Sr Lead M&A Architect

Cox Automotive - Infrastructure & Operations

The Senior Lead M&A Infrastructure Architect leads complex, multi-threaded M&A infrastructure initiatives, evaluating and synthesizing target organizations' infrastructure across domains and defining integration strategies and architecture decisions for integration with Cox Automotive technology standards while preserving deal value. The role sets architectural direction for multiple concurrent acquisitions and divestitures, balances integration priorities with operational capacity, and supports acquired teams throughout the integration process. As a senior technical leader, this position is accountable not only for technical outcomes but also for scaling M&A integration capabilities through standards, patterns, automation, and AI-enabled practices.

This position partners closely with the M&A Center of Excellence, the IOPS M&A Integration Lead, Infrastructure and Operations platform teams (Cloud, Network, Incident and Data Center), and executive leadership to define current, transition, and future state architectures, defining "the what and why", along with actionable roadmaps that delivery teams can execute. The role serves as a trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, informing deal strategy, integration options, and investment decisions across the M&A portfolio.

The role champions and scales AI-augmented methods to accelerate due diligence, improve assessment quality, and strengthen integration planning across the full M&A lifecycle including Due Diligence, Integration Planning, Day 1, Post-Merger Integration, and Steady State. As AI reshapes infrastructure management, the Senior Lead Architect drives adoption of AI-augmented architecture, analysis, and decision support to accelerate outcomes, reduce risk, and increase integration quality.

A key responsibility is balancing rapid integration requirements with operational stability, cost efficiency, and long-term enterprise strategy, while protecting the value of acquired teams and enabling successful transition into Cox Automotive operating models.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own infrastructure architecture strategy for the M&A portfolio, authoring and governing infrastructure integration blueprints and roadmaps across current, transition, and future states for multiple concurrent acquisitions and divestitures.
• Develop multi-domain scenario plans with trade-off analysis across cost, risk, and delivery dimensions, mapping current to future state in coordination with the M&A Center of Excellence and corporate development.
• Produce architecture decisions and design artifacts that enable delivery teams to implement solutions that are scalable, secure, supportable, and aligned with enterprise strategy.
• Create design artifacts and diagrams representing desired changes in infrastructure architecture.
• Establish, evolve, and govern Cox Automotive infrastructure integration standards, design patterns, and reference architectures; document and guide variances through approval.
• Lead alignment with acquired company stakeholders and CAI Infrastructure and Operations platform teams to align on roadmap and sequencing; influence infrastructure, platform, security, network, database, and automation teams without direct authority.
• Serve as a technical authority bridging platform engineering and delivery teams, reviewing designs and improving collaboration between groups.
• Facilitate virtual and in-person working sessions, including whiteboarding, to build alignment on integration direction.
• Synthesize complex technical findings into executive-ready narratives highlighting decisions, risks, tradeoffs, and progress aligned to deal milestones; brief senior leadership on integration posture and architectural direction.
• Evaluate operational and engineering capacity impacts of incoming scope and provide readouts for downstream planning, including staffing, tooling, and run-cost implications.
• Use AI-assisted techniques for infrastructure due diligence, including document analysis, data room assessment, infrastructure scope classification, technology overlap identification, risk assessment, and production of confidence-rated findings.
• Apply AI tools to generate, stress-test, and validate architectural options across cost, performance, security, and resilience dimensions for integration scenario evaluation.
• Drive architectural governance, compliance, standards gap analysis, and documentation using structured and AI-augmented methods, including automating standards checks, exception workflows, and audit-ready documentation for acquired environments.
• Stay informed on infrastructure and cloud trends, including AI/ML infrastructure patterns, and assess relevance to integration strategies.
• Establish yourself as a trusted technical advisor with key internal and external stakeholders, including executive leadership, corporate development, and acquired company leadership.
• Leverage AI agents to identify overlapping platforms, normalize inconsistent inventories, estimate consolidation effort, and surface synergies across acquired environments.
• Mentor and develop M&A architecture capabilities across teams, establishing repeatable integration playbooks, patterns, and knowledge bases that reduce cycle time for future engagements.
• Partner with business leaders and corporate development to inform deal strategy, integration options, and investment decisions with technical insight and scenario-based analysis.
• Identify and drive process improvements across the M&A infrastructure integration lifecycle, applying lessons learned to continuously improve integration speed, quality, and predictability.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a relevant discipline and 8 years of related experience. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 6 years of experience, a Ph.D. and 3 years of experience, or 20 years of experience in a related field.8+ years of infrastructure architecture experience in large-scale enterprise environments.
• 5+ years of experience owning architecture strategy across M&A technology integration and divestiture engagements, including leading multiple concurrent deals.
• 5+ years of experience applying structured architecture and design practices in a large-scale enterprise environment.
• Experience in modeling complex multi-tier infrastructure architectures and leading design discussions with teams and stakeholders across all organizational levels, ensuring effective alignment between technical and business objectives.
• Subject matter expert depth in two or more domains with breadth across cloud platforms, networking, compute, virtualization, storage, monitoring, and security.
• Strong understanding of cloud computing concepts, particularly IaaS and PaaS, with hands-on experience in enterprise cloud migration and integration.
• Proficiency with AI-augmented tools for analysis, architecture design, and productivity, including validating AI-assisted outputs for production readiness and coaching others on effective use.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with executive presence across all organizational levels.
• Demonstrated experience making and defending architecture decisions with organization-wide impact.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills with demonstrated ability to influence across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
• Track record of mentoring architects and engineers, building team capability, and establishing repeatable practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant certifications in enterprise architecture, cloud architecture, or infrastructure domains, such as TOGAF, Certified Enterprise Architect (CEA), AWS Solutions Architect, or CCIE.
• Experience facilitating virtual and in-person group working sessions.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking in AI-enabled architecture initiatives.
• Experience with structured vendor and platform evaluations.
• Familiarity with simulation approaches, digital twin concepts, or intent-based automation.
• Experience leading architecture strategy across a portfolio of concurrent M&A engagements at varying lifecycle stages.
• Experience establishing or contributing to enterprise architecture governance frameworks and integration playbooks.
• Experience partnering with corporate development or M&A Center of Excellence functions to inform deal strategy with technical analysis.

USD 148,500.00 - 247,500.00 per year

Compensation:

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $148,500.00 - $247,500.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Benefits:

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

EOE, including disability/vets