Principal Architect

GTOS; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 160,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

GTOS is seeking a Principal Architect to own the end-to-end system architecture for its AI-native operating platform in the Austin area. The role requires guiding integration patterns, APIs, and architectural standards while aligning technical roadmaps with business goals.

You will mentor engineers, assess new technologies, and support project planning to ensure delivery of complex distributed systems. This is a founding principal or core platform builder role based on a U.S.

Qualifications

• Strong background in system architecture and design for large-scale distributed platforms.
• Hands-on software development experience with modern languages, frameworks, and cloud-native design.
• Expertise in integration patterns, API design, and data exchange between heterogeneous systems.
• Demonstrated project management skills leading cross-functional technical initiatives from concept to delivery.
• Experience designing secure, high-availability systems in SaaS or platform-based products.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-driven architectures or data-intensive applications is highly beneficial.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in CS/Engineering or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Track record of mentorship and architectural leadership within engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and own GTOS' overall system architecture for the AI-native operating platform.
• Collaborate with engineering to design and review software solutions and integration patterns.
• Establish architectural standards, best practices, and API guidance across teams.
• Translate business requirements into technical roadmaps and drive delivery of complex distributed systems.
• Provide technical mentorship and participate in critical design decisions and code reviews.

Skills

System architecture

Software development

API design

Project management

Security & high availability

AI/ML architectures

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

NestJS

Fastify

Next.js

Nx

Turborepo

Prisma

Drizzle

tRPC

Zod

TanStack

Temporal

Kafka

PostgreSQL

OpenTelemetry

DevSecOps

Job description

Company Description

GTOS is an AI-native operating system designed to modernize and streamline global trade. The company focuses on using advanced artificial intelligence to connect stakeholders, optimize workflows, and improve decision-making across complex supply chains. GTOS builds scalable, secure platforms that help organizations manage international trade operations with greater transparency and efficiency. Team members collaborate in a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment that values technical excellence and practical impact.

Role Description

The Principal Architect is a full-time, on-site role based in the Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area. This role is responsible for defining and owning the overall system architecture for GTOS's AI-native operating platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, security, and performance. Day-to-day responsibilities include collaborating with engineering teams to design and review software solutions, guiding integration patterns and APIs, and establishing architectural standards and best practices. The Principal Architect works closely with product management and leadership to translate business requirements into technical roadmaps, provides technical mentorship, and participates in critical design decisions and code reviews. The role also involves evaluating new technologies, conducting architectural risk assessments, and supporting project planning to ensure successful delivery of complex, distributed systems.

Qualifications

• Strong background in system Architecture and Architectural Design for large-scale, distributed platforms.
• Hands-on experience in Software Development, including modern programming languages, frameworks, and cloud-native design.
• Expertise in Integration patterns, API design, and data exchange between heterogeneous systems.
• Demonstrated Project Management skills in leading cross-functional technical initiatives from concept to delivery.
• Experience designing secure, high-availability systems, ideally in SaaS or platform-based products.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-driven architectures or data-intensive applications is highly beneficial.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Track record of mentorship, technical leadership, and driving architectural consensus within engineering organizations.

This is not a CRUD SaaS.

This is infrastructure in a complex global B2B domain.

You must have visible proof of serious engineering work - meaningful contributions to a recognizable GitHub repo, open-source project, framework, backend library, infra tool, developer platform, or production-grade system.

NestJS, Fastify, Next.js, Nx, Turborepo, Prisma, Drizzle, tRPC, Zod, TanStack, Temporal, Kafka, PostgreSQL, OpenTelemetry, DevSecOps, and AI/document infrastructure.

This can start as a founding principal role, fractional architect role, paid architecture advisor, or core platform builder.

Please note that these positions are only open to U.S. citizens.