications.Experience working across large, complex engineering organizations.