Chief Architect

The Chief Architect is a senior-level technical leadership position responsible for defining, maintaining, and driving the strategic technical vision for the organization's IT systems, software platforms, and digital products. This role requires a visionary leader with a deep understanding of modern technology trends, architectural frameworks, and business alignment. The Chief Architect will oversee the development and implementation of the enterprise-wide architecture strategy, ensuring it supports business goals, increases system interoperability, and enhances operational efficiency supporting a federal contractor in Elizabeth City, NC.

As a key leader, the Chief Architect will work closely with executive leadership, IT, and development teams to ensure the architecture is robust, scalable, secure, and aligned with the organization's objectives. The role demands strong technical acumen, strategic thinking, and exceptional leadership skills to drive technological transformation and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Planning & Vision

• Develop and maintain the enterprise architecture strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization's long-term goals and digital transformation objectives.
• Identify and evaluate emerging technology trends, tools, and frameworks to drive innovation and competitive advantage.
• Define and communicate the architectural roadmap for applications, infrastructure, cloud, data, and security to senior leadership and stakeholders.

2. Architecture Design & Oversight

• Establish, maintain, and govern architectural standards, principles, guidelines, and reference models.
• Lead the design and implementation of cloud-native, microservices-based, and DevSecOps-driven software development approaches.
• Oversee the integration of systems, ensuring compatibility and interoperability of new and existing systems.
• Lead architecture reviews and design audits to ensure technical soundness, scalability, security, and sustainability of the systems.

3. Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as the senior technical advisor to executive leadership on strategic decisions and technology investments.
• Collaborate with product managers, software engineers, DevOps teams, and IT leaders to align technical solutions with business requirements.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, mentorship, and continuous learning within the development and IT teams.

4. Technical Guidance & Governance

• Ensure compliance with industry standards, regulatory requirements, and security best practices (e.g., NIST, CIS, ISO 27001).
• Establish and lead architectural governance boards to review and approve key design decisions and ensure adherence to the architecture framework.
• Drive initiatives for architecture modernization, including migration to cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and adoption of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).

5. Performance Monitoring & Improvement

• Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of architectural decisions, proposing enhancements and optimizations where needed.
• Provide risk assessments on technical debt, legacy systems, and system dependencies, and develop plans for remediation.
• Support scalability, high availability, and performance tuning for mission-critical applications and infrastructure.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.

• Experience: 10 years of experience in software engineering, system architecture, or a similar role, with at least 5 years in a senior technical leadership position.

• Technical Expertise:

  • Expertise in modern architectural frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman) and system design methodologies.
  • Proficiency in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker).
  • Deep understanding of software development methodologies (Agile, DevSecOps) and microservices architecture.
  • Hands-on experience with programming languages like Java, Python, C#, or similar languages.
  • Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, DevOps best practices, and automation tooling.
  • Familiarity with data architecture, including data lakes, ETL processes, and big data platforms.
  • Proficient with database technologies (SQL, NoSQL) and data integration techniques (APIs, ETL).

• Leadership Skills:

  • Strong leadership, coaching, and mentorship abilities to inspire cross-functional technical teams.
  • Ability to influence senior leaders and present complex technical ideas in a business-friendly manner.
  • Experience building and managing a team of architects and senior engineers.

• Soft Skills:

  • Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills.
  • Strong communication skills to effectively engage with executive leadership, IT teams, and business stakeholders.
  • Ability to manage competing priorities and lead in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

Preferred Skills & Certifications

• Certified Enterprise Architect (CEA), AWS Certified Solutions Architect, or TOGAF certification is highly desirable.
• Experience with ITIL, ISO 27001, and NIST security frameworks.
• Familiarity with low-code/no-code platforms and API-first architecture approaches.