Chief Software Architect

About the role

You will be the company's top software authority, defining the technical vision that guides every engineering team and every major technology decision. The chief architect owns the long-term view: which platforms deserve multi-year bets, which technical debts must be paid down, how architecture enables business strategy, and what the engineering organization needs to become. Your judgment shapes product capabilities for a decade, influences technology investments worth millions, and determines whether engineering is a competitive advantage or a constraint on the business. This is where deep technical mastery meets executive leadership and accountability.

What you will achieve

• Own the company-wide technology strategy: platform bets, architecture principles, and multi-year technical roadmaps tightly aligned with business goals
• Guide major technical transformations such as cloud migrations, platform rebuilds, or AI integration with clear vision and pragmatic, phased execution plans
• Establish architecture governance that genuinely improves decision quality without creating bureaucracy: lightweight reviews with real authority
• Represent the company's technical leadership to the board, major customers, and strategic partners with credibility, clarity, and honesty
• Build lasting technical leadership bench strength: developing architects and principal engineers who extend your influence across the organization

What you will bring

Must-haves

• 15+ years of software engineering with architecture leadership across multiple large-scale systems and engineering organizations
• Demonstrated ability to set technology strategy that delivered measurable business results sustained over multi-year horizons
• Deep technical breadth across software domains: distributed systems, data architecture, security engineering, and operational excellence
• Executive communication skills: translating technical strategy into business terms for boards, and technical vision into action for engineers
• Experience with engineering organizational design: team topologies, platform team models, and scaling practices proven to work
• Track record of developing senior technical leaders: architects and principal engineers grown deliberately under your mentorship
• BS in Computer Science; advanced degree preferred

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with M&A technical due diligence and post-merger architecture integration programs
• Industry thought leadership: published books, keynote talks, or widely adopted architectural patterns
• Background spanning both startups and large enterprises, understanding the strengths and pathologies of each mode
• Experience with regulated industries and their architectural implications: fintech, healthcare, or government systems