Principal - Architecture (AI, Unified Commerce)

About Gap Inc.At Gap Inc., we create culture as much as we create clothes. Our ambition is to become a high-performing house of iconic American brands that shape culture.Our portfolio—Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta—each brings a distinct point of view to how we show up in the world and serve our customers.Old Navy democratizes style with quality and value for all. Gap champions originality through essential pieces that celebrate individuality. Banana Republic is rooted in a spirit of discovery, creating modern pieces inspired by craftsmanship and travel. Athleta champions the Power of She through confidence, strength, and movement.We’re driven by a shared purpose: to bridge gaps—between people, perspectives, and possibilities—to create a better world.We’re building a team that performs at a high level—people who think boldly, take ownership, and turn ideas into impact. If you’re ready to learn fast and help shape what’s next, you’ll fit right in.About the roleAs a senior leader within the Architecture Group under the CTO Organization, the Principal Architect – AI, Connected Commerce / OMNI-Channel will drive the vision, design, and execution of an integrated technology architecture that powers seamless, intelligent, and personalized customer experiences across all digital and physical touchpoints.This role spans strategic domains—Digital, Retail Stores, Supply Chain, Customer Data, eCommerce, Marketing, and Fulfillment—and serves as a critical change agent, enabling Connected and Agentic Commerce. The architect will influence enterprise-wide technology modernization, blueprints, and AI-driven commerce initiatives to unlock growth, improve customer satisfaction, and drive operational efficiency.This position plays a pivotal role in integrating AI-powered decisioning, personalization, and commerce agents into the technology landscape to support proactive, autonomous, and context- aware experiences.What you'll doChampion the use of Agentic Commerce patterns—autonomous shopping agents, proactive assistant bots, and AI-driven fulfillment orchestration—to create frictionless, next-gen shopping experiences.Design intelligent, AI-augmented experiences that integrate predictive personalization, dynamic pricing, virtual styling, conversational commerce, and autonomous checkout journeys.Integrate commerce ecosystems with real-time decision engines, customer data platforms (CDPs), recommendation systems, and AI models to drive adaptive journeys.Partner with product, engineering, and data science teams to implement AI across the customer lifecycle—from acquisition and engagement to loyalty and retention.Define architectural principles to scale AI/ML use cases, leveraging cloud-native platforms (GCP, AWS), serverless models, and data mesh strategies.Architect future-ready, omnichannel commerce platforms supporting unified experiences such as BOPIS, Same-day Delivery, and Endless Aisle.Ensure architecture enables real-time signals processing (e.g., clickstream, IoT, POS), contextual understanding, and action-triggering across commerce surfaces.Lead architectural reviews and governance for AI-based and connected commerce projects.Guide experimentation with GenAI, LLMs, and autonomous agents in commerce, marketing, and fulfillment use cases.Collaborate with data, privacy, and compliance teams to align AI-powered experiences with data governance and ethical AI frameworks.Who you areBachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field; Master’s preferred.10+ years of architecture, with at least 5+ years in commerce or omnichannel large scale transformation roles.Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering commerce platforms across:Headless eCommerce (Shopify, Salesforce Commerce, etc.)Digital Experience Platforms (CMS, DAM, PIM)Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), Loyalty & Personalization EnginesRetail POS, OMS, and Fulfillment SystemsDeep knowledge of cloud-native architectures, microservices, event-driven systems (Kafka, GCP Pub/Sub), and serverless patterns.Experience integrating AI/ML services into customer-facing applications, preferably in real-time or large-scale environmentsExperience with Agentic AI frameworks or commerce focused LLMs.Familiarity with AI platforms like Vertex AI, Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, orsimilar.Working knowledge of data pipelines, model deployment (MLOps), and experimentation platforms.Exposure to composable commerce and MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture.Retail, CPG, or DTC brand experience with personalization and omnichannelengagement initiativeStrategic mindset with a strong grasp of emerging tech and its impact on business.Excellent communication and storytelling skills—especially around complex AI and tech-driven business value.Ability to balance short-term business needs with long-term Gap’s Architecture vision.Highly collaborative with a passion for innovation, experimentation, and user-centered design.Comfortable driving clarity and structure in ambiguous and fast-moving environmentsSalary Range: $209,700.00 - $272,600.00Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location. We will meet minimum wage or minimum of the pay range (whichever is higher) based on city, county and state requirements.Benefits at Gap Inc.Merchandise discount for our brands: 50% off regular-priced merchandise at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, and 30% off at Outlet for all employees.One of the most competitive Paid Time Off plans in the industry.*Employees can take up to five “on the clock” hours each month to volunteer at a charity of their choice.*Extensive 401(k) plan with company matching for contributions up to four percent of an employee’s base pay.*Employee stock purchase plan.*Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.*See more of the benefits we offer.*For eligible employees