Hands-On Cloud-Native Enterprise Architect

Pearson; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Pearson's Virtual Schools is seeking a Principal Enterprise Architect to lead transformative architectural initiatives across core platforms, driving cloud-native modernization and secure, scalable designs. You will work hands-on with engineering teams to reduce risk and improve interoperability in a high-growth educational technology environment.

You will partner with cybersecurity, data governance, and product leaders to translate architectural decisions into business impact, risk reduction,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering and systems architecture experience.
• Experience at fast-growing startups and scaling under constraints.
• Proven track record modernizing legacy, on-premise, or monolithic systems into cloud-native architectures.
• Deep expertise with at least one major cloud provider (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Hands-on experience with event-driven integration: message brokers and saga patterns.
• Strong API-first design (REST, gRPC, GraphQL).
• Experience with containers/orchestration (Kubernetes) at production scale.
• Familiarity with AI/LLM orchestration patterns.
• Excellent communication with executive stakeholders.
• Bachelor's in CS; advanced degree a plus.
• EdTech/SaaS/K-12 platform experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define the north-star technical architecture for PVS's core platforms.
• Lead migration/refactoring of legacy systems into cloud-native architectures.
• Own multi-year modernization roadmaps balancing delivery and platform health.
• Present architecture strategy to cross-functional steering committees.
• Design elastic, scalable systems and event-driven integrations.
• Establish API-first discipline across REST, gRPC, GraphQL.
• Guide adoption of agentic processing and AI orchestration patterns.
• Mentor engineers and architects on cloud patterns and debt sequencing.
• Be hands-on: review designs and unblock complex integrations.
• Operate within enterprise governance and risk constraints.

Skills

Enterprise Architecture

Cloud-Native

Event-Driven

API Design

Technical Leadership

Mentorship

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or equivalent

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Pearson's Virtual Schools is seeking a Principal Enterprise Architect to lead transformative architectural initiatives across core platforms, driving cloud-native modernization and secure, scalable designs. You will work hands-on with engineering teams to reduce risk and improve interoperability in a high-growth educational technology environment.

You will partner with cybersecurity, data governance, and product leaders to translate architectural decisions into business impact, risk reduction,