Software Architect

As a Software Architect at our company, your role will involve providing strong technical direction across backend and frontend systems, while also remaining hands-on in critical areas. Your focus will be on owning the architecture, aligning technical strategies across teams, and designing long-term system solutions rather than day-to-day people management. Key Responsibilities: - Architecture & Technical Direction - Own and evolve the overall application architecture across backend and frontend systems. - Define architectural standards, patterns, and guardrails for teams to follow. - Ensure designs meet requirements for scalability, performance, security, resilience, and auditability. - Make system-level trade-offs balancing flexibility, compliance, and delivery speed. - Backend Architecture (Ruby / Rails) - Design backend services, APIs, and data models using Ruby and Ruby on Rails. - Guide teams on performance tuning, background processing, and data modeling strategies. - Ensure consistency and quality in backend codebases through design reviews and architectural oversight. - Frontend Architecture (Elm) - Define and guide frontend architecture using Elm, promoting simplicity, correctness, and maintainability. - Establish patterns for state management, component design, and interaction with backend APIs. - Ensure accessibility, performance, and usability standards are met. - Quality, Testing & Non-Functional Requirements - Embed testability, observability, and operational readiness into architecture designs. - Drive consistent approaches to automated testing (unit, integration, contract). - Ensure performance, reliability, and security considerations are addressed early in design. - Cross-Team Collaboration & Guidance - Work closely with Tech Leads and Engineering Managers to translate architecture into execution plans. - Provide architectural input during discovery, estimation, and solution design phases. - Support complex technical problem-solving and production issue analysis when needed. - Compliance & SDLC Alignment - Ensure designs and technical decisions align with GAMP5-based SDLC and audit expectations. - Define documentation standards and architectural artifacts suitable for regulated environments. - AI-Enabled Engineering & Developer Effectiveness - Provide architectural guidance on responsible use of AI-assisted and agentic engineering tools within the SDLC. - Help define guardrails for AI use in coding, testing, documentation, code review, and workflow automation. - Partner with engineering leaders to identify practical AI adoption opportunities that improve quality, consistency, and delivery flow. Required Experience & Skills: - Backend & Systems Architecture - Strong experience designing backend systems using Ruby / Ruby on Rails. - Deep understanding of object-oriented design, SOLID principles, and functional programming concepts. - Proven experience designing RESTful APIs and service-oriented architectures. - Strong expertise in PostgreSQL, ORMs (ActiveRecord), and data modeling. - Frontend Architecture - Hands-on experience designing and evolving frontend systems using Elm, or strong experience with typed/functional frontend architectures and willingness to work deeply in Elm. - Strong understanding of functional UI architecture, state management, and type-safe design. - Experience integrating frontend applications with backend APIs. - Platform & DevOps Awareness - Strong working knowledge of Git and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions). - Experience with Docker and containerized environments. - Working knowledge of AWS and Kubernetes. - Technical Leadership - Proven ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams without direct line management. - Strong written and verbal communication skills. - Comfortable working with senior stakeholders and explaining complex technical decisions clearly. Nice to Have: - Experience with Elixir or other functional backend languages. - Exposure to infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform). - Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven environments. What Success Looks Like: - Clear, well-understood architecture that enables teams to deliver predictably. - Backend and frontend systems that scale with product needs while remaining maintainable. - Reduced architectural rework, performance issues, and defect leakage. - Compliance requirements met without unnecessary complexity or delivery friction. - AI-assisted engineering practices adopted safely and pragmatically, improving team effectiveness without compromising quality, compliance, security, or maintainability. As a Software Architect at our company, your role will involve providing strong technical direction across backend and frontend systems, while also remaining hands-on in critical areas. Your focus will be on owning the archit