Principal Software Architect (Graph Architect)

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Software Architect to provide technical leadership and architectural direction across complex, high-scale software and data platforms. In addition to Identity Resolution, the Principal Software Architect will be responsible for designing scalable enterprise applications, distributed systems, large-scale data-processing platforms, and low-latency APIs and services. The ideal candidate will have deep, hands-on expertise across Java, Python, Scala, Apache Spark, and SQL, with strong experience designing systems on AWS, Snowflake, and Databricks. Define and drive the architecture for enterprise-scale Identity Resolution platforms and services.

• Architect distributed applications and services using Java, Python, and Scala, selecting the appropriate language and framework based on workload and system requirements.
• Design high-scale data-processing pipelines and platforms using Apache Spark, including Spark workloads implemented in Scala and Python.
• Design and optimize data solutions using Snowflake and Databricks for large-scale analytical and operational workloads.
• Design highly efficient data models and SQL-based solutions supporting transactional, analytical, and Identity Resolution workloads.
• Define appropriate caching, concurrency, partitioning, indexing, persistence, and data-access strategies to meet stringent performance and latency requirements.
• Define cloud-native architectures using AWS and modern distributed computing patterns.
• Design integration patterns between AWS, Snowflake, Databricks, internal applications, APIs, and external data providers.
• Evaluate technologies, frameworks, databases, processing engines, and architectural approaches based on performance, scalability, reliability, cost, and operational complexity.
• Establish standards and best practices for application architecture, API design, data architecture, distributed processing, security, observability, testing, and software development.
• Partner closely with engineering teams to translate architectural designs into practical, scalable, and maintainable implementations.
• Provide technical direction during the development of complex systems and assist engineering teams in resolving difficult performance, scalability, and design challenges.
• Conduct architecture and design reviews to ensure systems align with established technical standards and long-term platform strategy.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and guide teams in optimizing APIs, applications, Spark workloads, SQL queries, and distributed-processing systems.
• Define architectural approaches for resiliency, fault tolerance, high availability, disaster recovery, and operational monitoring.
• Collaborate with engineering, data engineering, product, security, infrastructure, and business stakeholders to translate complex requirements into effective technical solutions.
• Mentor senior engineers, technical leads, and architects and help develop architectural capabilities across the engineering organization.
• Stay current with evolving technologies and industry practices related to Identity Resolution, distributed systems, cloud computing, data platforms, and software architecture.

The Principal Software Architect should have significant experience designing or working with Identity Resolution, Entity Resolution, Customer 360, Master Data Management, identity graph, or similar large-scale matching systems. Data quality and identity accuracy measurement ~ Privacy, security, and governance considerations associated with identity data 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant experience designing complex enterprise software systems.

• Proven experience serving as an Architect, Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, or equivalent senior technical leader.
• Deep experience designing and implementing Identity Resolution, Entity Resolution, identity graph, Customer 360, Master Data Management, or similar systems.
• Strong expertise in Java, including enterprise application development, high-performance services, concurrency, and distributed application design.
• Strong expertise in Python, including application development, data processing, automation, APIs, and distributed data workloads.
• Strong expertise in Scala, particularly for distributed systems and large-scale data-processing applications.
• Deep experience with Apache Spark, including architecture, optimization, partitioning, distributed execution, performance tuning, and large-scale processing.
• Advanced proficiency in SQL, including complex queries, relational data modeling, query optimization, and performance tuning.
• Demonstrated ability to select appropriately between Java, Python, Scala, Spark, and SQL based on performance, scalability, maintainability, and workload requirements.
• Strong experience designing REST APIs, microservices, distributed applications, and high-throughput backend services.
• Extensive experience with AWS and cloud-native application architecture.
• Strong experience with Snowflake, including data modeling, performance optimization, security, data sharing, and large-scale data-processing patterns.
• Strong experience with Databricks, including Spark-based processing, distributed data engineering, optimization, and production workload management.
• Experience designing systems that span application, API, distributed-processing, data, and cloud infrastructure layers.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles, design patterns, API design, data structures, algorithms, and application performance.
• Experience with modern CI/CD practices, automated testing, source control, and production software delivery.
• Strong understanding of security, privacy, authentication, authorization, encryption, and data-protection practices.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose complex architectural and performance problems.
• Experience architecting large scale Identity Resolution platforms.
• Experience designing and optimizing large-scale Spark applications using both Scala and Python.
• Experience with graph databases or graph-oriented data models.
• Experience with probabilistic matching algorithms, machine learning-based matching, or advanced entity-resolution techniques.
• Experience designing multi-region or highly available cloud architectures.
• Experience modernizing legacy applications and data platforms.
• Experience working with large-scale consumer, marketing, advertising, financial, or customer identity datasets.

Languages & Data Processing

• Java
• Python

~ SQL

Platforms

~ AWS

• Databricks
• Enterprise Application Architecture
• Large-Scale Data Processing
• Cloud-Native Architecture
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience. Acxiom is an equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veteran status (EOE/Vet/Disabled) and does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, training, promotion or other employment of associates or the awarding of subcontracts because of a person's race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, protected veteran, military status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics or other protected status.

Attention Colorado, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington Applicants: This position is not located in the aforementioned locations but applications for remote work may be considered. For information about this role under state or local equal pay or pay transparency laws, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io.