Lead Technical Architect

Role Description

The Technical Lead / Technical Architect provides hands-on technical leadership and architectural direction for enterprise application solutions. This role guides development teams in designing and delivering secure, scalable, maintainable systems aligned with USPS technology direction, standards, and policies. The position serves as a key technical liaison to the Executives and Managers by translating complex technical topics into clear, actionable terms that support sound decision-making. The role works closely with Managers, Business Systems Analysts (BSAs), Technical Project Leaders, CASI Architects, NIT leaders, and Environment Management Leads to ensure cohesive execution across architecture, delivery, and operational readiness. The position also promotes responsible use of AI-assisted development practices to streamline delivery, improve quality, and reduce total cost of ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for one or more application teams, including architecture direction, design guidance, engineering standards, and delivery oversight.
• Translate complex technical concepts, tradeoffs, and risks into clear language for USPS Executives and Managers, including recommendations and decision points.
• Partner with USPS Managers, BSAs, and Technical Project Leaders to shape solution scope, define technical approaches, estimate effort, and align delivery plans.
• Collaborate with CASI Architects and NIT leaders to ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture, integration patterns, security controls, and platform standards.
• Define and maintain solution designs and technical documentation, including reference architectures, integration and data-flow diagrams, environment topology, and architecture decision records.
• Conduct and/or lead code reviews and technical design reviews to ensure code quality, maintainability, performance, security, and adherence to standards.
• Establish and enforce development best practices, including CI/CD expectations, branching strategies, testing strategy, and operational readiness requirements.
• Identify technical risks and systemic issues early, drive root-cause analysis, and implement corrective and preventative improvements.
• Provide direction and technical support to Environment Management Leads, ensuring environment provisioning, configuration, release readiness, and deployment coordination align with delivery needs.
• Ensure solutions meet USPS security and compliance expectations, including secure coding practices, auditability, vulnerability management, and appropriate data handling.
• Stay current on relevant technologies, industry trends, and USPS policies/standards; incorporate appropriate improvements into roadmaps and team practices.
• Drive responsible use of AI-assisted development to improve speed and quality and reduce rework.
• Establish guardrails for secure and compliant AI usage, including protecting sensitive data, validating AI outputs, and aligning usage with USPS-approved tools and policies.
• Track and communicate measurable outcomes from modernization and AI enablement efforts.
• Mentor engineers and promote a culture of engineering excellence, continuous learning, and accountable delivery.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as a Technical Lead, Technical Architect, or senior engineer leading design and delivery of enterprise applications.
• Strong ability to communicate with executive and management audiences, including simplifying technical topics, presenting tradeoffs, and recommending actionable paths forward.
• Proven ability to guide development teams through architecture decisions, implementation patterns, and quality expectations, while remaining hands-on when needed.
• Experience conducting effective code reviews and establishing engineering standards for readability, testability, security, and maintainability.
• Strong knowledge of modern architecture patterns (e.g., layered architectures, microservices/service-oriented approaches, event-driven patterns, API-first design).
• Strong understanding of security and compliance fundamentals in enterprise environments (identity and access, least privilege, encryption, audit logging, vulnerability management).
• Experience working cross-functionally with USPS Managers, BSAs, and Technical Project Leaders to align technical delivery to business outcomes.
• Familiarity with environment management and release readiness practices across development, test, staging, and production environments.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with enterprise architecture and governance stakeholders, including CASI Architects and NIT leadership.
• Strong documentation skills, including architecture diagrams, decision records, standards, and executive-ready summaries.
• Working knowledge of AI-assisted development concepts and the ability to establish practical, secure guardrails that improve productivity while maintaining quality and compliance.
• Continuous learning mindset with the ability to evaluate new technologies and apply them appropriately within standards and constraints.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent is required from an accredited institution. Will consider three years of progressive, relevant work experience instead of every year of education. Candidates who have completed a Master's degree program are strongly preferred.
• The job entails sitting and working at a computer for extended periods. Should be able to communicate by telephone, email, or face-to-face. Travel may be required as per the job requirements.

Benefits

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Health and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts
• Insurance (Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Legal)
• 401(k) plan and contributions dependent on salary level
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off