Chief Architect

Systems Planning & Analysis; Lincoln (MA); On-site; USD 205,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) seeks a Chief Architect to lead the design and evolution of the Sea, Land, Air Analysis Group’s mission planning enterprise architecture, ensuring a cohesive, scalable, and interoperable system aligned with DoD and Air Force standards.

The Chief Architect defines mission threads, use cases, interface constructs, and architecture conformance metrics, and guides vendor and platform designs to meet government requirements across programs.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of architecture experience on complex, distributed, software‑intensive systems.
• Strong knowledge of DoD architecture frameworks and technical standards, including net‑centric and interoperability considerations.
• Active Secret clearance required or pending

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of the mission planning enterprise architecture.
• Ensure software, data, and infrastructure form a cohesive, scalable, and interoperable system.
• Drive architecture threads, use cases, interface specifications, and conformance monitoring.

Skills

Architecture design

DoD C2 experience

Interoperability standards

Configuration management

Active security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

.NET

Job description

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) delivers high-impact, technical solutions to complex national security issues. With over 50 years of business expertise and consistent growth, we are known for continuous innovation for our government customers, in both the US and abroad. Our exceptionally talented team is highly collaborative in spirit and practice, producing Results that Matter. Come work with the best! We offer opportunity, unique challenges, and clear‑sighted commitment to the mission. SPA: Objective. Responsive. Trusted.

The Sea, Land, Air Analysis Group’s mission is to deliver objective analyses, plans and strategies to US Navy, US Marine Corps, USAF, other DoD, and Australian Defence Force clients to support technology development, acquisition, delivery and sustainment decisions. The group provides the core of SPA thought leadership on Undersea Strategy, Software Development and Cost Estimating, with additional benchmark capabilities in AI/ML & Decision Analytics, Modeling and Simulation, and Future Force Assessments.

SPA has a need for a Chief Architect, who will serve as the lead designer of the Mission Planning Enterprise architecture and steward its evolution over the life of the program. This leader will ensure that software, data, and infrastructure form a cohesive, scalable, and interoperable system aligned with DoD and Air Force standards and the government’s reference architectures. The Chief Architect will be responsible for defining mission threads, use cases, and interface constructs that keep vendor and platform solutions aligned with enterprise requirements.

Responsibilities

The Chief Architect leads the design and evolution of the overall mission planning enterprise architecture, ensuring that software, data, and infrastructure form a cohesive, scalable, and interoperable system. They align architecture with DoD and Air Force technical standards, the mission planning enterprise engineering vision, and the government’s reference architectures. The Chief Architect drives mission threads, use cases, interface specifications, and architecture conformance monitoring, and leads the comparison of vendor and platform‑specific designs against government requirements. They play a central role in architecture‑related working groups and interface control activities, helping ensure consistent implementation of architectural decisions across programs and vendors.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of architecture experience on complex, distributed, software‑intensive systems, with at least 5 years in DoD C2, mission planning, or related domains
• Demonstrated experience designing or managing architectures that include frameworks, common components, and platform‑unique components, including internal and external interfaces
• Strong knowledge of DoD architecture frameworks and technical standards, including net‑centric and interoperability considerations
• Experience with component configuration management and architectural baselines, including tracking versions of frameworks, components, tools, and utilities across multiple environments
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or related field
• An active Secret clearance

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree in systems architecture/software engineering, or systems engineering plus experience leading architecture and interface control working groups and authoring/maintaining interface control documents
• Hands‑on familiarity with .NET and native Windows environments and with planning migrations across operating system versions and standard desktop configurations
• Experience monitoring, enforcing, and evolving architecture conformance across multiple programs and vendors
• Demonstrated ability to develop architecture products (views, mission threads, use cases, models) that directly support requirements decomposition, test planning, and integration evaluations
• Prior experience evaluating vendor or COTS/GOTS architectures and products against government reference architectures in source‑selection or trade‑study contexts

Pay Range Information

At SPA, we strive to deliver a robust total compensation package that will attract and retain top talent. Elements of the compensation package include competitive base pay and variable compensation opportunities. SPA provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and a number of programs that provide for both paid and unpaid time away from work. The specific programs and options available to any given employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, etc. Please note that the salary information shown below is a general guideline only. Salaries are commensurate with experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. Massachusetts, Pay Transparency Salary range: USD $205,000.00/Yr. - USD $245,000.00/Yr.