Principal Application Architect

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Architecture Leadership:

• Define and govern enterprise-wide architecture frameworks for multi-tenant SaaS, data platforms, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Align technology decisions with business objectives, influencing executives, product leaders, and engineering leadership.

Data Platform & AI/ML Enablement:

• Architect a common data layer to unify applications under a common services and technologies
• Design and scale Snowflake-based data environments for large-scale analytics, AI/ML, and LLM workloads.
• Define and drive the implementation of differentiated AI-driven features such as natural language data insights, anomaly detection, and automated data mapping.
• Partner with data science teams to productize AI models using MLOps best practices.
• Leverage cloud-native AI services (including IBM AI and LLM models) to deliver new platform capabilities.

Application & Platform Modernization:

• Evolve monolithic systems into microservices-based, API-first, and AI-enabled architectures.
• Drive strategies for high-volume, low-latency workloads while optimizing for operational cost.
• Implement architecture, tooling, and process automation to increase development speed, improve operational agility, and reduce manual overhead.

Security & Compliance:

• Champion secure-by-design architectures with tenant isolation, encryption, data privacy controls, and compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, and other frameworks.

Mentorship & Innovation:

• Coach principal engineers and architects, raising AI and data platform expertise across the organization.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging SaaS, AI, LLM, and data technologies to maintain competitive advantage.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

Education:

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline.

Experience:

• 12+ years in software architecture and enterprise application development.
• 5+ years as a principal, lead, or staff-level architect delivering multi-tenant SaaS on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Proven large-scale Snowflake architecture, governance, and cost-optimization expertise.
• Track record of designing, deploying, and scaling AI/ML-powered features in production.
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML frameworks, LLM integration, prompt engineering, MLOps tooling, and cloud AI services.

Technical Skills:

• Deep understanding of Snowflake internals and advanced SQL performance tuning.
• Strong grasp of SaaS architecture patterns (tenant isolation, metering/billing, API security).
• Proficiency in Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Pulumi) for provisioning SaaS and AI/data environments.

Preferred technical and professional experience

Hiring manager and Recruiter should collaborate to create the relevant verbiage.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Software infuses core business operations with intelligence-from machine learning to generative AI-to help make organizations more responsive, productive, and resilient. IBM Software helps clients put AI into action now to create real value with trust, speed, and confidence across digital labor, IT automation, application modernization, security, and sustainability. Critical to this is the ability to make use of all data, because AI is only as good as the data that fuels it. In most organizations data is spread across multiple clouds, on premises, in private datacenters, and at the edge. IBM's AI and data platform scales and accelerates the impact of AI with trusted data, and provides leading capabilities to train, tune and deploy AI across business. IBM's hybrid cloud platform is one of the most comprehensive and consistent approach to development, security, and operations across hybrid environments-a flexible foundation for leveraging data, wherever it resides, to extend AI deep into a business.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 50 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

- Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being

- Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs

- Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law

- Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals

- Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

Client-provided location(s): Bellevue, WA

Job ID: IBM-62040

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-09-29T18:43:36