Principal Architect (.Net/ C#/ Azure)

Location: Kansas City, MO (Onsite). Job Type: Contract-to-Hire.

About the role

This is a high-visibility position reporting to VP of Architect and dotted line to the CIO, with direct influence over the organization's technology direction. The person will be the technical authority for enterprise application architecture, responsible for designing and troubleshooting complex systems and setting technical direction across .NET, Azure, and SQL Server.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Design: Design and guide the architecture of complex, high-scale systems built on .NET/C#, Azure, and SQL Server; serve as the escalation point and go-to resource for triggering complex production and performance issues across application teams; conduct architecture and code-level reviews to ensure scalability, security, and maintainability; define and evolve architectural standards, patterns, and reusable frameworks across development teams; lead modernization efforts — cloud migration, legacy system re-architecture, microservices adoption.
• Strategy & Risk: Assess risks related to platform stability, vendor dependencies, and technical debt at the enterprise level; evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends, recommending adoption where it drives business value; partner with the CIO and IT leadership on multi-year technology roadmaps.
• Collaboration & Mentorship: Act as a technical mentor to senior engineers and architects across teams; communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to both engineering and executive audiences.

Requirements

• 10+ years in software engineering/architecture, with deep, current expertise in .NET / C#, Angular and SQL.
• Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure (App Services, Durable Function, Azure Container, Azure Service Bus, and Resources).
• Deep SQL Server expertise — schema design, performance tuning, query optimization.
• Deep understanding of OWASP, Azure Intra ID, and JWT.
• Good understanding of DevOps, and CI/CD.
• Proven track record designing and troubleshooting complex, distributed, high availability systems.
• Ability to go deep technically (debugging, code review, architecture diagrams) and communicate at the executive level.
• Experience in mentoring engineers and being a trusted technical authority across teams.

Skills

• Enterprise Architecture (Must Have)
• .NET / C# (Must Have)
• Microsoft Azure (Must Have)
• SQL Server (Must Have)
• Azure Security (Must Have)
• DevOps / CI/CD (Must Have)
• Angular (Must Have)
• Strong Leadership & Communication

Qualifications

• Experience with microservices, containers (Kubernetes/AKS), and CI/CD practices.
• Familiarity with modern frontend architecture (e.g., Angular) and how they integrate with .NET backends.
• Security fundamentals (identity/OAuth, encryption, access controls).
• Deep understanding of design patterns such as Saga, Singleton, Façade.
• Certifications: Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert; TOGAF (nice-to-have, not required).
• Experience operating in a regulated or compliance-heavy environment, if relevant to your org.
• Understanding of various AI tools and workflow automation.