Expert Applications Architect (Salesforce)

Expert Applications Architect

This role does not offer visa sponsorship. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without current or future sponsorship (including CPT, OPT, or H-1B). This is a hybrid position with an onsite requirement of 1–2 days per week in Oakland, CA. The Expert Applications Architect will be responsible for the design and analysis of software projects, coordination, creation and socialization of the conceptual approach document on strategic business initiatives, documentation standards, system architecture best practices and current system architecture documentation for their respective domain. The position is also responsible for collaborating with partner teams, enterprise architecture and development teams on best practices, guidelines and standards as well as evangelizing Technology transformation initiatives. This position is responsible for providing expertise and direction to Leadership when discussing strategic projects, design and application initiatives as well as providing high level estimates for the purpose of business case creation.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the application architecture across our Salesforce stack — Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Health Cloud / Digital Insurance, and Data 360 (Data Cloud) - covering data model, sharing and visibility, automation strategy, UI composition, and integration boundaries
• Apply strong engineering judgment to select the appropriate no-code, low-code, or pro-code solution to meet functional, performance, scalability, and compliance requirements
• Architect and oversee solutions built with Apex, Lightning Web Components (LWC), Flows, Flow Orchestration, and Omni studio where appropriate
• Design and govern solutions on Sales Cloud aligned to dental benefits sales, group, and broker workflows
• Lead architecture for Health Cloud and Digital Insurance, covering group sale, individual sale, and broker sell channel data models, and the producer/broker portal experiences built on top of them
• Architect and implement Data 360 capabilities — Zero Copy integrations, data streams, identity resolution, calculated insights, segmentation, and activation into Marketing Cloud, Health Cloud, and downstream systems
• Design and govern Marketing Cloud architecture for member engagement journeys, lifecycle communications, and Data 360-driven personalization
• Leverage Agentforce to architect AI-assisted workflows, intelligent case handling, and decision-support agents grounded in Data 360
• Design, integrate, and operationalize AI-powered features by working with large language models (LLMs), including OpenAI and Anthropic models (e.g., Opus, Sonnet), to enable conversational interfaces, automation, summarization, and decision-support use cases
• Partner with Security, Privacy, and Platform teams to integrate AI services responsibly within Salesforce, with HIPAA, PII, and PHI safeguards designed in from the start
• Design and govern integrations using REST/SOAP APIs, Platform Events, Change Data Capture, and enterprise middleware connecting Salesforce to Snowflake, Azure, and other internal systems
• Establish and enforce best practices for security, data access, sharing, large data volumes, governor limit management, and performance at enterprise scale
• Lead architecture review boards, design discussions, peer code reviews, and release management decisions
• Author and maintain Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), reference architectures, and platform standards
• Collaborate with Product, Business, Data, and Security leaders to translate strategy into a credible target-state architecture
• Mentor engineers and admins, and promote best practices in Salesforce development, design, and platform governance
• Support CI/CD pipelines, sandbox topology, branching strategy, and Salesforce DevOps processes

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on Salesforce platform experience, including 3+ years in an architect, lead, or senior solution role, with strong expertise in Apex, Lightning Web Components, Flows, Flow orchestration, and data cloud
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent technical field
• 2+ years of experience architecting or leading solutions on Salesforce Data 360 (Data Cloud), including identity resolution, segmentation, and activation
• 2+ years of experience architecting or leading solutions on Salesforce Marketing Cloud, including Journey Builder and Data 360-driven personalization
• 1+ year of experience with Agentforce, including AI-assisted workflows and grounded agent design
• Good understanding of Salesforce Health Cloud, including Digital Insurance
• Demonstrated experience designing sharing and visibility models for large user bases and large data volumes
• Deep understanding of Salesforce security model, role hierarchy, sharing rules, restriction rules, permission set groups, and data modeling at enterprise scale
• Strong experience designing and consuming APIs and enterprise integrations, including event-driven and asynchronous patterns
• Salesforce Certifications (Required): Salesforce Platform Developer I, Salesforce Platform Developer II, Salesforce Administrator Certification, Salesforce Application Architect
• Demonstrated ability to make sound architectural decisions across low-code, no-code, and pro-code solutions, and to defend those decisions in writing
• Ability to identify key issues and trade-offs and present understandable alternatives to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
• Ability to create and maintain technical documentation, ADRs, and reference architectures
• Proven ability to effectively present data and architecture trade-offs to facilitate decision-making
• Ability to solve complex problems using analytical and creative problem-solving skills
• Competent at adhering to organizational processes including scrum ceremonies, design artifacts, and architecture governance
• Knowledge of agile development methodologies

Base Pay Information The national base pay range at the end is a good-faith estimate of what Delta Dental may pay for new hires. Actual pay may vary based on Delta Dental's assessment of the candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), related experience, education, certifications and ability to meet required minimum job qualifications. Other factors impacting pay include prevailing wages in the work location and internal equity. Pay Grade 23. $106,400 - $230,600

Additional Information

Behind the smile! We are dedicated to safeguarding the health and financial stability of our employees and their loved ones. This commitment extends beyond the workplace to foster personal growth and holistic wellbeing. Our life-changing rewards package includes:

• Competitive base and incentive pay
• 401(k) with robust matching and non-matching contributions
• Rich medical & pharmacy benefits
• 100% employer-paid dental and vision benefits
• Holistic wellbeing program with deep financial incentives
• Generous paid time off plus 12 paid holidays and your birthday off
• Culture of growth and learning: career development; tuition reimbursement; recognition program
• Family support: adoption assistance, fertility treatment, child, elder & pet care assistance
• Social responsibility and volunteer opportunities
• Employee discount program

Fair Chance Ordinances and Criminal Background Considerations This position requires that the applicant undergo a background check. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with any applicable federal, state or local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and/or New York Corrections Law Article 23-A. Important Work Authorization Information Please note, Delta Dental will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position. #LI-Hybrid

About the Team

At Delta Dental, we're behind millions of smiles and counting. For over 68 years, we've served our communities by increasing access to affordable, quality care – but that commitment to care extends beyond the people we serve, to the dedicated employees who make those smiles genuine. We've come this far by building fair programs that offer opportunities for advancement, create meaningful connections and improve the lives of our employees and their families. Because we know that when we take exceptional care of each other, we can make a positive impact for all. We champion an inspirational workplace through our commitment to trust, service, excellence and innovation. Joining us means working for a company that offers stability and balance, opportunities for leadership at all levels, and a work environment focused on teamwork and camaraderie. Discover the smiling faces behind Delta Dental and experience our values and culture in action by connecting with us on social media. Follow Delta Dental Ins. on Facebook and Instagram, #LifeatDDins on Facebook and Instagram, Delta Dental Ins. on Twitter and Delta Dental Ins. on LinkedIn. If you've got an appetite for innovation and want to be a part of a team that's transforming the future of health care, join us! Since 1955, we have offered comprehensive, high-