Principal Software Architect

At Robots & Pencils, we build meaningful, scalable digital products for forward-thinking organizations. We are seeking a Principal Software Architect to provide technical leadership across complex, multi-platform engagements. This role sits at the intersection  of architecture, delivery, and client partnership owning system design decisions while remaining deeply connected to execution.
As a Principal Software Architect, you will guide architecture across mobile, backend, cloud, and emerging AI-enabled solutions. You will collaborate closely with delivery 
leaders, engineers, designers, and client stakeholders to ensure systems are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with business outcomes. This is a hands-on, delivery-embedded role, not a pre-sales or advisory-only position.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Define and evolve application architecture across iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), .NET, and Node.js backend services.

• Lead architectural decisions for scalable, secure systems using SQL Server, Oracle, and Azure-based infrastructure.

• Provide technical direction across frontend, backend, mobile, and integration layers.

• Review designs and implementations to ensure alignment with architectural standards and long-term maintainability.

Delivery & Execution Partnership

• Partner with Delivery Managers and engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.

• Support end-to-end delivery across multiple concurrent engagements, balance speed, quality, and sustainability.

• Act as a technical escalation point, resolving complex architectural or integration challenges.

• Ensure architecture supports CI/CD, observability, performance, and operational excellence.

Client Engagement & Communication

• Serve as a senior technical leader in client-facing discussions, building trust through clarity and credibility.

• Translate complex technical concepts into clear business value for non-technical stakeholders.

• Support roadmap planning, risk identification, and technical decision-making with clients.

• Maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and follow-through.

Platform, Tooling & Integration Oversight

• Guide use of Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, and modern delivery tooling.

• Support integrations with enterprise platforms such as Radar/GeoMoby (geofencing), Oracle Recruiting Booster, and Dropbox Sign.

• Contribute to AI-enabled initiatives using Python, TypeScript, and Azure OpenAI, ensuring responsible and practical adoption. 

Mentorship & Engineering Excellence

• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, fostering strong architectural thinking and craftsmanship.

• Promote engineering best practices, documentation, and shared learning across teams.

• Encourage collaboration between disciplines including mobile, backend, design, and data.

Required Skills & Experience

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant hands-on ownership of production application architecture.

• Proven experience acting as the technical owner for complex, user-facing applications, not just reviewing or advising.

• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver end-to-end application systems,

including:

• Mobile clients (iOS with Swift, Android with Kotlin)
• Backend application services (.NET and Node.js)
•  RESTful and event-driven APIs
• Relational data models using SQL Server and Oracle

• Strong experience defining application-level architecture patterns, including:

•  Service boundaries and ownership models
• API versioning and contract governance
• Data consistency, transactional integrity, and validation strategies
• Error handling, resiliency, and failure recovery

• Hands-on experience building and operating applications on Azure, including:

• CI/CD pipelines
• Deployment and environment strategies
• Logging, monitoring, and performance observability

• Experience working in delivery-driven consulting or product environments, where architecture must adapt to evolving requirements.

• Comfort staying close to implementation through code reviews, architectural validation, and team unblockers.

• Strong understanding of modern SDLC practices, DevOps workflows, automated testing, and release management. 

Nice to Have

• Experience modernizing or replacing legacy applications with modern mobile and cloud-native architectures.

• Background supporting regulated or enterprise environments where reliability, auditability, and data integrity are critical.

• Prior responsibility for architectural decisions that scaled to high user volumes or multi-region deployments.

• Experience evaluating and integrating AI features into applications where they deliver clear user or business value.

Why Join Robots & Pencils?

At Robots & Pencils, we blend strategy, design, and engineering to deliver technology that drives real impact. As a Principal Software Architect, you will shape the technical direction of high-visibility initiatives while working alongside talented teams across mobile, web, cloud, and AI. You’ll influence how modern systems are built without losing connection to delivery, people, or outcomes.