Sr. Staff Architect – Software Architecture

Penn Mutual; United States; On-site; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn Mutual is seeking a Sr. Staff Architect – Software Architecture to lead and shape enterprise architecture for scalable, secure, cloud‑native platforms.

You will drive microservices, API‑first design, and AWS‑based solutions, partnering with application, data, and security teams to deliver resilient systems aligned with enterprise principles. You will establish standards, reusable patterns, and governance, mentor engineers, and enable teams to ship high‑quality software while improving

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of software development and architecture experience.
• Deep expertise in microservices, distributed systems, and API design.
• Strong experience with Java frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot).
• Proven cloud-native design experience on AWS.
• Experience defining architecture standards, governance models, and engineering best practices.
• Strong collaboration and communication with technical and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide thought leadership and technical guidance across IT and business teams.
• Define and drive adoption of modern architecture principles including microservices and API-first design.
• Establish enterprise architecture standards, reference architectures, and reusable design patterns for distributed and Java-based systems.
• Lead architecture and design of scalable applications, including service decomposition, API contracts, and integration patterns.
• Architect and guide development of cloud-native solutions leveraging AWS services and ensuring alignment with AWS Well-Architected principles.
• Design and govern API ecosystems and enable event-driven and loosely coupled service architectures.
• Improve developer productivity through frameworks, templates, CI/CD enablement, and best practices in quality, testing, and observability.
• Establish monitoring, performance, and reliability standards; lead troubleshooting and continuous optimization.
• Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture standards, security requirements, and governance frameworks.
• Partner with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to align technical solutions with strategic objectives.
• Mentor engineers and promote continuous improvement through modern engineering practices and emerging technologies.

Skills

Architectural leadership

Microservices

API design

Cloud-native / AWS

Java ecosystem

Security & performance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD tooling

ECS/EKS

Job description

Job Description

The Sr. Staff Architect – Software Architecture plays a strategic role in designing and evolving modern enterprise application architecture, enabling scalable, secure, and high‑performing software platforms across the organization. This role drives adoption of cloud‑native, API‑first, and microservices‑based solutions, partnering with application, cloud, data, and security teams to deliver resilient systems that support Penn Mutual’s digital platform strategy. The architect establishes standards, promotes reusable architecture patterns, and enables engineering teams to deliver innovative, high‑quality solutions aligned with enterprise architecture principles.

Responsibilities

• Leadership: Provide thought leadership and technical guidance across IT and business teams on modern software architecture, engineering practices, and platform strategy.
• Architecture Strategy: Define and drive adoption of modern architecture principles including microservices, API‑first design, and cloud‑native development.
• Standardization: Establish enterprise architecture standards, reference architectures, and reusable design patterns for distributed and Java‑based systems.
• Solution Design & Delivery: Lead architecture and design of scalable applications, including service decomposition, API contracts, and integration patterns.
• Platform & Cloud Enablement: Architect and guide development of cloud‑native solutions leveraging AWS services and ensuring alignment with AWS Well‑Architected principles.
• API & Microservices Architecture: Design and govern API ecosystems and enable event‑driven and loosely coupled service architectures.
• Engineering Enablement: Improve developer productivity through frameworks, templates, CI/CD enablement, and best practices in quality, testing, and observability.
• Operational Excellence: Establish monitoring, performance, and reliability standards; lead troubleshooting and continuous optimization.
• Governance & Compliance: Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture standards, security requirements, and governance frameworks.
• Collaboration: Partner with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to align technical solutions with strategic objectives.
• Continuous Improvement: Mentor engineers and promote continuous improvement through modern engineering practices and emerging technologies.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in software development and architecture, including enterprise‑scale systems.
• Deep expertise in software architecture, microservices, distributed systems, and API design.
• Strong experience with Java‑based development frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot).
• Proven experience designing cloud‑native solutions on AWS.
• Experience defining architecture standards, governance models, and engineering best practices.
• Strong understanding of security, scalability, and performance optimization in distributed systems.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across technical and business stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tooling.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, ECS/EKS).
• Exposure to AI‑enabled architectures or integration of AI capabilities into enterprise applications.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Planning & Organizational Skills
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Risk Analysis & Decision Making
• Governance & Compliance Orientation
• Continuous Improvement Mindset
• Data Analysis & Reporting Accuracy

Base Salary Range: $170,000 - $190,000

Penn Mutual is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). We provide employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and associates, according to applicable laws. This is reflected in our practices for hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruitment, compensation, selection or training, and all other terms and conditions of employment. All employment‑related decisions and practices are free from unlawful discrimination. This includes: race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship age, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, domestic partnership or civil union status, marital status, genetic information, disability, religious observance or practice, liability, veteran status or any other classification protected under applicable law.