Principal - Architecture (AI, Unified Commerce)

Gap Inc.; South Carolina; On-site; USD 209,700 - 272,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% off merchandise

Competitive Paid Time Off

401(k) matching

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Job summary

Gap Inc. is seeking a Principal Architect to lead AI and Omnichannel strategies. This position requires extensive experience in integrating advanced technology to enhance customer experiences across digital and physical platforms. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in architecture, AI, and commerce.

The role involves collaborating with various teams to influence enterprise-wide technology initiatives while ensuring alignment with AI-driven commerce goals. The successful candidate will also strategize around future-ready omnichannel solutions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of architecture experience, with 5+ years in commerce transformation roles.
• Demonstrated experience delivering commerce platforms.
• Deep knowledge of microservices and event-driven systems.

Responsibilities

• Champion the use of intelligent shopping agents.
• Design AI-augmented customer experiences.
• Partner with teams to implement AI in the customer lifecycle.

Skills

Architecture experience

AI/ML integration

Omnichannel commerce

Cloud-native architectures

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

Kafka

GCP Pub/Sub

AWS

Shopify

Salesforce Commerce

Job description

About The Role

As a senior leader within the Architecture Group under the CTO Organization, the Principal Architect – AI, Connected Commerce / OMNI-Channel will drive the vision, design, and execution of an integrated technology architecture that powers seamless, intelligent, and personalized customer experiences across all digital and physical touchpoints. This role spans strategic domains—Digital, Retail Stores, Supply Chain, Customer Data, eCommerce, Marketing, and Fulfillment—and serves as a critical change agent, enabling Connected and Agentic Commerce. The architect will influence enterprise-wide technology modernization, blueprints, and AI-driven commerce initiatives to unlock growth, improve customer satisfaction, and drive operational efficiency. This position plays a pivotal role in integrating AI‑powered decisioning, personalization, and commerce agents into the technology landscape to support proactive, autonomous, and context‑aware experiences.

What you’ll do

• Champion the use of Agentic Commerce patterns—autonomous shopping agents, proactive assistant bots, and AI-driven fulfillment orchestration—to create frictionless, next‑gen shopping experiences.
• Design intelligent, AI‑augmented experiences that integrate predictive personalization, dynamic pricing, virtual styling, conversational commerce, and autonomous checkout journeys.
• Integrate commerce ecosystems with real‑time decision engines, customer data platforms (CDPs), recommendation systems, and AI models to drive adaptive journeys.
• Partner with product, engineering, and data science teams to implement AI across the customer lifecycle—from acquisition and engagement to loyalty and retention.
• Define architectural principles to scale AI/ML use cases, leveraging cloud‑native platforms (GCP, AWS), serverless models, and data mesh strategies.
• Architect future‑ready, omnichannel commerce platforms supporting unified experiences such as BOPIS, Same‑day Delivery, and Endless Aisle.
• Ensure architecture enables real‑time signals processing (e.g., clickstream, IoT, POS), contextual understanding, and action‑triggering across commerce surfaces.
• Lead architectural reviews and governance for AI‑based and connected commerce projects.
• Guide experimentation with GenAI, LLMs, and autonomous agents in commerce, marketing, and fulfillment use cases.
• Collaborate with data, privacy, and compliance teams to align AI‑powered experiences with data governance and ethical AI frameworks.

Who you are

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• 10+ years of architecture, with at least 5+ years in commerce or omnichannel large‑scale transformation roles.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering commerce platforms across: headless eCommerce (Shopify, Salesforce Commerce, etc.), digital experience platforms (CMS, DAM, PIM), customer data platforms (CDPs), loyalty & personalization engines, retail POS, OMS, and fulfillment systems.
• Deep knowledge of cloud‑native architectures, microservices, event‑driven systems (Kafka, GCP Pub/Sub), and serverless patterns.
• Experience integrating AI/ML services into customer‑facing applications, preferably in real‑time or large‑scale environments.
• Experience with Agentic AI frameworks or commerce‑focused LLMs.
• Familiarity with AI platforms like Vertex AI, Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, or similar.
• Working knowledge of data pipelines, model deployment (MLOps), and experimentation platforms.
• Exposure to composable commerce and MACH (Microservices, API‑first, Cloud‑native, Headless) architecture.
• Retail, CPG, or DTC brand experience with personalization and omnichannel engagement initiatives.
• Strategic mindset with a strong grasp of emerging tech and its impact on business.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills—especially around complex AI and tech‑driven business value.
• Ability to balance short‑term business needs with long‑term Gap architecture vision.
• Highly collaborative with a passion for innovation, experimentation, and user‑centered design.
• Comfortable driving clarity and structure in ambiguous and fast‑moving environments.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $209,700.00 - $272,600.00

Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location. We will meet minimum wage or minimum of the pay range (whichever is higher) based on city, county and state requirements.

Benefits at Gap Inc.

• Merchandise discount for our brands: 50% off regular‑priced merchandise at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta, and 30% off at Outlet for all employees.
• One of the most competitive Paid Time Off plans in the industry.
• Employees can take up to five “on the clock” hours each month to volunteer at a charity of their choice.
• Extensive 401(k) plan with company matching for contributions up to four percent of an employee’s base pay.
• Employee stock purchase plan.
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
• See more of the benefits we offer.

Gap Inc. is an equal‑opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status. We have received numerous awards for our long‑held commitment to equality and will continue to foster a diverse and inclusive environment of belonging. In 2022, we were recognized by Forbes as one of the World’s Best Employers and one of the Best Employers for Diversity.