Principal Solution Architect - Management Consulting (Chicago)

Responsibilities

As a Solution Architect, you will be responsible for optimizing the Management Consulting technology stack by identifying opportunities to consolidate tools, improve integration, streamline workflows, apply emerging technologies, and retire redundant or legacy solutions to create measurable business value. You will also define and govern end‑to‑end solution architectures that enable practice‑specific capabilities, offerings, and processes.

• Optimize the practice’s technology stack by consolidating tools, improving integration, streamlining workflows, applying emerging technologies, and retiring redundant or legacy solutions.
• Develop a deep understanding of the practice’s objectives, processes, services, and data to guide solution architecture decisions.
• Design end‑to‑end, scalable solutions that support the practice’s engagement lifecycle, delivery enablement, workflows, reporting, and analytics using shared platforms and integrations.
• Act as the design authority for practice solutions, reviewing and approving architecture designs to ensure alignment with enterprise standards, approved patterns, and long‑term sustainability.
• Define and maintain reusable solution patterns and reference architectures that enable consistency, scalability, and reduced technical debt across the practice.
• Support the full product lifecycle for practice solutions, including roadmap definition, major enhancements, platform upgrades, and decommissioning decisions.
• Partner with Enterprise, Platform, and Foundational Architects to apply security, data, AI, application, and infrastructure standards while bringing practice‑driven perspectives into firm‑wide architecture decisions.
• Advise Product Managers and Product Owners on architectural trade‑offs between standard capabilities, configuration, and customization to balance speed, quality, and sustainability.
• Represent the practice in architecture governance forums, driving alignment across practice, platform, and enterprise technology roadmaps and senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• At least ten years of experience in architecture spanning multiple domains with depth in at least one relevant to professional services solutions and working knowledge across others (Cloud and Infrastructure, Security, Identity and Access Management, Data Architecture and Integration, Application Development Architecture, Process Analysis, DevOps, and Product Management).
• Deep analytical and design thinking skills.
• Experience designing solutions in a professional services, consulting, or highly regulated services environment.
• Experience working within a product‑centric or platform‑based delivery model.
• Strong communication skills to present technical topics to practice leaders.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills.
• Persistence in the face of obstacles, initiative, and high personal standards for performance and operational excellence.

Compensation & Benefits

This is a non‑exempt position, so you may have to work hours that exceed the standard 40‑hour work week.

Compensation range for this role in CO, IL, OH, and MA is $125,000.00 – $190,000.00.

Eligible staff receive a robust benefits package including health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; flexible time off; holiday schedule; 401(k) plan; flexible benefits plans; business‑related travel expense, lodging, and meal reimbursement; pension plan for eligible administrative and paraprofessional staff; discretionary bonus plan for eligible staff; and elective health insurance options for contingent staff.

Plante Moran maintains a drug‑free workplace.

Plante Moran is an Equal Opportunity Employer.