Principal Microsoft Enterprise Architect (Greater Chicago Area)

Position Summary

The Client is seeking a Principal Microsoft Enterprise Architect to define, govern, and evolve the enterprise-wide technology architecture across its Microsoft ecosystem and broader digital landscape.

This individual will serve as the senior architectural authority across the enterprise, responsible for ensuring that Microsoft technologies, cloud platforms, business applications, data, AI capabilities, integrations, and custom applications operate as a cohesive and scalable technology ecosystem.

The role will span the full Microsoft technology landscape, including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Teams, Exchange/Outlook, Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Power Platform, Microsoft Fabric, Copilot and AI services, as well as custom applications, APIs, integrations, and third-party platforms.

Rather than owning the architecture of a single application or implementation, the Principal Microsoft Enterprise Architect will establish the enterprise technology blueprint that guides how platforms are selected, designed, integrated, secured, governed, and evolved.

This person will work closely with executive leadership, business stakeholders, IT leadership, solution architects, infrastructure and security teams, data and AI teams, developers, and external implementation partners. The architect will ensure that technology decisions support long-term business strategy while reducing unnecessary complexity, duplication, customization, and technical debt.

The role will also provide architectural leadership to specialized architects and technical leads across Dynamics 365, Azure, Microsoft 365, data, AI, integrations, and custom application development.

Primary Responsibilities

Enterprise Architecture Leadership

• Own and maintain The Client's enterprise technology architecture roadmap and Microsoft technology strategy.
• Establish the current-state, transition-state, and future-state enterprise architecture.
• Define architectural principles, standards, reference architectures, and governance processes across the organization.
• Serve as the senior design authority for major technology and platform decisions.
• Ensure alignment between business strategy, enterprise architecture, technology investments, and digital transformation initiatives.
• Lead architecture reviews and enterprise design authority meetings.
• Evaluate technology investments from an enterprise perspective rather than within individual application or departmental silos.
• Identify opportunities to simplify the technology landscape, consolidate platforms, reduce technical debt, and improve interoperability.
• Maintain architectural decision records for significant technology decisions.

Microsoft Enterprise Technology Strategy

Provide architectural oversight across The Client's Microsoft ecosystem, including:

• Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft 365
• Microsoft Teams
• Exchange / Outlook
• Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
• Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement
• Power Platform
• Microsoft Fabric
• Microsoft Copilot and AI services
• Azure data and integration services
• Identity and access architecture
• Custom applications and microservices
• Third-party applications integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem

Define how these platforms should work together and establish clear architectural boundaries between enterprise systems, platforms, applications, services, and data.

Determine when capabilities should be delivered through existing Microsoft platforms versus custom development or third-party applications.

Continuously evaluate Microsoft's evolving technology portfolio and determine where new capabilities can provide measurable business value.

Dynamics 365 Architecture & Governance

• Provide enterprise-level architectural oversight for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.
• Ensure Dynamics 365 remains appropriately positioned within the broader enterprise application architecture.
• Establish architectural standards for Finance, Supply Chain, Asset Management, Field Service, Sales, Customer Service, and other applicable business functions.
• Maximize standard Dynamics 365 functionality before introducing customization.
• Govern extensions, customizations, Power Platform solutions, integrations, and ISV products.
• Ensure Dynamics architecture aligns with enterprise scalability, maintainability, security, and supportability objectives.
• Provide design authority and escalation support to D365 Solution Architects and implementation partners.

Microsoft 365 & Modern Workplace Architecture

• Establish enterprise architecture standards across Microsoft 365.
• Define how Teams, Outlook/Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, identity, collaboration tools, and business applications interact across the enterprise.
• Ensure Microsoft 365 capabilities are integrated appropriately with Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure, custom applications, and enterprise workflows.
• Identify opportunities to streamline collaboration and business processes through Microsoft 365 and Power Platform capabilities.
• Establish architectural guardrails for enterprise adoption of new Microsoft 365 functionality.

Azure & Cloud Architecture

• Define and govern The Client's Microsoft Azure and enterprise cloud architecture.
• Establish cloud architecture principles covering scalability, resiliency, security, integration, performance, and cost optimization.
• Define architectural boundaries between SaaS, PaaS, custom cloud applications, on-premises systems, and third-party services.
• Govern Azure Integration Services, APIs, event-driven architectures, microservices, and cloud-native application patterns.
• Partner with infrastructure, security, and engineering teams to establish enterprise cloud standards.
• Guide cloud modernization and application rationalization initiatives.

Enterprise Data Architecture

• Provide architectural leadership for The Client's enterprise data strategy.
• Define canonical enterprise data models and common business entities.
• Establish standards for master data management, data ownership, data quality, lineage, and governance.
• Ensure alignment between source systems, Dynamics 365 entities, Microsoft Fabric, Azure data services, analytics platforms, custom applications, and AI consumption models.
• Establish architectural standards for enterprise semantic models, taxonomies, business glossaries, and knowledge structures.
• Reduce duplication and inconsistency of enterprise data across applications and business functions.
• Define how transactional, analytical, operational, and AI-ready data should be managed across the enterprise.

Integration Architecture

• Establish enterprise integration architecture standards.
• Define API-first and event-driven interaction patterns between enterprise s