Senior Architect

Job Title

This job takes a lead role, within area of responsibility, and (application, solution, information, technology, business) designs, develops, implements, supports, and optimizes more complex architecture strategy to meet business capabilities and needs.

This role will specifically focus on our Digital Chat Platform, driving the design, development, and optimization of new features, platform stability, and scalability. Key initiatives include the integration of advanced AI capabilities such as Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (GECX), IVA Voice, and Genesys integration with Google Dialogflow. The Senior Architect will apply deep expertise in distributed systems design, scalability, reliability, authentication/token patterns, security, websockets, observability/monitoring/logging, data management, messaging, and cloud-native solutions (e.g., Cloud Run on GCP). This position requires strong technical leadership to execute on strategic projects and future AI agent designs within the business's JIRA backlog, while guiding and mentoring engineers to build high-quality, high-functioning applications using modern technologies like Typescript and Node.js.

Essential Responsibilities

• Take a lead role to provide strategic consultation to business customers in defining or designing more complex business processes, functions and organizational structures, as well as in researching, identifying and internally marketing enabling technologies based on customer capability requirements. Facilitate development of more complex enterprise business solutions that combine knowledge of particular business processes and issues, general technological options, and process facilitation techniques. Participate in more complex enterprise strategy development, including environmental analysis, opportunity identification, value cases and business innovation portfolio development.
• Take a lead role to specify and design large or more complex systems, solutions, networks, infrastructure elements, or processes. Select appropriate design standards, methods and tools and ensure that they are applied effectively. Review others' system design to ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology. Establish policy for selection of more complex architecture components. Evaluate and undertake impact analysis on more complex major design options. Ensure that the system architecture balances functional, service quality and systems management requirements.
• Use appropriate tools, including models of components and interfaces, to contribute to the development of more complex architectures. Take a lead role to produce detailed component requirements, specifications and translates these into detailed solutions/designs for implementation using selected products. Provide advice on technical aspects of system development, integration (including requests for changes, deviations from specifications, etc.) and processes. Ensure that relevant technical and business strategies, policies, standards and practices are applied correctly.
• Select and use more complex tools and methods to establish, clarify, and communicate the functional and non-functional requirements of system users, their characteristics, and tasks. Take a lead role to identify the technical, organizational, and physical environment in which more complex products or systems will operate. Identify, propose, initiate, and lead significant improvement programs, taking responsibility for the quality and appropriateness of the work performed and the realization of measurable business benefits. Modify existing process improvement approaches and/or develop new approaches to achieve improvement.
• Take a lead role to ensure the resolution of a variety of more complex architecture and business problems and serve as a technical or business lead for highly complex project initiatives.
• Communicate effectively will all levels of organization.
• Manage expectations of customers, partners and management.
• Participate in customer walkthroughs and plans; design and technical walkthroughs; and problem resolution and decision making.
• Interact with departments across the organization as necessary, including the development and interpretation of highly complex requirements for peers and other staff.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of specific technical aspects in area of expertise and provides expert advice regarding their application. The area of specific expertise may be any aspect of information or communication technology, technique, method, process, product, or application area of a more complex nature.
• Take a lead role in providing leadership and mentoring in the areas of expertise and architecture to their peers, developers, management and business users including technical expertise, coaching, and ad-hoc training by: preparing presentations on more complex issues on the area of expertise and presenting to their peers to ensure consistency to the Organization's strategic direction.
• Other duties as assigned or requested.

Education

Required: Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or closely related discipline

Substitutions: None

Preferred: Master's Degree

Experience

Required: 5 years in an IT discipline, 5 years in a Business discipline

Preferred: Health Insurance Industry business knowledge, Experience with distributed systems design, scalability, and reliability patterns in high-volume environments. Familiarity with authentication/token patterns and CI/CD pipelines using tools like Terraform. Demonstrated ability to guide, mentor, and lead engineers in building high-quality, high-functioning applications. Proven experience with digital chat platforms, IVA Voice, AI Agent integrations, or Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (GECX) implementations. Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services, including Cloud Run, and modern development languages such as Typescript and Node.js. Proficiency in areas such as security, websockets, observability (monitoring/logging), data management, and messaging systems.

Licenses and Certifications

Required: None

Preferred: Java Developer, DB2, Cogno, PEGA, Enterprise Architect (SCEA), Project Management, Google Cloud Architect certification. Certifications related to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) other relevant cloud/AI technologies

Skills

• IMS
• DB2
• Oracle and Teradata Databases
• Data Warehousing
• COBAL
• Visual Basic
• C
• C++
• SAS
• Java/JavaScript Framework
• PEGA
• CSS3
• Mobile
• JSON
• Cognos
• Hadoop
• SQL
• J2EE
• HTML5/XML
• Waterfall
• Agile

Language (other than English): None

Travel Requirement: 0%-25%

Physical, Mental Demands and Working Conditions

Position Type: Office-Based

Teaches / trains others regularly: Frequently

Travel regularly from the office to various work sites or from site-to-site: Yes

Does Not Apply: Works primarily out-of-the office selling products/services (sales employees)

Physical work site required: Yes

Lifting: up to 10 pounds: Constantly

Lifting: 10 to 25 pounds: Rarely

Lifting: 25 to 50 pounds: Rarely

Disclaimer: The job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this job title. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job.

Compliance Requirement: This position adheres to the ethical and legal standards and behavioral expectations as set forth in the code of business conduct and company policies.

As a component of job responsibilities, employees may have access to covered information, cardholder data, or other confidential customer information that must be protected at all times. In connection with this, all employees must comply with both the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policies and Procedures as well as all data security guidelines established within the Company's Handbook of Privacy Policies and Practices and Information Security Policy.

Furthermore, it is every employee's responsibility to comply with the company's Code of Business Conduct. This includes but is not limited to adherence to applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations as well as company policies and training requirements.

Pay Range Minimum: $102,700.00

Pay Range Maximum: $164,600.00

Base pay is determined by a variety of factors including a candidate's qualifications, experience, and expected contributions, as well as internal peer equity, market, and business considerations. The displayed salary range does not reflect any geographic differential Highmark may apply for certain locations based upon comparative markets.

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