Distinguished Software Architect (Head of Water Architecture)

Position Overview

Autodesk Water is reimagining how water infrastructure is planned, designed, and operated. We are evolving a portfolio of trusted desktop and cloud products — including InfoWorks ICM, InfoDrainage, Info360 Asset, and our hydraulic simulation engines — into a connected, platform-native system of intelligence that helps utilities and engineering firms move from modeling water systems to operating them with confidence.

Responsibilities

• Set and communicate a compelling technical vision for the Water portfolio that spans desktop evolution, cloud-native services, hybrid desktop-cloud workflows, data strategy, and the application of AI — with pragmatic, incremental plans to get there

• Take direct accountability for portfolio-level architectural decisions, and drive decision-making in partnership with product development leads, engineering leadership, and stakeholders

• Apply architectural and systems thinking to influence product strategy, planning, and execution across simulation, asset intelligence, and operational workflows

• Identify Water’s opportunities to reuse and contribute to Autodesk platform capabilities — Forma and Forma Data Management, AI Accelerator, CloudOS, regional infrastructure, identity, and observability

• Drive the design of secure, reliable, performant systems that respect customer data and meet operational goals appropriate to mission-critical water infrastructure

Architectural Design & Standards

• Define and evolve the components, relationships, and governing principles that shape Water’s architecture across cloud, desktop, and hybrid environments

• Establish strong interface and data modeling design across hydraulic simulation, asset records, geospatial data, and operational telemetry — applying coupling and cohesion to make a portfolio of products feel like one system

• Establish and enforce standards and practices for software design; define views, diagrams, and other formalisms used to articulate and review designs

• Lead architecture reviews and forums to promote best practices, align on architecture decisions, and ensure non-functional qualities (performance, reliability, security, privacy) hold up across the portfolio

• Maintain and apply expert-level, current knowledge of architectural patterns, distributed systems, and emerging technologies, including AI/ML and hybrid desktop-cloud computing

Influence, Collaboration & Strategic Problem Solving

• Partner closely with the development leads across each Water product team, providing architectural direction without direct authority — building the trust and clarity that makes alignment durable

• Collaborate with software architects across AEC, the Autodesk Platform, and other divisions to ensure cohesive system-level design that supports cross-product workflows

• Work with Product Management, UX, and Engineering leaders to translate complex problems — hydraulic modeling fidelity, ingestion of legacy and partner data, operational scale — into pragmatic architectural direction

• Demonstrate sound technical judgment by soliciting feedback from stakeholders, weighing trade-offs, and anticipating long-term impact

• Lead or participate in Autodesk-wide technical working groups; build durable peer relationships across the Chief Architect organization and divisional architecture teams

Communication & Knowledge Sharing

• Communicate effectively and proactively on technical topics to varied audiences — from engineering teams to executive leadership and customers

• Take complex ideas and convey them concisely, using diagrams and written narratives that hold up under scrutiny

• Foster a culture of architectural rigor and knowledge sharing across the Water development teams and broader Autodesk technical community

• Mentor senior engineers and emerging architects across the Water organization

• Play a leading role in Autodesk technical conferences and forums, with the option to publish or present externally

Minimum Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience as a software engineer / architect, including hands-on development

• 5+ years in a senior architecture role in a SaaS business pursuing a platform strategy

• A track record of delivering desktop and cloud software at scale, spanning products and industries

• Demonstrated ability to organize and drive the design and execution of systems larger than a single team — through influence rather than direct authority

• Self-directed, with an ability to identify points of leverage, set strategy, and work efficiently amid ambiguity in complex, global, matrixed environments

• BS or MS in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience

• Sought out by other teams, leaders, and customers for architectural expertise

• Recognized for innovative work, such as via patents, publications, or conference presentations

• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills, across global technical and non-technical audiences

• Demonstrated success working across cultures and time zones

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Computer Science or related field

• Experience transforming enterprise-level desktop applications to cloud and hybrid desktop-cloud architectures

• Deep understanding of modern software design patterns, cloud best practices, DevOps and DevSecOps, and the AWS Well-Architected Framework

• Experience designing systems for global deployment with regionalization, data residency, and compliance considerations

• Hands-on experience applying AI/ML in product workflows, particularly where domain knowledge and trust matter

• Industry expert in and contributor to software architecture practice

• Familiarity with concept-based software design

• Experience in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry; familiarity with water, infrastructure, geospatial, or simulation domains is a plus

• Familiarity with concept-based software design