Principal Architect

TEKsystems; Mount Arlington (NJ); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Job summary

TEKsystems seeks an experienced Principal Architect to provide technical leadership and architectural direction across products, platforms and shared services. This contract-to-hire role is hybrid from Mount Arlington, NJ, combining strategic vision with hands-on engineering and mentorship.

The Principal Architect will partner with engineering leadership, product stakeholders, data teams and security partners to define target-state architecture, drive modernization, and establish scalable

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including ownership of large-scale systems, platforms, and modernization initiatives.
• Proven success defining technical strategy across multiple products, teams, and business domains.
• Strong hands-on software engineering experience with the ability to design, prototype, review, and implement critical technical solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction without formal management authority.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems using incremental migration and modernization strategies.
• Experience building and scaling internal platforms or shared services utilized by multiple teams.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, API design, integration patterns, and enterprise software architecture.
• Experience establishing architecture standards, technical governance frameworks, and design review processes.
• Familiarity with observability, reliability engineering, performance monitoring, and operational excellence practices.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and mentorship skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise architecture principles, technology standards, and long-term platform strategy.
• Establish target-state architecture and modernization roadmaps across multiple applications, products, and services.
• Design and guide the evolution of shared platform capabilities, APIs, data services, and integration frameworks.
• Lead modernization initiatives that transform legacy applications into scalable, maintainable, cloud-ready solutions through incremental migration approaches.
• Partner with engineering and product leadership to align technical investments with business objectives and strategic priorities.
• Create architectural patterns, reference implementations, and technical standards that enable consistent execution across engineering teams.
• Design and implement critical platform components, prototypes, and proof-of-concepts to validate architectural approaches.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to engineering leads, architects, and engineers.
• Promote best practices related to scalability, security, observability, reliability, performance, and maintainability.
• Facilitate architecture reviews and technical decision-making processes while encouraging engineering autonomy.
• Drive platform standardization, service reusability, and reduction of technical debt across the organization.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities to improve engineering effectiveness and product capabilities.
• Support adoption of AI-enabled engineering practices and modern software delivery approaches where appropriate.
• Communicate architectural strategy and complex technical decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Architectural leadership

Distributed systems

APIs design

Cloud modernization

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

*Principal Architect* Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Architect to provide technical leadership and architectural direction across a portfolio of products, platforms, and shared services.

This is a individual contributor role requiring a combination of strategic vision and hands-on engineering expertise.

The Principal Architect will partner closely with engineering leadership, product stakeholders, data teams, and security partners to define target-state architecture, drive modernization initiatives, and establish scalable technology foundations that support long-term growth.

The successful candidate will lead through influence, technical credibility, execution, and mentorship while helping engineering teams adopt common patterns, reusable capabilities, and modern architectural practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise architecture principles, technology standards, and long-term platform strategy.
• Establish target-state architecture and modernization roadmaps across multiple applications, products, and services.
• Design and guide the evolution of shared platform capabilities, APIs, data services, and integration frameworks.
• Lead modernization initiatives that transform legacy applications into scalable, maintainable, cloud-ready solutions through incremental migration approaches.
• Partner with engineering and product leadership to align technical investments with business objectives and strategic priorities.
• Create architectural patterns, reference implementations, and technical standards that enable consistent execution across engineering teams.
• Design and implement critical platform components, prototypes, and proof-of-concepts to validate architectural approaches.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to engineering leads, architects, and engineers.
• Promote best practices related to scalability, security, observability, reliability, performance, and maintainability.
• Facilitate architecture reviews and technical decision-making processes while encouraging engineering autonomy.
• Drive platform standardization, service reusability, and reduction of technical debt across the organization.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities to improve engineering effectiveness and product capabilities.
• Support adoption of AI-enabled engineering practices and modern software delivery approaches where appropriate.
• Communicate architectural strategy and complex technical decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

* Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including ownership of large-scale systems, platforms, and modernization initiatives.
• Proven success defining technical strategy across multiple products, teams, and business domains.
• Strong hands-on software engineering experience with the ability to design, prototype, review, and implement critical technical solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction without formal management authority.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems using incremental migration and modernization strategies.
• Experience building and scaling internal platforms or shared services utilized by multiple teams.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, API design, integration patterns, and enterprise software architecture.
• Experience establishing architecture standards, technical governance frameworks, and design review processes.
• Familiarity with observability, reliability engineering, performance monitoring, and operational excellence practices.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and mentorship skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

* Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within Life Sciences, Healthcare, Health Technology, Compliance Technology, SaaS, or other regulated environments.
• Experience with data-intensive applications, enterprise data platforms, governance frameworks, or master data management concepts.
• Experience supporting highly regulated products where security, auditability, and data quality are critical.
• Experience guiding large-scale modernization efforts involving both legacy and modern technology stacks.

* Preferred Technical Skills Experience with several of the following technologies and architectural patterns:

• React or other modern frontend frameworks
• Python and API development frameworks
• .NET and legacy modernization initiatives
• PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and other relational or NoSQL database technologies
• Cloud-native application architecture
• Event-driven and service-oriented architectures
• Enterprise integration patterns
• Data platforms and data engineering concepts
• Modern DevOps and software delivery practices
• AI-assisted software development tools and workflows

*Job Type & Location*

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Mount Arlington, NJ.

*Pay and Benefits*

The pay range for this position is $65.00 - $90.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

*Workplace Type*

This is a hybrid position in Mount Arlington,NJ.

*Application Deadline*

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 1, 2026.

About TEKsystems

We're partners in transformation. We help clients activate ideas and solutions to take advantage of a new world of opportunity. We are a team of 80,000 strong, working with over 6,000 clients, including 80% of the Fortune 500, across North America, Europe and Asia. As an industry leader in Full-Stack Technology Services, Talent Services, and real-world application, we work with progressive leaders to drive change. That's the power of true partnership. TEKsystems is an Allegis Group company.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regards to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

About TEKsystems and TEKsystems Global Services

We're a leading provider of business and technology services. We accelerate business transformation for our customers. Our expertise in strategy, design, execution and operations unlocks business value through a range of solutions. We're a team of 80,000 strong, working with over 6,000 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 500 across North America, Europe and Asia, who partner with us for our scale, full-stack capabilities and speed. We're strategic thinkers, hands-on collaborators, helping customers capitalize on change and master the momentum of technology. We're building tomorrow by delivering business outcomes and making positive impacts in our global communities. TEKsystems and TEKsystems Global Services are Allegis Group companies. Learn more at TEKsystems.com.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.