Principal Automation Engineer

Role Description

As Avalara continues to scale its AI-first enterprise systems, workflows, and automation footprint, we must ensure our AI automation and transformation architecture is intentional, governed, and built for long-term scale. This role exists to define and drive enterprise architecture for AI automation and business transformation, reduce fragmentation across workflow, agent, and integration solutions, and enable faster, more reliable delivery of automation initiatives that support business growth and operational excellence.

This is a senior individual contributor lead role responsible for shaping scalable AI automation architectures, improving solution resilience and governance, and ensuring platform strategy supports measurable business outcomes across the company. This role will work extensively with business stakeholders, AI Automation engineers, and BSAs to turn business transformation opportunities into durable, enterprise-grade architectural patterns.

This role directly strengthens Avalara's enterprise AI automation and transformation ecosystem by increasing architectural rigor, scalability, reuse, and long-term sustainability across business workflows, platforms, and enterprise systems.

• Improve operational efficiency, resilience, and process quality by establishing scalable AI automation architecture standards and governance guardrails.
• Accelerate transformation delivery and reduce rework through clear design frameworks, decision models, and reusable automation patterns.
• Enhance employee and customer experience by reducing manual work, process fragmentation, and automation risk.
• Embed AI-first architectural practices that improve automation scale, decision quality, and measurable business outcomes.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science or Engineering (required).
• 10+ years of experience in solution, enterprise, or platform architecture roles.
• Strong hands-on experience with modern automation and integration platforms (iPaaS and workflow orchestration tools).
• Experience architecting for platforms such as n8n, Boomi or similar platforms like Mulesoft/Workato, or comparable automation ecosystems.
• Experience designing AI-enabled, API-driven, and event-based architectures for enterprise workflows and transformation initiatives.
• Deep understanding of automation patterns, middleware, data transformation, agent orchestration, and human-in-the-loop workflow design.
• Strong knowledge of REST, webhooks, OAuth, SSO, API security, and governance best practices for AI-enabled systems.
• Experience with cloud-native architectures and AI/ML services (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Proven ability to influence enterprise-wide technical direction and partner effectively with AI Automation Engineers, BSAs, and cross-functional leaders.

Requirements

• Design and govern AI-enabled automation patterns, agentic workflows, and transformation architectures that improve speed, scale, and decision quality.
• Evaluate and incorporate AI-driven orchestration, prompt and model governance, and human-in-the-loop decision frameworks into enterprise architecture.
• Use AI tools to improve architectural documentation, process analysis, impact assessment, and scenario modeling.
• Identify AI opportunities tied to measurable business outcomes (efficiency, cycle-time reduction, reliability, employee experience, customer impact, risk reduction).
• Apply AI responsibly, with attention to governance, security, compliance, auditability, and cost control.

Benefits

• Total Rewards: In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses.
• Health & Wellness: Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance.
• Inclusive culture and diversity: Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture.