Principal Software Architect, Strategic Initiatives

Job Title: Principal Software Architect, Strategic Initiatives

Department: Software Engineering

Location: Erlanger, KY; remote work permitted
Employment Type: Full-Time

The Principal Software Architect, Strategic Initiatives serves as a senior technical leader responsible for driving complex, high-impact software initiatives that strengthen and evolve the organization's software architecture. This role partners across Product Development, QA, Implementation, Lifetime Services, Support, and Software Leadership to solve challenging technical problems, support modernization efforts, and ensure long-term scalability, maintainability, and reliability of the software platform.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Initiatives & Architecture

• Lead high-priority software initiatives requiring senior technical judgment and cross-functional collaboration.
• Develop architecture strategies that support business growth, scalability, and evolving market requirements.
• Evaluate technical requirements and provide recommendations, risk assessments, and implementation plans.
• Align strategic initiatives with software architecture standards and product roadmaps.

Software Architecture & Platform Development

• Provide architecture guidance for product enhancements, integrations, and platform improvements.
• Assess technical feasibility and architectural risks.
• Support modernization efforts, performance improvements, and long-term maintainability.
• Serve as a technical advisor to software leadership.

Security, Modernization & Technical Debt

• Support security remediation efforts and compliance-related initiatives.
• Identify and prioritize technical debt reduction opportunities.
• Develop and execute modernization and framework upgrade strategies.
• Document remediation plans, risks, and technical decisions.

Product Development & Innovation

• Contribute to new product development and research initiatives.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and technical approaches.
• Assist with proof-of-concept development and complex feature implementation.

Quality Assurance & Testing Strategy

• Support the advancement of automated testing capabilities.
• Improve functional, integration, regression, and system testing approaches.
• Establish testing standards and best practices.

Technical Leadership & Support

• Provide expert guidance for implementation, support, and customer-facing teams.
• Participate in critical software escalations and on-call support rotations.
• Mentor engineers and promote engineering best practices.
• Create and maintain technical documentation and knowledge-sharing resources.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• 12+ years of software development experience.
• 5+ years of experience in a senior technical leadership role, such as Software Architect, Principal Software Engineer, Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, or similar role.
• Strong software architecture experience across enterprise software platforms.
• Experience with .NET technologies and enterprise application development.
• Experience leading modernization, technical debt reduction, security remediation, or large-scale software initiatives.
• Ability to influence and lead technical efforts across multiple teams without direct management authority.
• Experience within warehouse automation, logistics, manufacturing, or industrial software environments.
• Experience with web application architecture and modern development practices.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and deployment automation.
• Experience with SQL Server, integrations, APIs, and enterprise systems.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES

• Strategic thinker with strong technical judgment.
• Collaborative leader who influences across teams.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to balance long-term architecture goals with immediate business needs.
• Committed to mentoring and developing technical talent.

WORK CONDITIONS

• Travel up to 15% as needed.
• Participation in scheduled on-call rotations and critical software escalations.
• Primarily office, remote, or hybrid environment depending on location.
• Occasional after-hours support may be required.

Additional Benefits

• Competitive Salary and Bonus Structure
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
• Generous Paid Time Off
• 401K with Company Match
• Company HSA Contribution
• Professional Growth Opportunities