Vice President, Application Architecture (Boston)

Job Description SummaryFor over forty years, HarbourVest has been home to a committed team of professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to deliver impactful solutions to our clients and investing partners. As our global firm grows, we continue to add individuals who seek a collaborative, open-door culture that values diversity and innovative thinking.In our collegial environment, that’s marked by low turnover and high energy, you’ll be inspired to grow and thrive. Here, you will be encouraged to build on your strengths and acquire new skills and experiences.We are committed to fostering an environment of inclusion that promotes mutual respect among all employees. Understanding and valuing these differences optimizes the potential of both the individual and the firm.HarbourVest is an equal opportunity employer.This position will be a hybrid work arrangement. You will receive 18 remote workdays per quarter to use at your discretion, subject to manager approval. For example, you may choose to work in the office 4 days per week and take one remote day weekly (typically 13 weeks per quarter), leaving 5 additional remote days to be used as needed.We are seeking a Vice President of Application Architecture to join our Platform Engineering team and provide enterprise-level technical leadership across Enterprise Architecture and Platform Engineering. We are searching for a highly respected, hands-on technology leader. They define a cohesive platform architecture, set long-term technical direction, and lead modernization efforts across the firm. This enables scale, agility, resilience, and growth.As a Vice President of Application Architecture, you will develop the firm’s target-state architecture across applications, integration, cloud environments, and shared engineering capabilities! You will partner closely with engineering leadership, product and delivery teams, data and security stakeholders, vendors, and enterprise technology partners to define architecture strategy, establish reference architectures and standards, and guide complex modernization initiatives from concept through adoption. This role will simplify a fragmented technology landscape and improve interoperability. It will enable reusable platform capabilities. It ensures the company’s technological infrastructure can support future business expansion.You bring deep expertise in modern application build and platform structure and apply that expertise to build scalable, secure, and durable technology patterns across the enterprise. You are fluent in architectural design patterns and modern engineering practices, including microservices, micro-frontends, event-driven systems, cloud-native development, DevOps, and modern web application engineering. You lead through influence and hands-on technical credibility, helping teams make sound architectural decisions while raising engineering quality, consistency, and ongoing structural durability within the organization.The ideal candidate is:Recognized technical authority with demonstrated success in defining enterprise-scale architecture strategy and influencing adoption across multiple teams, platforms, and business domainsStrong proficiency in enterprise and solution architecture, demonstrating skill in defining target-state architectures, transition roadmaps, and pragmatic modernization strategiesStrong experience establishing an integrated platform design and enterprise standards that improve consistency, reusability, scalability, and long-term maintainabilityHands-on knowledge of microservices architecture, micro-frontend architecture, and event-driven design patterns in complex enterprise environmentsFluency in architectural and software design patterns, with the ability to guide teams in selecting the right patterns, tradeoffs, and implementation approachesStrong experience with cloud infrastructure development and cloud-native architecture, preferably in Azure, including scalable application patterns, integration, identity, networking, observability, and resilienceProven grasp of DevOps principles and software delivery practices, including CI/CD, infrastructure automation, environment strategy, and release governanceExpertise in contemporary web application development and architecture, including frameworks and technologies such as Angular, React, TypeScript, Node.js, and development focused on web-based interfacesExperience developing distributed systems that make use of Redis for caching, Kafka for messaging, and robust data access layer patternsAbility to balance strategic architecture direction with practical execution, helping teams modernize incrementally while maintaining delivery momentumStrong understanding of integration, interoperability, data flow, and domain boundaries across enterprise software and infrastructuresOutstanding communication skills, demonstrated by the capacity to translate architectural strategy and technical tradeoffs into clear recommendations for engineering leaders, executives, and non-technical partnersA collaborative, influential leadership style with a demonstrated ability to support and develop architects and engineers, build alignment, and raise technical standards across the organizationWhat you will do:Set technical direction for enterprise and platform architecture within the organization. Define the target-state architectural vision. Establish standards, patterns, and reference architectures to modernize technology and enable scaling.Define and evolve a unified platform architecture that spans application development, integration, cloud infrastructure, shared services, and enterprise engineering capabilitiesCreate enterprise architecture principles, standards, reference architectures, and modernization roadmaps that align technology investments with business growth objectivesGuide architecture decisions across product, platform, and enterprise initiatives, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, interoperable, and aligned to long-term strategyGuide modernization projects that transition legacy applications and platforms toward modern architectures such as microservices, event-driven systems, and micro-frontend-based user experiencesEstablish architecture patterns and guardrails for cloud-native engineering, DevOps practices, integration, observability, resilience, and secure software deliveryDrive standardization and reuse across the engineering organization by defining shared frameworks, common services, and architectural building blocks that reduce redundancy and complexityPartner with application, platform, data, security, and infrastructure teams to ensure architecture decisions consider operational, regulatory, performance, and supportability requirementsProvide hands-on technical mentorship for modern web system development involving technologies such as Angular, React, TypeScript, Node.js, alongside service layers built on APIsDefine standard methodologies for architecture of distributed systems, including messaging, caching, data access, service communication, and domain decomposition by employing platforms such as Kafka and RedisEvaluate new technologies, frameworks, and architectural approaches, making pragmatic recommendations that advance the organization’s technology strategy without introducing unnecessary complexityInfluence governance and engineering review processes to improve architectural quality, reduce technical debt, and ensure consistent execution across initiativesMentor architects and senior engineers, elevate architectural thinking across teams, and foster a culture of engineering excellence, simplification, and continuous modernizationSupport additional critical initiatives as neededWhat you bring:A passion for defining durable organizational architecture alongside up-to-date engineering standards that develop long-term business and technology valueDemonstrated success driving enterprise-wide architecture and modernization initiatives across applications, platforms, cloud, and integration domainsDeep hands-on experience with modern architecture patterns such as distributed services, component-based frontends, event-centric architecture, principles driven by a passion for the core business logic, and API-based integrationStrong knowledge of cloud engineering and distributed systems design, with experience building scalable, resilient, and observable solutions in enterprise environmentsPractical expertise with modern application development stacks and frameworks, including Angular, React, TypeScript, Node.js, and current web application architecture patternsExperience with messaging, caching, and data access technologies and patterns, including Kafka, Redis, API integration, persistence strategies, and service-to-service communicationSolid understanding of DevOps and software delivery processes, with a focus on CI/CD, automation, source control strategy, environment management, and release lifecycle considerationsAbility to connect business goals to architecture strategy, translating organizational priorities into actionable technical roadmaps and standardsA track record of influencing senior leaders, engineers, and multi-functional teams to align around a shared architecture vision and complete it optimallyStrong mentoring, collaboration, and communication skills, capable of raising architectural maturity and improving engineering efficiency within the enterpriseNice to Have:Experience with enterprise architecture frameworks and governance practices, such as TOGAF, capability modeling, architecture review processes, or domain architecture methodsExperience with application portfolio modernization, platform rationalization, and defining transition states for legacy-to-modern architecture journeysFamiliarity with container platforms and orchestration technologies, such as Kubernetes or OpenShift, and how they contribute to current application architectureExperience with data architecture, analytics platforms, or integ