Technical Architect (Full Stack) – React / Next.js / Node.js / Azure

The Donovan's Venom, INC. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to bringing music, art, and entertainment to those who need it most. We cater to no particular individual(s) yet pledge relief to impaired or deprived individuals who lack access to musical, visual, comedic, or alternative forms of liberation through fine art and entertainment. The Donovan's Venom gives its resources to individuals who don’t have the means or access.

About Us

The Donovan’s Venom is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on curating universal accessibility to fine arts and music education for all. We are passionately dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of financial circumstances, has access to high-quality music education, performance opportunities, and fine art. We aim to inspire, empower, and uplift communities by fostering a love for music and the arts through our commitment to education, inclusivity, diversity, and social impact.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Technical Architect to lead the design and evolution of our modern web platform. As the Technical Architect, you will define the technical direction, establish architectural standards, and provide hands-on technical leadership across frontend, backend, and cloud technologies. You will work closely with Engineering Managers, UX/UI Designers, DevOps Engineers, QA Engineers, and software developers to design scalable, secure, maintainable, and high-performing solutions. This role requires someone who is equally comfortable discussing high-level system architecture with leadership and diving into code with engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges. The ideal candidate is passionate about modern web technologies, enjoys mentoring engineers, has a strong systems-thinking mindset, and thrives in a collaborative, Agile environment.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership
  • Define and own the overall technical architecture and technology roadmap for frontend, backend, APIs, and cloud infrastructure.
  • Design scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions that align with business objectives and long-term product strategy.
  • Establish engineering standards, architectural guidelines, and development best practices across teams.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend adoption where appropriate.
  • Drive technical decision-making while balancing scalability, maintainability, security, performance, and delivery timelines.
• Solution Architecture
  • Design end-to-end application architectures using modern frontend and backend technologies.
  • Architect scalable microservices-based solutions.
  • Design secure RESTful APIs and service integrations.
  • Ensure systems are resilient, fault-tolerant, and cloud-ready.
  • Develop reusable architecture patterns and reference implementations.
  • Design secure authentication and authorization mechanisms.
  • Lead architecture reviews and technical design discussions.
• Frontend Architecture
  • Provide technical leadership across React, Next.js, Vue.js, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS3, Tailwind CSS, Sass, Vite, and Webpack.
  • Design reusable component architectures.
  • Define frontend coding standards.
  • Optimize application performance.
  • Improve accessibility and usability.
  • Create scalable UI design systems.
  • Collaborate closely with UX designers to translate Figma designs into robust implementations.
• Backend Architecture
  • Lead backend engineering initiatives involving Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, Microservices, and REST APIs.
  • Design scalable backend services.
  • Define API standards and integration patterns.
  • Implement cloud-native architectures.
  • Optimize service communication and performance.
  • Design fault-tolerant distributed systems.
  • Support API versioning, security, and observability.
• Cloud & DevOps
  • Design and optimize cloud-native solutions on Microsoft Azure.
  • Collaborate with DevOps teams on deployment strategies and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, monitoring, and scalability.
  • Establish logging, monitoring, and performance optimization standards.
  • Support infrastructure automation and cloud governance initiatives.
• Collaboration & Mentorship
  • Mentor frontend and backend developers through architecture reviews, code reviews, and technical coaching.
  • Partner with Product Managers to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
  • Collaborate with UX Designers to ensure technical feasibility while delivering exceptional user experiences.
  • Work with QA teams to establish quality standards and testing strategies.
  • Foster a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, innovation, and engineering excellence.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related discipline.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in a Technical Architect, Lead Engineer, or Solution Architect role.
• Extensive experience designing enterprise-scale web applications.
• Strong understanding of software architecture principles and design patterns.
• Proven experience leading technical teams and architectural decision-making.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Skills

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Next.js, Vue.js, Tailwind CSS, Sass, Responsive Design, Component-Based Architecture, Single Page Applications (SPA), Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
• Backend: Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, RESTful APIs, API Design, API Security, Authentication & Authorization, Middleware Development, Event-driven Architecture
• Architecture: Microservices, Distributed Systems, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), Service-Oriented Architecture, Event-Driven Architecture, API Gateway Patterns, Scalability & Performance Optimization, High Availability & Resilience, Security Best Practices
• Cloud: Microsoft Azure, Azure App Services, Azure Functions, Azure Storage, Azure API Management, Cloud Security, Monitoring & Logging, Scalability & Cost Optimization
• Tools: Git, GitHub, Postman, Axios, npm, Yarn, Vite, Webpack, Figma
• Leadership Competencies:
  • Provide technical vision while remaining hands-on when needed.
  • Inspire engineering teams through mentoring and technical guidance.
  • Balance innovation with pragmatic delivery.
  • Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing engineering culture.
  • Drive engineering excellence through best practices and continuous improvement.
  • Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Champion quality, security, scalability, and maintainability across all engineering initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Azure DevOps, OAuth2 / OpenID Connect / JWT.
• Automated testing frameworks.
• Performance profiling and optimization.
• Observability tools.
• Design systems.
• Accessibility (WCAG).
• DevSecOps practices.

What Success Looks Like

• Deliver scalable, secure, and maintainable architecture that supports long-term business growth.
• Establish technical standards that improve development quality, consistency, and productivity.
• Successfully guide engineering teams through complex technical challenges and architectural decisions.
• Reduce technical debt while enabling rapid feature delivery.
• Foster collaboration across Product, UX, Engineering, QA, and DevOps.
• Improve application performance, reliability, and security across the technology stack.
• Mentor engineers and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence.
• Drive innovation while ensuring solutions remain practical, maintainable, and aligned with organizational goals.

Schedule

• Estimated Commitment: 8–12 hours per week.
• Availability: Flexible, with alignment to sprint/project timelines.
• Participation in development and design meetings required.

Work Environment

• Fully remote volunteer role.
• Agile, project-based development environment.
• Collaborative with creative and engineering teams.

This is a volunteer position and does not constitute employment. Responsibilities may evolve based on organizational needs.