Principal Systems Architect (Copilot Architect)

OpenText; Richmond Hill; On-site; CAD 118,000 - 119,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenText is seeking a Principal IT Systems Architect focused on AI solutions to drive architecture, development, and deployment of scalable AI-enabled platforms. You will translate complex business needs into target architectures, lead large initiatives, and set reusable patterns with governance across security, data, and operations.

You will guide PoC to production, establish standards for secure delivery and observability, and collaborate with DevOps, platform engineers, and vendor teams to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, IT, or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 years of architectural and hands-on software/platform engineering experience.
• Experience leading large-scale solution architecture from requirements to production.
• Deep expertise in cloud architecture, distributed systems, APIs, web architecture, IAM, security, data architecture, DevSecOps, observability, reliability, and cost optimization.
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform and modern hosting: containers, serverless, Kubernetes or PaaS.
• Experience architecting AI-enabled apps using foundation-model services, retrieval, tools, agents, orchestration, evaluation, content safety, and monitoring.
• Ability to establish standards, migrate strategies, and make impactful decisions.
• Proven ability to lead large project teams, influence stakeholders, and communicate complex tech in business terms.
• Strong written architecture skills: reference architectures, blueprints, integration flows, threat considerations, decisions, implementation guidance.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end architecture of AI-enabled applications, agentic workflows, web platforms, APIs, integrations, data services, and cloud models.
• Translate requirements into current-state/target-state architectures and security/data/operational considerations.
• Define scalable patterns for hosting AI apps, model access, retrieval-augmented generation, orchestration, identity, secrets, and observability.
• Evaluate, prototype, test, certify, and select technology products and services for solution delivery.
• Establish migration strategies, reference architectures, reusable components, guardrails, decisions, and production-readiness criteria.
• Lead architecture workshops, reviews, and governance with stakeholders across teams.
• Guide solutions from PoC to production with clear ownership and lifecycle controls.
• Identify and resolve complex architectural issues with trade-offs.

Skills

AI architecture

Cloud architecture

Distributed systems

Security governance

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

Kubernetes

CI/CD

APIs

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

OPENTEXT - THE INFORMATION COMPANY

OpenText is a global leader in information management, where innovation, creativity, and collaboration are the key components of our corporate culture. As a member of our team, you will have the opportunity to partner with the most highly regarded companies in the world, tackle complex issues, and contribute to projects that shape the future of digital transformation.

AI-First. Future-Driven. Human-Centered.

At OpenText, AI is at the heart of everything we do—powering innovation, transforming work, and empowering digital knowledge workers. We are hiring talent AI can't replace to help us shape the future of information management. Join us.

Your Impact:

OpenText is a world leader in Information Management, where innovation, creativity, and collaboration are key components of our corporate culture. As a member of the Digital Experience Web Development team, you will help design, build, and operate secure, scalable digital platforms and AI-enabled solutions that serve customers and employees globally.

As a Principal IT Systems Architect focused on AI solutions , you will be a recognized internal expert responsible for the architecture, development, and deployment direction of sustainable technical and application solutions. You will translate complex business requirements into target architectures, lead large-scale solution initiatives, establish standards and reusable patterns, and guide solutions from proof of concept through governed production operation.

What the role offers:

• Lead the end-to-end architecture of AI-enabled applications, agentic workflows, web platforms, APIs, integrations, data services, and cloud deployment models.
• Translate business outcomes and non-functional requirements into current-state, target-state, transition, integration, security, data, and operational architectures.
• Define scalable patterns for AI application hosting, model access, retrieval-augmented generation, orchestration, identity, authorization, secrets, data boundaries, observability, evaluation, and human oversight.
• Research, evaluate, prototype, test, certify, and select technology products and services required for solution delivery.
• Establish technology migration strategies, reference architectures, reusable components, architecture guardrails, decision records, and production-readiness criteria.
• Lead architecture workshops, assessments, technical deep dives, design reviews, and governance checkpoints across business, engineering, infrastructure, security, privacy, legal, data, and operations stakeholders.
• Guide solutions through proof of concept, pilot, and production, ensuring clear ownership, measurable value, risk treatment, support models, and lifecycle controls.
• Identify and resolve significant and unique architectural issues where analysis requires evaluation of complex variables and intangible trade-offs.
• Provide technical leadership and direction to developers, platform engineers, DevOps engineers, analysts, vendors, and partner teams without relying on direct reporting authority.
• Lead large-scale projects or programs with sizeable functional impact and accountability for end-to-end technical outcomes.
• Define and champion engineering standards for secure software delivery, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, testing, AI evaluation, monitoring, reliability, cost management, and incident response.
• Communicate complex architecture decisions in clear business context to senior leaders and diverse stakeholders.
• Build formal and informal networks across teams, simplify competing viewpoints, and drive alignment on strategic technology decisions.
• Monitor industry developments and recommend practical adoption of emerging AI, cloud, identity, security, and web technologies.

What you need to succeed:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12 years of related professional experience, including significant architecture and hands-on software or platform engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale solution architecture from business requirements through implementation and production operation.
• Deep expertise across several of the following: cloud architecture, distributed systems, application integration, APIs, web architecture, identity and access management, security, data architecture, DevSecOps, observability, reliability, and cost optimization.
• Strong experience with at least one major cloud platform and modern application hosting approaches such as managed containers, serverless services, Kubernetes, or platform-as-a-service.
• Experience architecting AI-enabled applications using foundation-model services, retrieval, tool use, agents or orchestration, evaluation, content safety, prompt and data protection, and operational monitoring.
• Ability to establish standards, assess technology products, develop migration strategies, and make decisions with significant departmental or business-unit impact.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large project teams, influence senior stakeholders, and communicate advanced technical implications in business terms.
• Strong written architecture skills, including reference architectures, solution blueprints, integration flows, threat considerations, architecture decisions, and implementation guidance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing enterprise AI landing zones, governed AI development patterns, or pathways from citizen-built prototypes to supported production services.
• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting Microsoft 365 enterprise architecture, including collaboration, productivity, security, compliance, and AI-enabled services such as Microsoft 365 Copilot or other enterprise AI assistants.
• Experience with Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or AWS AI and data services, including secure connectivity to enterprise systems.
• Experience with agent protocols, model gateways, vector search, RAG, structured evaluation, responsible AI controls, token and infrastructure cost management, and AI workload observability.
• Experience with enterprise web ecosystems, CMS/DAM platforms, CDNs, API management, SSO, and customer-facing digital platforms.
• Experience aligning solutions with architecture governance, security assessment, privacy, legal, data governance, procurement, and operational readiness processes.
• Relevant cloud, architecture, security, or AI certifications.
• Public speaking, technical writing, patents, standards contributions, open-source work, or other evidence of recognized expertise.

Architecture and Coding Assessment

Design and implement a small AI-enabled application that demonstrates architecture judgment, secure production thinking, hands-on engineering depth, and the ability to move from prototype to an operable solution.

Assignment

1. Use https://my.opentext.com/support/products/ and API https://my.opentext.com/api/web/support/search-results?start=1&maxResults=5&text=* as the sources, design and build a working AI agent (select any model) to answer questions about supported products and their resources. Provide infrastructure-as-code or equivalent deployment configuration and a CI workflow.

2. As we expand the agentic capability to the full support and service management system (OpenText Service Management) in the future. Produce a concise architecture showing application components, identity and access, data flow, model interaction, trust boundaries, deployment, monitoring, and support ownership. Document architecture decisions, security and privacy considerations, assumptions, risks, trade-offs, production-readiness gaps, and a phased path from proof of concept to production.

3. Your organization is planning to modernize its Microsoft 365 environment to improve collaboration, content management, search, security, and AI readiness. Describe how you would assess the current Microsoft 365 architecture and identify gaps related to identity, governance, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Exchange Online, Microsoft Search, compliance, and AI-enabled services such as Microsoft 365 Copilot. What recommendations would you make to optimize the environment for scalability, security, user adoption, and future AI capabilities?

Submission Requirements

• Share the source and architecture artifacts through GitHub, GitLab, or an equivalent reviewable repository.
• Include a README with setup, architecture, decisions, evaluation results, security considerations, operating model, and known limitations.
• AI assistance is allowed and expected to be used responsibly. You must be able to explain, validate, and modify all submitted code and architecture decisions during the interview.
• As part of the submission, share the AI Coding Agent session or exported session transcript used to produce or refine the solution. The session will be reviewed to understand your decomposition, prompting, architecture reasoning, validation, testing, corrections, and ownership of the final result. Remove secrets, credentials, personal data, or confidential information before sharing.

One last thing:

OpenText is more than just a corporation, it's a global community where trust is foundational, the bar is raised, and outcomes are owned. Join us on our mission to drive positive change through privacy, technology, and collaboration.At OpenText, we don't just have a culture; we have character. Choose us because you want to be part of a company that embraces innovation and empowers its employees to make a difference

OpenText's commitment to diversity and inclusion surpasses legal requirements, evident in our Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy which promotes a respectful and empowering environment for employees of all backgrounds, culture, national origin, race, color, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, family status, age, veteran status, disability, religion, or other basis protected by applicable laws.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please submit a ticket at Ask HR . Our proactive approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and personal growth, enriching OpenText's vibrant workplace.

Compensation: At OpenText, we offer a thoughtfully designed benefits package that supports your physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. As you move through the hiring process, we’re happy to provide more details about our compensation programs, including variable and commission compensation opportunities for eligible roles, vacation entitlement, and paid time off.

Salary Range: 118,000 - 17700 CAD per annum; Depending on the candidate’s education, experience, skills, geographical location, and alignment with internal equity and external market, actual salary may vary and be higher or lower than the range posted.

AI Usage Disclosure: As part of our commitment to transparency, we use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in various stages of our recruitment process, including resume screening, candidate matching, interview scheduling, and communications. These tools are designed to improve efficiency, reduce bias, and enhance candidate experience. All decisions regarding hiring are made by qualified human professionals, and we continuously monitor our AI systems to ensure fairness and compliance with applicable regulations.