Solutions Architect

Job Summary

Are you a technical visionary who thrives at the intersection of high-performance computing, cloud innovation, and world-class academic research? HBS IT is seeking a Solutions Architect to serve as the technical anchor for our next-generation research computing platforms. This is a unique opportunity to join a "class-defining" environment where you will not just manage systems, but architect the future of how social science research is conducted at one of the world’s leading institutions.

• Lead the design, architecture, and implementation of scalable AWS-based research computing systems, ensuring alignment with security and regulated data requirements to sustain and scale a rapidly expanding research community.
• Define and uphold technical standards for monitoring, health, and integrity of cloud-based research computing environments, including strategic oversight of system upgrades and patching.
• Translate complex research needs and product priorities into sound technical approaches and delivery plans, balancing high-level architecture with hands-on systems engineering to deliver creative institutional or custom solutions.
• Perform hands‑on software engineering and develop custom tools to address complex researcher use cases beyond standard platform capabilities.
• Influence the strategic direction of HBS IT research technology platforms by balancing the mitigation of technical debt with the adoption of next‑generation tools.
• Build and maintain relationships with external vendors and provide technical oversight and mentorship to strengthen team capability and solution quality.
• Collaborate with key HBS IT partners and university‑wide Harvard University IT peers to ensure research solutions align with enterprise infrastructure and security standards.
• Build trust and collaboration by being present on‑site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents.
• Complete other responsibilities as assigned.

• Additional support outside of regularly scheduled hours, including early mornings, nights, weekends, and holiday breaks, may occasionally be required.
• Must be available by personal cell phone during business hours, and occasionally off‑hours (stipend will be provided).
• Must participate in a shared 24×7×365 on‑call rotation with other IT staff.

• Minimum of nine years’ post‑secondary education or relevant work experience.

• Broad knowledge of research computing systems, including storage, cluster computing, network, database, and virtualized systems.
• Experience in the design, development, and deployment of cloud-based applications, within the AWS ecosystem (e.g., IAM, EC2, ECS, Lambda, Security Hub).
• Proficiency with Infrastructure‑as‑Code (e.g., Cloud Formation or Terraform) and configuration management tools.
• Demonstrated experience in Linux systems administration and automating workflows through scripting languages (e.g., Bash or Python).
• Advanced proficiency in coding with Python, R, or other research‑relevant languages for developing custom tools and solutions.
• Proven ability to architect secure, scalable solutions for diverse and evolving research use cases.
• Experience with version control systems (Git) and implementing Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to ensure reproducible research environments.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to act as a trusted advisor and translate research needs into technical solutions.
• Demonstrated leadership through mentoring technical staff and coordination of vendor effectiveness.
• Familiarity with High‑Performance Computing (HPC) environments and cluster management.

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect or similar cloud certifications.

This role is approved as a term appointment with an end date of 5/13/2027. There is a possibility of renewal/extension.

40 hours per week.

$140,000 - $145,000, salary commensurate with experience.

Harvard University is…