Lead Solutions Architect

Dentsu International Americas, LLC; Tennessee; Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 163,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Job summary

Merkle seeks an accomplished Solution Architect to own the end-to-end technical vision and delivery quality for enterprise-grade digital platforms. You will lead architecture across domains, guide architects and development teams, and serve as the primary client-facing technical leader on engagements.

You will establish governance, maintain architecture documentation, and drive continuous improvement while collaborating with frontend, backend, and domain architects to ensure high performance and

Qualifications

• Extensive software engineering and solution architecture experience, 10+ years in architect roles.
• Design architecture across multiple applications for high performance and scalability.
• Experience with headless/composable architecture and API-first designs.
• Knowledge of REST and GraphQL and cross-domain integration.

Responsibilities

• Own overall project technical quality and end-to-end delivery.
• Define unified technical vision across all domains and guide domain architects.
• Lead architecture design for high performance, scalability, and standards adherence.
• Provide architectural governance and comprehensive documentation across domains.
• Identify and own proof-of-concepts to validate direction and decisions.
• Mentor domain architects and technical teams for continuous improvement.

Skills

Solution architecture

REST/GraphQL

Headless CMS

Cloud deployment

API design

Mentoring

Tools

Contentful CMS

Sitecore CMS

Sanity CMS

Optimizely CMS

AWS

Vercel

Job description

Job Description: About the Role Merkle is seeking an accomplished Solution Architect to own the end-to-end technical vision and delivery quality for enterprise-grade digital platforms. This role sits over the top of all technology on an engagement, defining a unified architecture across every domain while serving as the primary client-facing technical leader on the engagements you lead. You operate with full project autonomy and are accountable for end-to-end technical excellence, supported by domain architects (such as frontend and backend) whom you direct and consult with. You will design architecture solutions for high performance and scalability across applications and architecture domains, translate business and IT strategy into architectural designs, and guide architects, lead engineers, and development teams through delivery. As a trusted advisor to our clients, you establish governance, maintain architecture documentation, drive continuous improvement, and lead solution architecture efforts for client engagements from pitch through go-live. We strive to find technical leaders who pair deep hands-on expertise with the judgment to make sound, defensible decisions at scale. A natural curiosity to explore new technology, the determination to rise to complex challenges, and a genuine desire to empower teams and the broader technical community all resonate well here.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Ownership & Technical Vision Own overall project technical quality and delivery across all technology domains, operating with full project autonomy and accountability for end-to-end technical excellence.

Define and own the unified technical vision across every domain on the engagement, collaborating with and directing domain architects (frontend, backend, and others) to ensure alignment.

Lead architecture solution design across applications and all architecture domains to ensure high performance, scalability, and adherence to defined standards and policies.

Provide architectural oversight across all domains, including platform, CMS, integration, and middleware, partnering with the relevant domain architects on detailed design.

Define overall technical standards and enforce them through the architect team, remaining hands-on where the work demands it.

Make final technical decisions and resolve cross-domain conflicts, acting as the project's ultimate technical decision maker.

Identify and own proof of concepts to de-risk architectural direction and validate technical decisions, partnering with relevant domain architects as needed.

Client & Stakeholder Leadership

Act as the primary client technical point of contact, building strategic and technical rapport with stakeholders to influence decision making.

Prepare and present architecture and solution recommendations to obtain stakeholder buy-in, translating complex technical decisions for non-technical audiences.

Lead solution architecture pitches and client work, partnering with strategy, design, engineering, and business analysis teams.

Partner with business analysts to understand the requirements they define, and with development teams to ensure solutions are built to support those requirements and optimal performance.

Identify and communicate cross-area and cross-release issues that affect other project areas.

Governance, Delivery & Risk

Establish and enforce architecture governance and practices to ensure architectural integrity and consistency across the software development lifecycle.

Define, create, and maintain comprehensive architectural documentation and decision records across all domains.

Own the technical risk register, managing high-impact technical risks and resolving cross-domain conflicts throughout the project lifecycle.

Lead go-live planning and feature sequencing during project planning, and own order-of-magnitude feature sizing and estimates.

Participate in project planning and estimation activities and consult on sprint ceremonies and showcase demos.

Mentorship & Continuous Improvement

Mentor and coach domain architects, and technical teams within your project.

Drive continuous improvement within your project’s technical teams, staying current with industry trends and emerging technologies.

Qualifications

We expect you to confidently demonstrate the following: Extensive software engineering and solution architecture experience, typically 10+ years, with a sustained track record in architect-level roles across multiple technology domains. Proven experience designing architecture across multiple applications and architecture domains for high performance and scalability. Proven experience with headless and composable architecture. Breadth across the technology stack, with the ability to direct and consult with specialist domain architects (such as frontend and backend) rather than owning a single discipline. Expertise in API design and consumption across REST and GraphQL, including cross-domain integration and middleware strategy. Proven experience working across headless and composable CMS platforms such as Contentful, Sitecore, Sanity, and Optimizely. Experience with cloud deployment (Vercel, AWS, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages), CI/CD pipelines, and branching strategy. Excellent communication skills, especially in translating complex technical decisions and architecture for non-technical and client audiences. A willing and capable technical leader and mentor, able to establish and enforce governance across teams. Strong partnership skills, including working alongside business analysts who own requirements definition. Knowledge of and experience working within agile teams, with the ability to estimate and deliver in a deadline-driven environment. Ability to work independently with a high level of accountability and full project autonomy. Preferred Agency or consulting experience delivering for enterprise clients. Experience leading client-facing pitches and pre-sales solution work. E-commerce experience (Shopify, commerce platforms, or custom booking systems). Backend and middleware depth (Node.js, serverless functions such as AWS Lambda or Vercel Edge Functions).

The annual salary range for this position is $113,000 - $162,750. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits available with this position include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance,
• Life insurance,
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance,
• 401k,
• Flexible paid time off,
• At least 15 paid holidays per year,
• Paid sick and safe leave,
• Paid parental leave.

Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For further details regarding Dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com.

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we’re connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.

Location: Chicago Brand: Merkle Time Type: Full time Contract Type: Permanent

Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Dentsu is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with us, please send an e-mail [e-mail] clicking on the link to let usknow the nature of your accommodation request and your contact information. We are here to support you.

About dentsu For over 120 years, innovation has been a core tenet of our offering – exploring new ways to reach, engage and nurture relationships with audiences. Together we drive a multiplier effect for clients at a global scale, through the development of Integrated Growth Solutions that are underpinned by our promise to clients: innovating to impact. Be a force for good. Sustainability is a vital part of our business and an important area of focus for our clients. We’re leading the way – helping to build a more sustainable planet. Dream loud. In this moment of transformation, we need our people to be fearless, embracing change and ambiguity, driven by the love for our work and excitement for the future. Team without limits. We create opportunities for connection and collaboration between our colleagues and clients, building a sense of belonging and having some fun along the way. Find out more about us Who we are Our Social Impact Our work