Lead Software Architect

Senior Application Architect – Mainframe & Legacy ModernizationLocation: Remote with light travel to the Omaha, Nebraska area Employment Type: 6-month contract-to-hire Work Location Requirement: Must reside in the United States*** This role does not provide sponsorship opportunities. We are unable to work with third party candidates or employers (C2C)Capstone IT is helping our client to hire a Senior Application Architect to guide enterprise architecture and modernization initiatives supporting Distributed Operations. This role will partner with business and technology teams to translate business objectives into secure, scalable solutions and practical technology roadmaps.The ideal candidate brings experience with mainframe and legacy modernization, AWS, Java, distributed systems, and API- and event-driven architecture. This position combines architecture strategy, technical guidance, and team coaching, with opportunities to apply AI and automation to business processes.Key ResponsibilitiesLead architecture strategy and solution design for complex enterprise technology initiatives.Assess legacy and mainframe applications and develop modernization plans, including decomposing monolithic systems and moving toward cloud-ready platforms.Design cloud-native, distributed solutions using APIs, microservices, events, and enterprise integration patterns.Apply Domain Driven Design principles to organize systems around business domains and bounded contexts.Partner with Enterprise Architects, Product Management, business stakeholders, engineers, vendors, and Agile Release Train teams to develop technology roadmaps.Create solution blueprints, target-state architectures, integration designs, architecture decision records, and technical standards.Define requirements for scalability, resiliency, performance, security, and maintainability, and guide teams through architecture trade-offs.Evaluate AI, automation, intelligent workflows, and predictive analytics opportunities through workshops, proofs of concept, prototyping, and feasibility analysis.Establish architecture governance and responsible AI practices addressing security, privacy, compliance, regulatory requirements, and enterprise risk.Develop technical debt reduction plans and promote engineering practices across DevSecOps, CI/CD, and the software development lifecycle.Coach architects, engineers, and analysts on solution design, systems thinking, and modern architecture practices.Communicate recommendations, risks, investment considerations, and business value to technical and business stakeholders.Required Qualifications8+ years of progressively increasing responsibility and leadership in architecture, enterprise architecture, software engineering, solution design, or modernization within complex, large-scale organizations.Required experience assessing and modernizing mainframe and legacy systems into scalable, secure, maintainable, cloud-ready platforms.Expert-level knowledge of cloud-native, distributed, and event-driven architectures, including APIs, microservices, and integration patterns.Advanced technical knowledge of AWS, Java, containerization, mainframe technologies, legacy and modern programming languages, and relational and non-relational databases.Experience designing enterprise systems that use APIs and events as primary integration mechanisms.Experience applying Domain Driven Design, including business domains and bounded contexts.Ability to guide teams through distributed system design decisions involving performance, scalability, resiliency, integration, and technical trade-offs.Experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD, and software development lifecycle management.AI and data architecture experience, including evaluating and implementing AI, automation, intelligent workflows, and predictive analytics solutions.Experience establishing governance, security, privacy, compliance, responsible AI, and enterprise risk management practices.Leadership experience in Agile and SAFe environments, working across business, product, architecture, and engineering teams.Strong communication, stakeholder management, strategic thinking, risk evaluation, and organizational change leadership skills.Preferred QualificationsTOGAF certification.Insurance industry experience.Experience with AWS services and tools such as S3, Bedrock, SageMaker, EC2, Amazon Connect, CDK, and SDKs.Practical familiarity with autonomous AI systems.Participation in industry groups or architecture and engineering communities of practice.Top SkillsetsMainframe and Legacy Modernization – Assessing legacy applications, decomposing monoliths, and transitioning systems to cloud-ready platforms.AWS and Cloud-Native Architecture – Designing cloud solutions using AWS, containers, and microservices.Distributed and Event-Driven Systems – Designing scalable, resilient systems and understanding performance and architecture trade-offs.API Design and Enterprise Integration – Using APIs, events, and integration patterns to connect enterprise applications.Java and Enterprise Technologies – Technical depth in Java, mainframe technologies, and relational and NoSQL databases.Domain Driven Design (DDD) – Structuring applications around business domains and bounded contexts.AI and Data Architecture – Evaluating and implementing AI, automation, intelligent workflows, and predictive analytics with appropriate governance.Capstone Consulting is an EEO employer.