Software Architect

Harris Computer; Pennsylvania; Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Harris Digital Learning seeks an experienced Enterprise Architect to lead the modernization of our learning platform. You will define the target architecture, sequence a multi-year roadmap, and mentor engineers while governing quality, accessibility, and security.

You will oversee the data layer migration (Oracle→PostgreSQL), stand up REST APIs and identity foundations, and drive cloud-native delivery on Azure with CI/CD and tests.

Qualifications

• 8+ years building enterprise software, including 5+ leading engineering teams or owning architecture on significant programs.
• Proven ability to modernize large legacy systems and decompose monoliths while delivering measurable improvements.
• Strong Java and Spring Boot, with comfort in a modern front-end stack (Angular/React/TypeScript).
• Relational database depth including schema design, ORM behavior, and query performance (Oracle and PostgreSQL).
• Experience owning vendor or systems‑integrator relationships, writing specifications, and managing delivery drift.
• Cloud‑native delivery on Azure or equivalent; CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring, and observability.
• Building to WCAG 2.2 AA; accessibility as a contractual obligation.
• Experience with Linux servers and security remediation in legacy code.
• FERPA/COPPA or student data privacy considerations.

Responsibilities

• Define the target architecture and the sequence to reach it, leading strangler‑fig work around functional verticals on a shared foundation.
• Oversee data‑layer modernization including migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL.
• Stand up REST API façade and identity, organization, and enrollment foundations.
• Establish engineering practices from scratch: CI/CD, code review, and test characterization.
• Recommend the team structure and participate in hiring the build.
• Mentor engineers and contractors and ensure quality, maintainability, accessibility, and security.
• Collaborate with modernization partners to ensure acceptance criteria are met.

Skills

Leadership & management

Java & Spring Boot

Frontend stack (Angular/React/TypeS

Relational databases

Vendor/Systems integrator mgmt

Cloud-native Azure

WCAG Accessibility

Linux servers

Security & privacy (FERPA/COPPA)

CI/CD & testing

Ora2Pg migration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in software engineering or computer science

Tools

Angular

React

TypeScript

Oracle

PostgreSQL

Azure

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Harris Digital Learning helps school districts build and run successful digital learning programs. At the heart of our work is eSchoolware™, our proprietary learning management system. It brings together everything districts need to manage, deliver, and support online and hybrid learning in a single platform. eSchoolware serves students, teachers, parents, and administrators alike. It offers age-appropriate learning experiences for middle and high school students, mastery-based course progression, tools for communication and collaboration, and a reporting system with more than 200 standard reports, so educators always have the data they need to support student success. Our mission is simple: empower educators and engage every learner at every stage of their education.

What you will own Year one Define the target architecture and the sequence to reach it. The platform has no module seams today, so this is strangler‑fig work around functional verticals on a shared foundation. Specify and accept our modernization partner’s deliverables against defined criteria. You are the technical counterpart holding a fixed‑price statement of work to account. Lead the data‑layer modernization: retire the XDoclet‑generated Hibernate mappings in favour of JPA, and oversee the Oracle to PostgreSQL conversion alongside a specialist contractor. Stand up the REST API façade and the identity, organization and enrollment foundation that everything else depends on. Establish engineering practice from close to zero — CI/CD, code review, and characterization tests on a system with almost no test coverage today. Recommend the shape of the team, and help us hire it. Ongoing Architecture standards, design patterns and technical governance Mentoring engineers and contractors Making AI‑assisted development a normal part of how the team works Ensuring quality, maintainability, accessibility and security are built in rather than retrofitted

WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE AT 90 DAYS

• A validated target architecture and a sequenced roadmap that leadership can fund
• Acceptance criteria agreed in writing with our modernization partner
• Your recommendation on the team we should build and in what order.

WHAT WE NEED MUST HAVE 8+ years building enterprise software, including 5+ leading engineering teams or owning architecture on significant programs

• We have actually modernized a large legacy system — decomposed a monolith, replaced a data layer, migrated a platform off an unsupported stack.
• We care far more that you have done it than which technologies it happened to be.
• Strong Java and Spring Boot, and genuine comfort in a modern front‑end stack.
• We are targeting Angular, React, and TypeScript.
• Relational database depth — schema design, ORM behaviour, query performance.
• Oracle and PostgreSQL are both in play.
• Experience owning a vendor or systems‑integrator relationship: writing the specification, defining acceptance, and holding the line when delivery drifts.
• Cloud‑native delivery on Azure or equivalent — CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring and observability.
• Building to WCAG 2.2 AA.
• Accessibility is a contractual obligation passed to us by the districts we serve, not a nice‑to‑have.
• Experience working with Linux servers.
• Genuinely helpful, and not required: K–12 or higher‑education technology, and the 1EdTech standards — LTI 1.3, Common Cartridge and Thin Common Cartridge, OneRoster, QTI.
• Oracle‑to‑PostgreSQL migration, ora2pg, cutover planning and rollback strategy.
• Establishing test coverage on systems that have none.
• Remediating security findings in legacy code — secrets management, dependency CVEs, audit logging.
• Student data privacy: FERPA, COPPA, and district data‑protection agreements.
• Portal frameworks such as Liferay. We are migrating away from it, so we are interested in the experience rather than a plan to keep it.
• Gamified learning experiences and engagement mechanics.
• Fluent use of AI‑assisted development tools in real delivery work, not just experimentation.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, computer science or a related field, or the equivalent in demonstrated experience. We mean the second half of that sentence.

Salary range: $115,000 - $125,000 USD per year.

At Harris, we believe great people build great software. We offer an environment where employees are empowered to make a real impact, grow their skills, and shape their careers. Our teams enjoy a supportive, award‑winning culture, a casual and collaborative workplace, and opportunities to learn from a diverse group of businesses and industries. We are financially strong and proudly part of Constellation Software Inc. (CSI), the largest software company in Canada, providing long‑term stability alongside entrepreneurial autonomy. In addition to a competitive compensation and benefits package, we offer meaningful perks, flexibility, and—most importantly—a culture that values people, curiosity, and having fun while doing great work.

Follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about our culture, values, and career opportunities.

Harris is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation due to a disability may contact us by email at [e-mail]. Accommodation requests may be made at any time. This email address is dedicated solely to accommodation requests and cannot be used to inquire about application status.

Know Your Rights Poster EO 13496: Notification of Employee Rights under Federal Labor Laws Our commitment to fair and equitable hiring.

As part of our recruitment process, we use artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the initial screening phase to help identify candidates whose qualifications most closely align with the requirements of the role. This technology supports efficiency and consistency in the early stages, but it never replaces human judgement. All subsequent evaluations and final hiring decisions are made by our recruitment professionals. AI does not make final hiring decisions.