Associate Director, Solution Architecture

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 198,090 - 242,110; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. in Boston seeks an Associate Director of Solution Architecture to lead a team of architects and personally contribute to POCs for new technologies, including AI, ML, and intelligent agents.

This hands‑on leadership role shapes the digital solutions portfolio and ensures scalable, secure member‑facing apps. The successful candidate will drive architectural standards, collaborate with Enterprise Architecture, Security, and Data partners, and mentor a

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in computer science or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of technology leadership, incl. architecture, full‑stack implementation, and 3–5 years in people management.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor teams of architects.
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills for diverse audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with attention to detail and organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of solution architects; guide architectural direction.
• Build hands‑on POCs for new technologies, incl. AI/ML and agents.
• Provide technology direction for digital solutions; improve performance of member‑facing apps.
• Engage in hands‑on technical work with development pods to resolve complex challenges.
• Govern architectural design to align with enterprise standards (security, performance).
• Establish and enforce best practices; resolve complex issues across teams.
• Forge partnerships with Enterprise Architecture, Security, Infrastructure, and Data teams.

Skills

Team leadership

Hands-on coding

Enterprise mobile/web

APIs/microservices/cloud

AI/ML technologies

Security/IAM

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Master's degree in computer science

Tools

AWS

Apigee

F5

Spring Boot

Kafka

Job description

Overview

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, we have an exciting opportunity for an energetic, passionate, and accomplished Associate Director of Solution Architecture. This critical, hands‑on leadership role is responsible for guiding a team of architects while personally driving the development of reliable and scalable digital technology solutions. It reports to the Director of Digital Technology and Delivery and works closely with senior business and technology partners to provide the architectural leadership required to deliver a highly personalized, consistent, and engaging customer experience.

Duties

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of high‑performing solution architects, fostering their technical growth and career development.
• Roll up your sleeves and lead by example, guiding your team and personally building hands‑on Proofs‑of‑Concept (POCs) for new technologies, including AI, machine learning, and intelligent agents.
• Provide technology direction and thought leadership for the digital solutions portfolio, ensuring continuous improvement in the performance of member‑facing applications.
• Engage in deep, hands‑on technical work alongside your team and development PODs to solve complex architectural challenges and ensure solutions are implemented to the highest standard.
• Govern the architectural design of member‑facing applications, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards for performance, security, and scalability.
• Establish and enforce architectural best practices, serving as the ultimate authority on technical standards and complex issue resolution for the team.
• Forge strategic partnerships with leaders across technology (Enterprise Architecture, Security, Infrastructure, Data) to ensure architectural initiatives align with broader business and technology goals.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading and mentoring a team of architects, combined with a strong, current, and continuous hands‑on technical ability.
• Deep, hands‑on expertise architecting, solutioning, and delivering enterprise‑scale mobile and/or web applications. You are expected to be able to jump in and code on POCs and contribute to design sessions at a granular level.
• A strong foundation in modern application architecture (APIs, microservices, cloud), with strategic experience governing solutions in secure cloud environments (e.g., AWS, PaaS).
• Demonstrable experience with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies and their practical application in digital solutions.
• A strategic mindset for managing technical debt, with experience implementing processes to improve code quality and system longevity.
• Extensive experience forging and leveraging strong relationships across both technical and business divisions to drive architectural alignment.
• Expertise in modern security practices and Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.
• Experience with the following technologies:
  • Mobile Development: Android Native, iOS Native, Reactive Native, Angular
  • Web Technologies: Content Management systems such as Drupal, Content Delivery Networks like Akamai or F5
  • API and Security: Gateway security such as F5 and Apigee
  • DevOps and Cloud: AWS, Spring Boot, Confluent Kafka
  • Databases: Relational, Object‑Oriented, NoSQL, InMemory
  • Performance and Monitoring: Performance testing tools (LoadRunner, JMeter, Gatling), Performance monitoring and observability (Splunk Observability, New Relic), AWS Monitoring (CloudWatch, Performance Insights), Debug and analysis tools (Splunk, Log Rocket), and BrowserStack

What You Bring

• Master’s degree in computer science or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of technology leadership, including a solid understanding of technology selection, architecture, full‑stack implementation, and at least 3‑5 years in a formal people‑management role.
• A proven self‑starter with a "player‑coach" mindset and the demonstrated ability to make strategic decisions.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to any audience, from developers to senior executives.
• The ability to handle multiple strategic priorities simultaneously, combined with strong self‑motivation, attention to detail, and excellent organizational skills.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan, and a suite of well‑being benefits to eligible employees. For more information on our benefit offerings, visit https://careers.bluecrossma.org/us/en/benefits.

Location

Boston, MA

Schedule

Full time

Compensation

Salary Range: $198,090.00 - $242,110.00. The posted range represents the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee's pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue‑based metrics, and business or organizational needs and affordability.

This job is also eligible for variable pay.

Minimum Education Requirements

High school degree or equivalent required unless otherwise noted above