Principal Solution Architect in Arlington, Virginia

Principal Solution Architect

The Principal Solution Architect is the technology lead in the design and delivery of enterprise-scale technology solutions. This role is responsible for defining architecture strategy, driving innovation, and ensuring alignment with business objectives across complex digital and cloud initiatives. This role will also, supports and transforms functions of large and highly complex, and globally distributed IT applications. The Principal Solution Architect leads the definition of solution architecture and strategy in alignment with TNC's vision and IT's "Future State Roadmap," leveraging deep technical expertise.

This role designs and develops complex technology systems and solutions based on business and system requirements, following TNC's methodologies and development best practices. The Principal Solution Architect helps establish foundational, multi-year technology roadmaps and governance frameworks (including cloud and AI execution strategies) for the organization. This role acts as a lead architect on application lifecycle initiatives, including upgrades, conversions, and enhancements.

Responsibilities also include performing tasks required to complete projects such as solution design, development oversight, executing technical analysis, generating reports, and interpreting results. The role requires the ability to assess both short- and long-term impacts of architectural decisions and clearly communicate those implications. The Principal Solution Architect continuously evaluates evolving business needs, market conditions, and industry trends to recommend optimal technology solutions.

Responsibilities and Scope:

• Provide architectural guidance to feature teams to accelerate speed to market while reducing long-term maintenance costs and ensuring alignment with non-functional and enterprise requirements.
• Lead trade-off analysis and decision-making for complex, high-impact architectural choices, resolving technical conflicts across teams.
• Collaborate to develop and promote reusable patterns, best practices, and reference implementations through proof-of-concepts (POCs), research, and experimentation.
• Establish "paved roads" by defining pre-approved reference architectures that streamline development and enable self-service capabilities.
• Partner across multiple business units and collaborate closely with other architects and technology leaders.
• Act as a thought leader and strategic advisor to delivery and product teams.
• Advocate for and evolve the Architecture Review Board (ARB), shifting from a governance-only model to an enablement-focused approach.
• Present architecture strategies, designs, and recommendations to technical and business leadership across TNC.
• Define, implement, and continuously improve architecture processes and governance models.
• Engage with internal and external technology partners to enhance TNC's capabilities and drive adoption of new solutions.
• Contribute to the development of cloud, data, and enterprise technology standards to ensure interoperability and alignment with best practices.
• May serve as a lead member of a Center of Excellence (CoE), mentoring team members and advancing organizational knowledge in key technology areas.
• Maintain expertise in current and emerging technologies through training, research, and professional development.
• Stay current on industry trends, with a particular focus on cloud, data, AI/ML, and generative AI advancements.

We're Looking for You:
Are you passionate about applications and programming? Do you like data-centric tools? Guided by science, TNC creates innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that people and nature can thrive together. We're looking for someone who is industry savvy and motivated to making sure our systems are operating smoothly and receive the necessary enhancements to keep us thriving!

The ideal candidate will have all or some of the qualifications. If you don't have all of them, please apply anyway and tell us about your skills and experience:

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
• Strong organizational and time management…