Chief Architect - Defense Systems & Digital Engineering (Remote)

Aether Aerospace

United States

Remote

USD 157,000 - 217,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Aether Aerospace is seeking a highly experienced Chief Architect to lead technical vision across U.S. Air Force programs.

This remote, high-impact role requires guiding systems engineering, software delivery, cloud platforms, and digital engineering capabilities, aligning requirements with executable program solutions. You will promote modular open systems, secure software factories, and reusable digital infrastructure while balancing cost, schedule, and cybersecurity.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in systems engineering, software engineering, computer science, engineering management, or a related technical discipline and 15+ years of relevant experience.
Extensive experience supporting U.S. Air Force, DoD, or other national-security programs involving complex mission systems.
Demonstrated success serving as a chief architect, lead architect, chief engineer, or senior technical authority for large, multi-team programs.
Deep knowledge of systems engineering principles and lifecycle processes, including requirements, architecture, interfaces, integration, verification, validation, configuration management, and technical risk management.
Experience developing and governing system, solution, platform, enterprise, or system-of-systems architectures.
Ability to connect mission and operational needs to technical architecture, program roadmaps, engineering priorities, and implementation decisions.
Experience with software-intensive systems, modern application architectures, APIs, microservices, event-driven integration, and cloud-native design patterns.
Strong understanding of software factories, DevSecOps, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, automated testing, artifact management, observability, and secure software supply chains.
Experience applying digital engineering or model-based systems engineering practices and integrating engineering tools into an authoritative digital environment.
Working knowledge of DoD cybersecurity, risk management, authorization, Zero Trust, and secure cloud or classified-environment considerations.
Experience applying modular open systems approaches, interface standards, interoperability principles, and reuse strategies.
Proven ability to lead architectural trade studies, assess alternatives, resolve complex technical issues, and document defensible decisions.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the technical vision, reference architecture, architectural principles, and modernization roadmap for assigned Air Force programs.
Translate operational mission needs, capability objectives, and program priorities into coherent system-of-systems architectures and executable technical strategies.
Lead architecture development across mission systems, enterprise services, software applications, cloud environments, networks, cybersecurity, data, interfaces, and digital engineering toolchains.
Apply disciplined systems engineering throughout the lifecycle, including requirements development, functional analysis, architecture definition, interface management, integration, verification, validation, deployment, and sustainment.
Establish and govern technical baselines, architecture decision records, engineering standards, interface specifications, and reusable design patterns.
Promote model-based systems engineering and authoritative sources of truth that connect requirements, architecture, design, analysis, test evidence, and configuration data.
Guide the adoption and integration of digital engineering capabilities, including collaborative models, digital threads, digital twins, simulation environments, and automated engineering workflows.
Provide architectural leadership for secure software factories, DevSecOps pipelines, platform services, continuous integration, continuous delivery, automated testing, and continuous authorization practices.
Ensure software-factory and platform solutions align with Air Force enterprise services, approved cloud environments, cybersecurity requirements, and program-specific mission constraints.
Champion modular open systems approaches, well-defined interfaces, interoperability, portability, reuse, and avoidance of unnecessary vendor or platform lock-in.
Evaluate current-state systems and technical debt, identify gaps and constraints, and define practical transition plans toward target architectures.
Identify cross-program architectural dependencies, integration risks, and technical issues; establish mitigation strategies and drive resolution across organizational boundaries.
Review system designs, engineering artifacts, implementation plans, test strategies, and technical deliverables for consistency with approved architecture and program objectives