Salesforce Architect

Job Description

How will this role impact First Command?

The Salesforce Architect is responsible for defining solution architecture and architectural direction across Salesforce platforms and related capabilities. The role provides architectural leadership throughout the delivery lifecycle, guides technical decisions, establishes Salesforce architecture standards, and ensures solutions remain aligned with approved architectural direction.

This role applies deep Salesforce expertise across platform capabilities, integrations, data domains, security, scalability, reliability, operational support, and future extensibility. The architect applies product, process, data, security, integration, and enterprise technology context to architectural decisions while partnering across product, architecture, engineering, and delivery teams to drive alignment and informed decision-making.

The role is accountable for Salesforce architecture governance, architecture artifacts, non-functional requirements, technical standards, peer reviews, architectural escalation, root-cause analysis participation, and continuous improvement of Salesforce architecture practices. The architect mentors engineers and architects, facilitates knowledge transfer, and maintains current understanding of First Command business processes to ensure Salesforce solutions align with organizational needs.

The role operates with a high degree of autonomy and accountability and requires strong communication, leadership, decision-making, and organizational skills to drive alignment and successful solution outcomes across multiple teams.

What will the employee do in this role?

• Lead solution architecture engagements from discovery through delivery by shaping technical direction, facilitating architectural decisions, and creating alignment across product, architecture, engineering, and delivery teams.
• Define Salesforce solution architecture across platform capabilities, integrations, data domains, security, scalability, reliability, operational support, and future extensibility.
• Define and communicate architectural direction, guiding principles, standards, and technical roadmaps for Salesforce platforms and related capabilities.
• Provide architectural leadership and governance throughout the solution delivery lifecycle to ensure solutions remain aligned with approved architectural direction.
• Develop proofs of concept and prototypes as needed to evaluate technical feasibility, validate solution approaches, identify constraints, assumptions, dependencies, risks, and trade-offs, reduce implementation risk, and inform architectural decisions.
• Mentor engineers and architects on solution design, architecture practices, and Salesforce platform standards.
• Define, evolve, and promote Salesforce architecture standards, reference patterns, and best practices.
• Establish and enforce architectural standards, patterns, and governance processes across teams, while promoting consistency, maintainability, and reuse.
• Apply product, process, data, security, integration, and enterprise technology context to architecture decisions.
• Facilitate collaboration across cross-functional teams to drive architectural alignment, resolve dependencies, and support informed technical decision-making.
• Serve as an escalation point for technical issues related to architecture, standards exceptions, technical risk, cross-system dependencies, and solution trade-offs.
• Document architectural decisions, alternatives considered, trade-offs, assumptions, and supporting rationale with sufficient context to support implementation, support, and future enhancement activities.
• Define and maintain architecture artifacts including system context diagrams, integration designs, data flows, architectural decision records, and technical requirements.
• Identify, communicate, and mitigate architectural risks and technical debt.
• Define non-functional requirements including security, scalability, reliability, recoverability, maintainability, performance, and operational support requirements.
• Provide architectural leadership for initiatives that span multiple systems, platforms, products, integrations, data domains, or delivery teams.
• Facilitate technical and product knowledge transfer across teams and stakeholders.
• Ensure architectural documentation contains sufficient context, rationale, and detail to support implementation, support, and future enhancement activities.
• Pursue continuous education to master new technologies, agile processes, programming languages, industry best practices, and tools that are needed within First Command.
• Lead architectural design for new systems and major enhancements, enabling delivery teams to decompose approved architectures into executable work.
• Perform peer reviews of architecture deliverables and solution designs to ensure alignment with architectural standards, design principles, and approved solution direction.
• Support resolution of complex technical issues by contributing to root-cause analysis, evaluating architectural impacts, and recommending long-term corrective actions.
• Maintain current knowledge of First Command business processes and apply that context to solution architecture and design decisions.

What skills & qualifications do you need?

Education

• Bachelor's degree preferred. 5 years of experience may be considered in lieu of degree.

Work Experience

• 5+ years Salesforce experience
• 3+ years of experience leading solution architecture engagements and providing technical direction across cross-functional teams.

Certifications

• Minimum of two Salesforce certifications.
• Salesforce Certified Application Architect or Salesforce Certified System Architect certification preferred.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Solution Architecture: Experience defining solution architectures across Salesforce platforms, integrations, data domains, security, scalability, reliability, operational support, and future extensibility.
• Platform Architecture: Experience designing scalable Salesforce solutions across Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Financial Services Cloud, and related platform capabilities.
• Integration and Data Design: Experience designing integrations, APIs, data flows, and cross-system interactions across Salesforce and enterprise technology platforms.
• Development Expertise: Strong understanding of Lightning Web Components, Apex, Apex Triggers, SOQL, Salesforce DX, REST services, SOAP services, and Salesforce development practices.
• Technical Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead architecture engagements and technical decision-making without direct organizational authority. Skilled at driving alignment, resolving ambiguity, influencing stakeholders, facilitating cross-functional engagements, and progressing solutions from concept through delivery.
• Decision Quality: Ability to evaluate competing alternatives and make architecture recommendations using risk, cost, complexity, feasibility, operational impacts, and long-term maintainability considerations.
• Stakeholder Alignment: Ability to facilitate collaboration across cross-functional teams, resolve dependencies, build alignment, and support informed technical decision-making.
• Architecture Governance: Experience defining, implementing, and evolving architecture standards, reference patterns, governance processes, and best practices.
• Communication: Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences and facilitate informed decision-making.
• Delivery Enablement: Ability to provide architectural direction that delivery teams can decompose into executable work while maintaining alignment with approved solution designs.
• Technology Context: Ability to connect platform decisions to product requirements, process requirements, security requirements, data architecture, integration architecture, operational support models, and user experience considerations across Salesforce platforms.
• Continuous Learning: Commitment to staying current with Salesforce capabilities, architecture practices, integration approaches, emerging technologies, and industry trends.
• Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple priorities simultaneously, and operate effectively with a high degree of autonomy and accountability.
• Leadership Influence: Ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence decision-making, enable other leaders, and drive alignment across organizational boundaries.

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