Senior Solution Architect

How will this role impact First Command?

The Senior Solution Architect is responsible for defining solution architecture and architectural direction across enterprise technology platforms, systems, integrations, and data domains. The role provides architectural leadership throughout the delivery lifecycle, guides technical decisions, establishes architectural standards, and ensures solutions are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with approved architectural direction.

This role operates across multiple technologies and platforms, applying product, process, data, security, integration, and enterprise technology context to architectural decisions. The architect works across organizational boundaries to drive alignment, resolve dependencies, evaluate trade-offs, manage technical risk, and support delivery teams from discovery through implementation.

The role is accountable for architecture governance, architecture artifacts, non-functional requirements, technical standards, peer reviews, architectural escalation, root-cause analysis participation, and continuous improvement of architecture practices. The architect mentors engineers and architects, facilitates knowledge transfer, and maintains current understanding of First Command business processes to inform architectural decisions.

The role operates with a high degree of autonomy and accountability and requires strong communication, leadership, decision-making, and organizational skills to drive alignment and successful solution outcomes across multiple teams.

What will the employee do in this role?

* Lead solution engagements from discovery through delivery by facilitating solution definition, shaping technical direction, driving architectural decisions, and creating alignment across participants and delivery teams.

* Define solution architecture across systems, integrations, data domains, security, scalability, reliability, operational support, and shared technology capabilities.

* Define and communicate architectural direction, guiding principles, standards, and technical roadmaps for solution areas and enterprise technology platforms.

* Provide architectural leadership and governance throughout the solution delivery lifecycle to ensure solutions remain aligned with approved architectural direction.

* Develop proofs of concept and prototypes as needed to evaluate technical feasibility, validate solution approaches, identify constraints, assumptions, dependencies, risks, and trade-offs, reduce implementation risk, and inform architectural decisions.

* Mentor engineers and architects on solution design, architecture practices, and technical standards.

* Define, evolve, and promote architecture standards, reference patterns, and best practices.

* Establish and enforce architectural standards, patterns, and governance processes across teams, while promoting consistency, maintainability, and reuse.

* Apply product, process, data, security, integration, and enterprise technology context to architecture decisions.

* Facilitate collaboration across cross-functional teams to drive architectural alignment, resolve dependencies, and support informed technical decision-making.

* Serve as an escalation point for technical issues related to architecture, standards exceptions, technical risk, cross-system dependencies, and solution trade-offs.

* Document architectural decisions, alternatives considered, trade-offs, assumptions, and supporting rationale with sufficient context to support implementation, support, and future enhancement activities.

* Define and maintain architecture artifacts including system context diagrams, integration designs, data flows, architectural decision records, and technical requirements.

* Identify, communicate, and mitigate architectural risks and technical debt.

* Define non-functional requirements including security, scalability, reliability, recoverability, maintainability, performance, and operational support requirements.

* Provide architectural leadership for initiatives that span multiple systems, platforms, products, integrations, data domains, or delivery teams.

* Facilitate technical and product knowledge transfer across teams and stakeholders.

* Ensure architectural documentation contains sufficient context, rationale, and detail to support implementation, support, and future enhancement activities.

* Pursue continuous education to master new technologies, agile processes, programming languages, industry best practices, and tools that are needed within First Command.

* Lead architectural design for new systems and major enhancements, enabling delivery teams to decompose approved architectures into executable work.

* Perform peer reviews of architecture deliverables and solution designs to ensure alignment with architectural standards, design principles, and approved solution direction.

* Support resolution of complex technical issues by contributing to root-cause analysis, evaluating architectural impacts, and recommending long-term corrective…