Principal Software Architect

NOIRLab is seeking a visionary Principal Software Architect to lead the architectural strategy and technical evolution of software systems that power world-class astronomical research, observatory operations, and scientific data management.

In this highly influential leadership role, you will define the technology roadmap for a diverse portfolio of scientific and operational platforms spanning cloud computing, distributed systems, high-performance computing (HPC), data-intensive applications, and AI-enabled technologies. You will drive modernization efforts that advance scientific discovery, improve engineering productivity, and ensure the reliability and scalability of mission-critical systems supporting some of the world's most advanced astronomical facilities.

Working closely with scientists, software engineers, data specialists, and operations teams, you will provide hands-on technical leadership, translate complex scientific requirements into innovative software solutions, and establish architectural standards that enable long-term sustainability and growth.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of scientific software and enable transformational discoveries through technology.

• Define and execute the architectural vision, technology roadmap, and long-term strategy for NOIRLab’s scientific and operational software ecosystem.
• Establish enterprise-scale architecture principles, engineering standards, governance processes, and best practices.
• Lead architectural reviews and guide critical technology decisions across software, data, infrastructure, and operational domains.
• Partner with scientific and engineering stakeholders to translate complex requirements into scalable, secure, and resilient solutions.
• Identify and address architectural risks, technical debt, and modernization opportunities across the software portfolio.
• Champion modernization initiatives that improve system scalability, reliability, maintainability, and operational efficiency while supporting uninterrupted scientific operations.
• Architect and evolve cloud-native, containerized, distributed, and HPC-based platforms supporting observatory operations, scientific data pipelines, user services, and large-scale data processing systems.
• Design solutions capable of managing petabyte-scale datasets and computationally intensive scientific workloads.
• Develop reference architectures, prototypes, and technical frameworks that accelerate solution delivery and consistency across teams.
• Drive adoption of Dev Sec Ops  practices, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, observability, and site reliability engineering principles.
• Participate in architecture reviews, design reviews, code reviews, and implementation of critical software components.

• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), generative AI, and large language model (LLM) solutions, where they deliver measurable scientific, engineering, or operational value.
• Serve as a trusted technical mentor and thought leader across engineering teams.
• Foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and architectural consistency across science, software, data, and operations organizations.
• Help advance software engineering practices that support innovation, quality, and long-term sustainability.

• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Ensure compliance with AURA property management requirements and organizational policies.
• Support compliance with applicable government award terms and conditions as defined in organizational award management systems.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent professional experience will be considered.
• 15+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including experience as a Software Architect, Principal Engineer, Distinguished Engineer, or similar technical leadership role.
• Demonstrated success designing, delivering, and evolving…