Principal Software Architect

Job Details

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.

About the Role

As a Principal Software Architect, you will define the technology roadmap for NOIRLab's scientific and operational software ecosystem, establish enterprise-scale architecture principles, engineering standards, governance processes, and best practices. You will 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, and champion modernization initiatives that improve system scalability, reliability, maintainability, and operational efficiency while supporting uninterrupted scientific operations.

Essential Functions

• 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.
• Drive modernization initiatives that improve system scalability, reliability, maintainability, and operational efficiency while supporting uninterrupted scientific operations.

System Design & Engineering Excellence

• 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 DevSecOps 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.

Innovation & Technical Enablement

• 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.

Additional Responsibilities

• 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.

Requirements

• Education & Experience: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; 15+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including experience as a Software Architect, Principal Engineer, Distinguished Engineer, or similar technical leadership role.
• Technical Expertise: Deep expertise in software architecture, system design, API design, scalability, resilience, reliability, and distributed systems; experience designing and operating cloud-native, containerized, microservices-based applications and platforms; strong background in multiple programming languages and modern software development methodologies; experience building and managing platforms that process and store petabyte-scale data; experience with scientific computing, high-performance computing (HPC), distributed computing, or large-scale computational environments; experience designing data pipelines, workflow orchestration systems, and data-intensive platforms; knowledge of event-driven architectures, messaging systems, and asynchronous processing patterns; experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, monitoring, observability, and software delivery automation; understanding of secure software development practices, including authentication, authorization, and data protection; experience evaluating, integrating, or leveraging AI/ML, generative AI, or LLM-powered capabilities within software platforms or engineering workflows.
• Leadership Skills: Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across scientific, engineering, and operational organizations; demonstrated ability to influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and lead through architectural expertise rather than direct authority; proven hands-on leadership experience through architecture design, prototyping, technical guidance, and code reviews.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing software for scientific, research, or data-intensive environments.
• Experience supporting scientific instrumentation, observatory operations, or large-scale scientific data pipelines.
• Experience contributing to or leading open-source software projects.
• Experience working in astronomy, astrophysics, earth sciences, national laboratories, research institutions, or other mission-driven scientific organizations.

Work Environment

This position operates in a professional office environment and routinely utilizes standard office equipment, including computers, phones, and copiers. The work environment is generally quiet and may involve working in close proximity to others, depending on the needs of the specific function.

Salary Range

$155,673 – $189,559 per year. The final salary will depend on skills, qualifications and experience.

Benefits

AURA offers an excellent benefits package including paid time off and retirement plan contributions, competitive salary commensurate with experience, and a very attractive work environment. Details on benefits can be found at Benefits by Location - Aura Human Resources.

Application Instructions

The position will remain open until it is filled. Please submit a cover letter and a CV or resume, PDF files preferred. Please name any attachments with the following format: LastName DocName. Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can request assistance here.