Solutions Architect - Azure AI Enterprise Architecture

Overview The corporate headquarters of a Dublin, California organization is seeking a Solution Architect II for Azure AI Enterprise Architecture initiatives for a full-time, direct-hire, hybrid opportunity. This opportunity is not a corp-to-corp arrangement and does not offer work authorization sponsorship. The ideal technologist is a highly motivated and passionate AI Architect with a diverse skillset across a variety of Azure AI technologies and a strong emphasis on designing intelligent digital assistants and agent-based solutions using Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and other Azure AI services. This position is responsible for shaping scalable, secure, and compliant AI architectures that support a range of business scenarios—leveraging generative AI, computer vision, LLMOps, and other advanced AI capabilities. The AI Architect collaborates with business leaders, engineering teams, data science, and security to translate business needs into AI-driven solutions that deliver tangible business outcomes and align with enterprise standards. The Architect must have expertise in using AI to increase productivity, efficiency, quality and reduce operational costs. It is a highly visible role with broad engagement within IT and business teams as well as externally with technology providers. In this role, he/she will be responsible for collaborating and driving architecture deliverables with other architects, external experts, and consultants. The individual will often have to learn on their own and remain on the cusp of new technologies in AI. The base salary range for this role is $129,100 - $220,600. The base salary range is dependent on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, relevant education, certifications, seniority, and location. The range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees. Essential Functions Defined and maintained AI technology roadmap and plans. Identify, communicate, and mitigate risks within the roadmap or implementation plans. Participate in IT 5-year planning and annual budgeting process. Lead AI Solution Architecture for Digital Assistants and AI Agents. Create criteria for evaluating, comparing and selecting AI services. Architect scalable and secure digital assistant and AI agent solutions leveraging Microsoft Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, and Graph Connectors. Define architectural patterns for integrating enterprise data sources (e.g., file shares, SQL, APIs) to support retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and intelligent interactions. Ensure solutions meet performance, accuracy, and governance requirements. Develop and govern Enterprise AI Patterns and Best Practices. Create and maintain reusable architecture frameworks, reference implementations, and guardrails for AI use cases across the organization. Establish guidelines for responsible AI, including transparency, fairness, and privacy. Champion LLMOps practices to streamline lifecycle management of models and prompts. Take a leadership role in exploring and analyzing new applications and opportunities in AI in the marketplace, technology and infrastructure services. Prepare ROI analysis and assist with creating budget proposals to initiate the acquisition of new AI services. Develop an AI governance framework in conjunction with the AI CoE and architecture review board that will enable the organization to consume AI services and reduce risks. Provide architecture and technology consultancy for portfolio planning. Partner with product managers, business analysts, engineers, and domain experts to identify high-impact AI opportunities and co-design solutions. Partner with other architects, security, engineering, legal, and compliance teams to ensure adherence to enterprise policies and regulatory standards. Support broader AI initiatives across the enterprise. Provide architecture leadership for AI use cases such as computer vision (e.g., customer experience in stores, store safety and compliance), forecasting models, personalization engines, and process automation. Design AI solutions that are cloud-native and aligned with modern data and event-driven architectures. Develop the internal AI Financial Management and Ops practices collaborating with the CoE, Cloud Platform and IT Finance team. Mentor and enable the broader IT team. Support capability building across IT teams through architectural reviews, hands-on workshops, and training on AI tooling and practices. Act as an internal advisor and evangelist for AI transformation within the organization. Ensure completion of architectural and project deliverables on time and under budget and that anticipated business outcomes are achieved. Provide architectural and technical input for definition, estimation and delivery of AI projects. Required Qualifications & Special Skills Bachelor's degree in information systems, computer science, or a related technical discipline. Master's degree is a plus. Minimum 7 years of experience in IT solution architecture, software engineering, or data/AI-related roles. At least 3 years of hands-on experience architecting and deploying AI/ML or intelligent automation solutions in a production environment. Proven experience delivering projects using Microsoft service offerings - Azure cloud services, Azure AI services (including Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, AI Search, and related tools), Copilot Studio, and integration with Microsoft 365 and Teams. Solid understanding of LLMOps, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), prompt engineering, vector indexing, and orchestration of generative AI workflows. Experience with data integration, including ingestion from enterprise data sources (file shares, SQL, APIs) and Microsoft Graph connectors. Understanding of AI security, compliance, data privacy, and responsible AI practices. Strong analytical ability, judgment, and problem analysis techniques. Demonstrated ability to anticipate and handle complex issues, drive negotiations of solutions and to resolve conflicts. Demonstrated ability to execute basic financial analysis, such as ROI, and TCO. Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to translate technical solutions into business language. Ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, data science, business, and compliance teams. Preferred Qualifications Microsoft certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert and/or Azure AI Engineer Associate. Computer vision architectures and tools (e.g., Azure AI Video Indexer). Experience building enterprise-grade digital assistants, chatbots, or copilots using low-code/no-code and pro-code platforms. Experience in retail technology environments, particularly in domains such as store operations, merchandising, or supply chain. IT Strategy consulting experience is a plus. Ability to demonstrate technical concepts to non-technical audiences. Location Dublin, CA #J-18808-Ljbffr Dexian