Principal Enterprise Architect, Digital Retail Systems

Overview As the Principal Enterprise Architect for Core Retail Systems, you will shape the technology foundation that enables ADUSA's grocery strategy across stores, e-commerce, loyalty, merchandising, fulfillment, customer engagement, and enterprise platforms. You will partner with business, product, and engineering leaders to design and govern scalable platforms that connect physical and digital experiences, improve operational agility, and enable consistent, personalized shopper journeys across ADUSA's family of brands Your contributions will advance the platforms that power retail operations, customer engagement, digital commerce, loyalty, merchandising and store fulfillment. This role will help ensure ADUSA can serve customers consistently across channels, whether they shop in-store, online, through pickup, delivery, loyalty offers, or future digital experiences. This role requires a rare blend of strategic vision, architectural expertise, and a passion for innovation. You'll craft enterprise roadmaps that influence long-term strategy while ensuring solutions remain flexible, scalable, and aligned to the ever-changing needs of customers. By bridging business and technology, you'll enable platforms that don't just support retail-they redefine it. Our flexible/hybrid work schedule includes 3 in-person days at one of our core locations and 2 remote days. Our core office locations are Salisbury, NC, Chicago, IL, & Quincy, MA. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis Position Summary: As the Principal Enterprise Architect for Core Retail Systems, you will shape the technology foundation that enables ADUSA's grocery strategy across stores, e-commerce, loyalty, merchandising, fulfillment, customer engagement, and enterprise platforms. Your contributions will advance the platforms that power retail operations, customer engagement, digital commerce, loyalty, merchandising and store fulfillment. Position Details: This role requires a rare blend of strategic vision, architectural expertise, and a passion for innovation. You'll craft enterprise roadmaps that influence long-term strategy while ensuring solutions remain flexible, scalable, and aligned to the ever-changing needs of customers. By bridging business and technology, you'll enable platforms that don't just support retail-they redefine it. Schedule: Our flexible/hybrid work schedule includes 3 in-person days at one of our core locations and 2 remote days. Our core office locations are Salisbury, NC, Chicago, IL, & Quincy, MA. Work Authorization: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Responsibilities Aligns enterprise technology strategy and multiyear roadmaps to business objectives, for growth Defines enterprise blueprints that synthesize business, customer journey, information, application, integration, infrastructure, data, and security viewpoints across store, digital, fulfillment, loyalty, and enterprise capabilities. Establishes architecture principles, reference architectures, technology standards, and rationalization guidelines. Chairs enterprise design authority/governance to guide decisions on scope, quality, risk, and total cost of ownership. Measures the value of enterprise architecture services; reports outcomes, adoption, and technical debt trends. Advises executives on industry trends and emerging technologies; shapes build/buy/retire decisions. Mentors' principal/solution/domain architects; raises architecture maturity, methods, and tooling across Tech. Drives alignment across major transformation initiatives, ensuring architecture consistency across portfolios, domains, and strategic programs. Partners with product, engineering, and platform leaders to embed architecture practices into delivery, ensuring solutions adhere to enterprise standards and long-term technology strategy. Architecture: Aligns enterprise technology strategy and multiyear roadmaps to business objectives, for growth Defines enterprise blueprints that synthesize business, customer journey, information, application, integration, infrastructure, data, and security viewpoints across store, digital, fulfillment, loyalty, and enterprise capabilities. Establishes architecture principles, reference architectures, technology standards, and rationalization guidelines. Technology: Chairs enterprise design authority/governance to guide decisions on scope, quality, risk, and total cost of ownership. Measures the value of enterprise architecture services; reports outcomes, adoption, and technical debt trends. Advises executives on industry trends and emerging technologies; shapes build/buy/retire decisions. Management: Mentors' principal/solution/domain architects; raises architecture maturity, methods, and tooling across Tech. Drives alignment across major transformation initiatives, ensuring architecture consistency across portfolios, domains, and strategic programs. Partners with product, engineering, and platform leaders to embed architecture practices into delivery, ensuring solutions adhere to enterprise standards and long-term technology strategy. Requirements Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of work experience. 12+ years in architecture with demonstrated leadership across complex, multi domain portfolios. Expertise in enterprise architecture practices (principles, standards, governance), roadmap development, and cost/value modeling. Exceptional communication, executive influence, and decision framing skills. Strong understanding of GenAI & Agentic patterns, including RAG, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, agent orchestration, and model serving approaches. Preferred Qualifications Experience with architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF), modeling (e.g., ArchiMate/UML), and portfolio governance. Background spanning cloud, data, integration, security, and end user domains Experience architecting online and in store retail capabilities across store systems, e-commerce, loyalty, merchandising, fulfillment, customer engagement, and enterprise platforms. Demonstrated ability to connect business strategy, customer journeys, operational processes, data flows, and technology platforms into executable architecture roadmaps. Experience with modern retail architecture patterns, including API-led integration, event-driven architecture, master/reference data, inventory visibility, order orchestration, personalization, and platform rationalization. Ability to evaluate technology investments through both business and architecture lenses, including customer experience, operational resilience, speed to market, platform reuse, and total cost of ownership. Salary Range: $163,280-$244,920 Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of work experience. Experience: 12+ years in architecture with demonstrated leadership across complex, multi domain portfolios. Expertise in enterprise architecture practices (principles, standards, governance), roadmap development, and cost/value modeling. Experience with architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF), modeling (e.g., ArchiMate/UML), and portfolio governance. Background spanning cloud, data, integration, security, and end user domains. Knowledge: Experience architecting online and in store retail capabilities across store systems, e-commerce, loyalty, merchandising, fulfillment, customer engagement, and enterprise platforms. Demonstrated ability to connect business strategy, customer journeys, operational processes, data flows, and technology platforms into executable architecture roadmaps. Strategy: Experience with modern retail architecture patterns, including API-led integration, event-driven architecture, master/reference data, inventory visibility, order orchestration, personalization, and platform rationalization. Ability to evaluate technology investments through both business and architecture lenses, including customer experience, operational resilience, speed to market, platform reuse, and total cost of ownership.