Sr Lead Architect

Cox Enterprises; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 149,000 - 248,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking a Sr Lead Architect to join the Websites Value Stream architecture team, focusing on Dealer.com platform and AWS cloud. You will shape architectural styles, validate solutions, and guide engineers across product and agile faces.

Lead architectural initiatives, collaborate with architects, engineering, and product leaders, and drive scalable, secure web capabilities in a hybrid work setup. Ideal for experienced technologists guiding enterprise web solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline with 8+ years of experience, or alternative combos (master's with 6+ years, PhD with 3+ years, or 12+ years total experience).
• 5+ years implementing structured design and architecture processes in a corporate environment.
• 8+ years of full development life cycle and delivering architecture services in production.
• Strong knowledge of AWS services with a focus on serverless patterns.
• 5+ years of experience in API design patterns (REST, GraphQL, messaging-based APIs).
• Excellent verbal and written communication, capable of explaining architectural issues to multiple levels.

Responsibilities

• Develop architectural vision and standards to guide technology decisions and maximize reuse.
• Facilitate design reviews and ensure adherence to architectural standards.
• Identify and resolve technology infrastructure problems and scale solutions.
• Connect local teams with broader enterprise capabilities and drive standardization.
• Mentor engineers on business knowledge and technology.
• Create a culture of knowledge sharing and learning from successes and challenges.
• Develop logical and technical architecture for initiatives and collaborate with project teams.
• Evaluate performance, security, reliability, and interoperability requirements for high-quality designs.
• Communicate architectures and technologies to delivery teams and stakeholders.
• Monitor emerging technologies and define a future roadmap for optimal application of tech to business needs.
• Propose process improvements to increase team effectiveness and create proofs of concept as needed.
• Oversee evaluation and selection of hardware and software technologies.

Skills

AWS Serverless

RESTful APIs

GraphQL

Server-side development

Cloud architecture

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in related discipline

Job description

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Job Family Group

Engineering / Product Development

Job Profile

Sr Lead Architect

Management Level

Sr Manager - Non People Leader

Flexible Work Option

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Travel %

No

Work Shift

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $148,500.00 - $247,500.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Job Description

This role will joins the Websites Value Stream architecture team, with a heavy focus on mission critical applications for the Dealer.com Website Platform. You will collaborate with architects, engineering, product, and agile leaders to establish and scale Dealer.com website capabilities with a common technological and architectural vision delivered in the AWS cloud. You will drive the definition of architectural styles and patterns necessary to deliver the functional and non-functional requirements, validate solutions, identify risks and dependencies, and evaluate alternatives through hands-on research, discovery, and prototyping. You will support solution development through providing, communicating, and evolving the greater technological and architectural view of the solution. You will frame solution alternatives in both technology and business terms, ensuring that product and business decisions are not made in isolation of their technical implications, and vice versa.

Responsibilities

Architecture Vision and Direction

• Assists with the development of frameworks, standards, policies, principles, and procedures that guide technology decisions and maximize reuse of technology.

• Facilitates technical design reviews, ensuring adherence to architectural standards and consistency across organizational and design boundaries.

• Assists in the identification, analysis, and resolution of technology infrastructure problems.

• Connects local teams with broader enterprise capabilities, driving integration and standardization as appropriate.

• Mentors engineers on business knowledge, technology, and career guidance.

• Creates a culture of knowledge sharing and failing forward, providing opportunities for engineers to learn from each other’s successes and challenges.

Technical Architecture Development

• Develops the logical and technical architecture for project and platform initiatives and collaborates with project teams to realize them.

• Evaluates performance, security, reliability, operations, technology, and interoperability requirements and produces high-level design deliverables that enable development teams to create products that are flexible, scalable, and secure.

• Communicates technical architectures, relevant technologies, practices, platforms, and products to delivery teams and other stakeholders.

Technology Monitoring & Evaluation

• Evaluates emerging technologies and the evolution of current technologies to define a future vision roadmap for optimal application of technology to meet business needs.

• Recommends improvements to technology and processes that increase team effectiveness.

• Creates proof of concepts to determine the viability of new or different technologies.

• Oversees and facilitates the evaluation and selection of hardware and software technologies.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience in a related field; or 12 years’ experience in a related field

• 5+ years of experience in the implementation of structured design and architecture processes in a corporate environment.

• 8+ years of experience in full development life cycle and significant experience in delivering applications and architecture services in a production environment.

• Requires strong knowledge AWS Services and offerings with a focus on Serverless patterns

• 5+ years of expereince in API design patterns including RESTful APIs, GraphQL, messaging-based APIs and other architectural integration patterns.

• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, facilitation, and interaction skills, including ability to effectively communicate architectural issues and concepts to multiple organization levels

• Software development background in modern server-side computing stacks

• A solid understanding of the solutions architecture of consumer-scale web solutions, distributed systems integration and cloud computing platforms is strongly desired

Preferred Qualification

• Software development background in modern browser environments with React based single page app patterns preferred

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug‑free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry‑leading dealer‑facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people‑centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

EOE, including disability/vets