Remote Principal Software Architect - AI-Driven Systems

Lumen; Denver (CO); Remote; USD 160,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumen is seeking a Principal Software Architect for the Digital Journey Architecture and Solutions team. You will apply architecture principles to design microservices, event-driven systems, and API-first architectures, while guiding AI-augmented engineering and governance practices. This remote U.S.

role requires deep domain expertise and proven delivery of production-grade architectures. You will mentor teams, align with cloud/security architects, and ensure design choices meet NFRs such as

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field with 12+ years of software-architecture experience or
• Master's degree with 10+ years of software architecture experience
• AI-first practitioner - actively integrates AI tools (LLMs, coding assistants, AI-powered analysis and design tools) as a routine part of architecture and engineering work, not as an occasional experiment.
• Candidates must demonstrate specific, current examples of how AI has meaningfully accelerated or improved their work.
• Classically trained software architecture background: formal education or structured architecture practice exposure.

Responsibilities

• Apply proven software architecture principles to DJAS design work: microservices, event-driven patterns, distributed systems, API-first design, domain-driven design
• Lead architecture design sessions and design reviews - challenge assumptions, surface tradeoffs, ensure solutions address NFRs from the start; produce high-quality architecture artifacts
• Define architecture governance practices: what makes a design 'good enough to ship' vs what needs more work; codify standards the team applies consistently
• Evaluate and adopt modern architecture patterns and methodologies - not just what Lumen has done, but what the broader engineering discipline has learned
• Apply AI-augmented engineering practices: LLM-assisted design, agentic workflow architecture, integrating AI capabilities into system designs safely and observably
• Architect for operational excellence: observability-first design, chaos engineering readiness, runbook-aligned failure handling
• Bridge the gap between architecture and implementation: stay present through delivery, validate that what gets built matches the design intent
• Mentor architects and engineers on architecture fundamentals, design patterns, and how to think about system design rigorously
• Partner with cloud, IAM/security, and domain architects to ensure cross-cutting concerns are addressed coherently across DJAS's portfolio
• Challenge technical debt patterns where they emerge in designs - not to block delivery, but to ensure conscious choices

Skills

Distributed systems

Microservices

Event-driven architecture

Saga patterns

CQRS

Async messaging

REST

gRPC

GraphQL

Domain-driven design

Bounded context modeling

Non-functional requirements

Observability architecture

Security architecture

ADR documentation

Strong communication

Production systems delivery

AI-first practitioner

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field

12+ years of software-architecture experience

Master's degree with 10+ years of software architecture experience

Tools

OpenTelemetry

Job description

Lumen is seeking a Principal Software Architect for the Digital Journey Architecture and Solutions team. You will apply architecture principles to design microservices, event-driven systems, and API-first architectures, while guiding AI-augmented engineering and governance practices. This remote U.S.

role requires deep domain expertise and proven delivery of production-grade architectures. You will mentor teams, align with cloud/security architects, and ensure design choices meet NFRs such as