Lead Application Architect

Humana Inc; United States; Remote; USD 129,000 - 178,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Humana Inc. is seeking a Lead Application Architect to shape healthcare technology strategy.

You will provide architectural leadership across enterprise initiatives, driving API-first, event-driven microservices on Azure, and mentoring teams to deliver secure, scalable digital solutions. You will partner with business and technology leaders to define standards, governance, and modernization roadmaps while guiding cross-functional teams in adopting Azure services and DevOps practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• 10+ years in software engineering, application or enterprise architecture.
• 5+ years designing enterprise-scale distributed systems.
• Strong microservices and API design expertise.
• Proven Azure cloud services experience and cloud-native development.
• Experience with event-driven architectures using Kafka or similar.
• Knowledge of integration patterns in distributed systems.
• Hands-on with Docker and Kubernetes; CI/CD and DevSecOps practice.
• Security, scalability, resiliency, observability best practices.
• Proven ability to lead tech teams and influence architectural decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture and design of enterprise-scale applications using microservices and cloud-native principles.
• Define target-state architectures and modernization roadmaps for strategic capabilities.
• Establish architecture standards, reference architectures, and best practices.
• Drive API-first architecture and enterprise integration strategies.
• Lead architecture reviews, governance, and technology evaluations.
• Design scalable solutions on Microsoft Azure and promote Azure-native services.
• Mentor engineers and lead architectural governance across programs.
• Promote IaC and GitOps; oversee CI/CD pipelines with security scans.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Microservices design

API design

Azure cloud

Event-driven

DevSecOps

CI/CD pipelines

Leadership

Architecture governance

Docker & Kubernetes

Azure DevOps/Jenkins

Kafka

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Azure AKS

App Services

API Management

Event Hub

Service Bus

Azure Functions

Azure Storage

Docker

Kubernetes

Argo CD

GitHub Actions

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

Job description

Become a part of our caring community Join our Digital Technology organization as a Lead Application Architect and play a critical role in shaping the future of healthcare technology. This role provides strategic architectural leadership across complex enterprise initiatives, driving the design and implementation of scalable, secure, cloud-native solutions that improve member, provider, and associate experiences. As a Lead Application Architect, you will define architecture strategies, establish engineering standards, and guide cross-functional teams in building API-first, event-driven, and microservices-based platforms leveraging Azure cloud technologies. You will partner with business and technology leaders to deliver resilient, high-performing digital solutions while mentoring engineering teams and fostering architectural excellence across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Architecture & Technical Leadership Lead architecture and design of enterprise-scale applications using microservices, domain-driven design, and cloud-native principles.
• Define target-state architectures and modernization roadmaps for strategic business capabilities.
• Establish architecture standards, reference architectures, and engineering best practices.
• Drive API-first architecture and enterprise integration strategies.
• Lead architecture reviews, design governance, and technology evaluations.
• Cloud & Platform Engineering Design and implement scalable, resilient, and secure solutions on Microsoft Azure.
• Guide adoption of Azure-native services including AKS, App Services, API Management, Event Hub, Service Bus, Azure Functions, and Azure Storage.
• Define cloud migration and modernization strategies for legacy applications.
• Event-Driven & Integration Architecture Design and govern event-driven architectures leveraging Apache Kafka and related streaming technologies.
• Establish messaging patterns, event contracts, topic governance, and real-time integration strategies.
• Ensure scalability, reliability, observability, and fault tolerance across distributed systems.
• Drive asynchronous communication patterns across enterprise platforms.
• DevSecOps & CI/CD Enablement Champion DevSecOps practices and automation across engineering teams.
• Design and implement CI/CD pipelines supporting automated testing, security scanning, deployment, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with platform engineering teams to standardize deployment patterns.
• Promote Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and GitOps methodologies.
• Provide architectural guidance on Argo CD, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and related automation platforms.
• Stakeholder Collaboration Partner with product, engineering, security, data, and business teams to align technical solutions with business goals.
• Influence technology strategy and architecture decisions across multiple initiatives.
• Present architecture recommendations and trade-off analyses to senior leadership.
• Mentorship & Governance Mentor architects, engineers, and technical leads on architecture principles and emerging technologies.
• Lead architecture review boards and technical design sessions.
• Ensure solutions adhere to security, compliance, performance, and scalability standards.
• Foster a culture of innovation, engineering excellence, and continuous improvement.

Use your skills to make an impact.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, application architecture, or enterprise architecture roles.
• 5+ years of experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale distributed systems.
• Strong expertise in microservices architecture and API design.
• Extensive experience with Microsoft Azure cloud services and cloud-native development.
• Experience designing event-driven architectures using Apache Kafka or equivalent messaging platforms.
• Strong understanding of application integration patterns and distributed systems.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Hands-on experience implementing CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.
• Strong knowledge of security, scalability, resiliency, and observability best practices.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams and influence architecture decisions across multiple programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

Location/Work Style

Remote US Work at Home Guidance To ensure Home or Hybrid Home/Office associates’ ability to work effectively, the self-provided internet service of Home or Hybrid Home/Office associates must meet the following criteria: At minimum, a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 10 Mbps is recommended; wireless, wired cable or DSL connection is suggested Satellite, cellular and microwave connection can be used only if approved by leadership Associates who live and work from Home in the state of California, Illinois, Montana, or South Dakota will be provided a bi-weekly payment for their internet expense. Humana will provide Home or Hybrid Home/Office associates with telephone equipment appropriate to meet the business requirements for their position/job. Work from a dedicated space lacking ongoing interruptions to protect member PHI / HIPAA information

SSN Alert Statement

Humana values personal identity protection. Please be aware that applicants may be asked to provide their Social Security Number, if it is not already on file. When required, an email will be sent from [e-mail] with instructions on how to add the information into your official application on Humana’s secure website.

Work at Home Requirements

To ensure Home or Hybrid Home/Office employees’ ability to work effectively, the self-provided internet service of Home or Hybrid Home/Office employees must meet the following criteria: At minimum, a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 10 Mbps is required; wireless, wired cable or DSL connection is suggested. In certain roles, the minimum recommended internet speed required by Humana may not be sufficient for business needs. Humana reserves the right to require associates to upgrade their internet service if necessary. Work from a dedicated space lacking ongoing interruptions to protect member PHI / HIPAA information.

Travel

While this is a remote position, occasional travel to Humana's offices for training or meetings may be required.

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Pay Range

$129,300 - $177,800 per year This job is eligible for a bonus incentive plan. This incentive opportunity is based upon company and/or individual performance.

Description of Benefits

Humana, Inc. and its affiliated subsidiaries (collectively, “Humana”) offers competitive benefits that support whole-person well-being. Associate benefits are designed to encourage personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions for you and your family while also knowing your life extends outside of work. Among our benefits, Humana provides medical, dental and vision benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan, time off (including paid time off, company and personal holidays, paid parental and caregiver leave), short-term and long-term disability, life insurance and many other opportunities.

Application Deadline

10-25-2026

About us

About Humana: Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is a leading U.S. healthcare company. Through our Humana insurance services and our CenterWell healthcare services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare and Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. Learn more about what we offer atHumana.comand atCenterWell.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of Humana not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. It is also the policy of Humana to take affirmative action, in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and VEVRAA, to employ and to advance in employment individuals with disability or protected veteran status, and to base all employment decisions only on valid job requirements. This policy shall apply to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, recall, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including apprenticeship, at all levels of employment.