Principal Software Architect

Robots and Pencils; Remote; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital product company in Canada is seeking a Principal Software Architect to provide technical leadership across various platforms. This role involves defining application architecture for mobile and backend solutions, working closely with delivery teams, and engaging with clients to ensure scalable and maintainable systems. The ideal candidate has over 12 years of experience in software engineering and has demonstrated hands-on ownership of production application architecture. Join a team that blends strategy, design, and engineering to drive impactful technology.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, emphasizing production application architecture.
• Strong background in building user-facing applications, leading technical decisions.
• Hands-on knowledge of Azure for application deployment and management.

Responsibilities

• Define application architecture across mobile and backend platforms.
• Partner with delivery teams to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Engage with clients to communicate technical concepts effectively.
• Support integrations with enterprise platforms and AI initiatives.

Skills

Mobile application architecture

Backend services development

API design

Azure cloud services

DevOps workflows

Technical leadership

Client communication

Tools

Azure DevOps

GitHub

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Overview

At Robots & Pencils, we build meaningful, scalable digital products for forward-thinking organizations. We are seeking a Principal Software Architect to provide technical leadership across complex, multi-platform engagements. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, delivery, and client partnership owning system design decisions while remaining deeply connected to execution. As a Principal Software Architect, you will guide architecture across mobile, backend, cloud, and emerging AI-enabled solutions. You will collaborate closely with delivery leaders, engineers, designers, and client stakeholders to ensure systems are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with business outcomes. This is a hands-on, delivery-embedded role, not a pre-sales or advisory-only position.

Key Responsibilities

• Architecture & Technical Leadership
  • Define and evolve application architecture across iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), .NET, and Node.js backend services.
  • Lead architectural decisions for scalable, secure systems using SQL Server, Oracle, and Azure-based infrastructure.
  • Provide technical direction across frontend, backend, mobile, and integration layers.
  • Review designs and implementations to ensure alignment with architectural standards and long-term maintainability.
• Delivery & Execution Partnership
  • Partner with Delivery Managers and engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
  • Support end-to-end delivery across multiple concurrent engagements, balancing speed, quality, and sustainability.
  • Act as a technical escalation point, resolving complex architectural or integration challenges.
  • Ensure architecture supports CI/CD, observability, performance, and operational excellence.
• Client Engagement & Communication
  • Serve as a senior technical leader in client-facing discussions, building trust through clarity and credibility.
  • Translate complex technical concepts into clear business value for non-technical stakeholders.
  • Support roadmap planning, risk identification, and technical decision-making with clients.
  • Maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and follow-through.
• Platform, Tooling & Integration Oversight
  • Guide use of Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, and modern delivery tooling.
  • Support integrations with enterprise platforms such as Radar/GeoMoby (geofencing), Oracle Recruiting Booster, and Dropbox Sign.
  • Contribute to AI-enabled initiatives using Python, TypeScript, and Azure OpenAI, ensuring responsible and practical adoption.
  • Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, fostering strong architectural thinking and craftsmanship.
  • Promote engineering best practices, documentation, and shared learning across teams.
  • Encourage collaboration between disciplines including mobile, backend, design, and data.

Required Skills & Experience

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant hands-on ownership of production application architecture.
• Proven experience acting as the technical owner for complex, user-facing applications, not just reviewing or advising.
• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver end-to-end application systems, including:
• Mobile clients (iOS with Swift, Android with Kotlin)
• Backend application services (.NET and Node.js)
• RESTful and event-driven APIs
• Relational data models using SQL Server and Oracle
• Service boundaries and ownership models
• API versioning and contract governance
• Data consistency, transactional integrity, and validation strategies
• Error handling, resiliency, and failure recovery
• Hands-on experience building and operating applications on Azure, including:
• Deployment and environment strategies
• Logging, monitoring, and performance observability
• Experience working in delivery-driven consulting or product environments, where architecture must adapt to evolving requirements.
• Comfort staying close to implementation through code reviews, architectural validation, and team unblockers.
• Strong understanding of modern SDLC practices, DevOps workflows, automated testing, and release management.

Nice to Have

• Experience modernizing or replacing legacy applications with modern mobile and cloud-native architectures.
• Background supporting regulated or enterprise environments where reliability, auditability, and data integrity are critical.
• Prior responsibility for architectural decisions that scaled to high user volumes or multi-region deployments.
• Experience evaluating and integrating AI features into applications where they deliver clear user or business value.

Why Join Robots & Pencils?

At Robots & Pencils, we blend strategy, design, and engineering to deliver technology that drives real impact. As a Principal Software Architect, you will shape the technical direction of high-visibility initiatives while working alongside talented teams across mobile, web, cloud, and AI. You’ll influence how modern systems are built without losing connection to delivery, people, or outcomes.