Software Architect

About DocuPet

As the official pet registration provider for more than 250 jurisdictions, DocuPet is the largest and fastest growing pet registration platform in North America.

Our proprietary platform consolidates all pet information into a single place and provides the services for pet owners, community members and animal shelters to ensure pets can be reunited quickly if they become lost.

Beyond our platform, DocuPet offers specialized pet tags, an AI-powered pet tracker, lost pet alert system, and will soon be launching a first-of-its-kind pet parenting mobile app - all aimed to ensure every pet in North America is registered and that each has a safe and happy home.

Our work is very important. More than 6 million pets enter animal shelters every year. Just 10% of those animals are returned to their owners. Effective registration, pet identification, reunification tools, and animal shelter resources, all provided by DocuPet, is the solution that will measurably reduce shelter intakes while providing significant new funding for animal welfare organizations.

A new National Pet Record Search Tool, available for free to all shelters joining our National Animal Shelter Network will be launched in Q2 of 2025. DocuPet has the support of the animal welfare industry, and with astute strategic leadership will become the de facto National Pet Registry program serving tens of millions of pet owners by 2027.

About the Role

The DocuPet solution includes an easy to use online licensing system, branded website and communications, real-time tracking and reporting, fulfillment and customer service, and value-added services for pet owners including our Lost Pet Alert System and Rewards Program.

We are looking for a Software Architect who is passionate about leading and crafting comprehensive technical architecture strategy. The ideal candidate has a strong background in defining architectural vision and executing strategy through working across cross-functional product and engineering teams.

In this role, you will be closely working with software engineers, product managers, key business stakeholders, and technology leadership to define the architecture, technical designs, and technology roadmap for four distinct product and internal teams: Pet Owners, Administrators, Licensing Services, and Core. This role reports to the Director of Software Engineering.

What You Will Be Doing

• Requirements Analysis: Gather, analyze, and synthesize functional requirements from product managers to ensure clear understanding and feasibility.
• Architectural Leadership: Act as the architectural SME and visionary, reviewing technical designs and supporting technical leads across product pods.
• Non-Functional Requirements: Formalize non-functional product requirements with product management and ensure architecture can support current and future product needs.
• Software Solutioning: Provide high-level software solutions and approximate development timelines to product managers and technical leads based on a deep understanding of non-functional requirements, historical estimations, current limitations, and future state architecture.
• Technical Design Documentation: Create a blueprint of software solutions during technical design, documenting functional and non-functional requirements, identifying key risks, constraints, and impacts, and leveraging UML diagrams (ERD, Sequence, Class, Component, etc.).
• Hands-On Development: Contribute as an individual contributor by writing code for prototyping, experimentation, mentorship, maintenance, or documentation of software solutions.
• Project Oversight: Oversee ongoing projects from inception to release, collaborating on unit testing, QA, and deployment of software solutions.
• Mentorship & Growth: Mentor, nurture, and partner with technical leads and software engineers, instilling a strong understanding of requirements engineering and best practices.
• Technical Design Process Ownership: Champion and mature the DocuPet Technical Design process, refining methodologies based on project size and scope.
• Design Democratization: Own the versioning and distribution of technical designs and respective artifacts through an internal RFC (Request for Comment) system.
• Automated Documentation: Ensure all aspects of software in production are thoroughly documented, including REST APIs, by implementing automated tooling.
• Best Practices & Standards: Define, document, mentor, and enforce engineering house standards and best practices within the organization.
• Industry Awareness: Stay up to date with emerging technologies, development platforms, frameworks, evolving solutions, and industry standards.
• Agile Participation: Engage in Scrum ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, sprint estimation/planning, and project retrospectives/reviews.
• Code Quality & Collaboration: Participate in peer code reviews, pair programming, and collaborate with engineers to improve overall code quality.

What You Should Have

• A college or university degree in computer science or a related field (a combination of education or experience is also fine)
• 8+ years of web software development experience
• 6+ years of experience working with an object-oriented language (PHP preferred)
• 3+ years of proven experience as a technical lead or architect
• Experience working with Agile methodologies and tools, such as JIRA
• Experience with virtualization such as Docker
• Experience working in cloud environments (AWS preferred)
• Experience working across cross-functional product teams
• Demonstrated ability to requirements engineer and write technical documentation with an attention to detail
• Exceptional technical strategic thinking and visionary skills with the ability to see the 'big picture' several years down the line
• Strong leadership skills and past experience leading through successful project execution, collaboration, guidance, and mentorship; You're the person that builds team rapport and trust through your work, the projects you lead, and the example you embody
• Ability to deal with ambiguity: you can bring structure and focus to complex questions
• Vast experience owning the technical responsibility of the entire SDLC to achieve project delivery
• You are a strong communicator and a seasoned architect that can lead discussion or constructive debate, and own the decision making process
• Hunger to have an impact on our team and the business

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical insurance including Health, Dental and Vision
• Flexible PTO
• Fully remote

Our Mission and Values

Each of us at DocuPet comes to work each day to move our organization closer to its ultimate mission: to provide a safe and happy home for every pet. We take our core values very seriously knowing that we only work well with those who see the working world as we do.

Go Big - We aim to do big things. We don't aim to impress ourselves, or those around us, we aim to be the very best anywhere. We accept all challenges and we intend to win.

Whatever It Takes - We finish whatever we start. No excuses. It often means a lot of work, but it's worth it because we are the types who don't rest until the job is done.

Inspire - Our people and our business inspire those around us. Each employee has a job to do, and they do it with excellence and grace. They bring joy to everyone they meet.

Believe - Each of us is responsible for selling ourselves, our projects, our outcomes, and our efforts. We must be individually and collectively convicted in our actions. We sell our ideas, our services, and our products at every opportunity.

Respect - We work as a team. We treat each other the way we expect to be treated. We listen to all opinions and voices taking time for those with quieter personalities and those who take time to collect and share their ideas are heard. We accept differing viewpoints and are an inclusive company.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $140, $180,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Software development: 8 years (Required)
• OOP: 6 years (Required)
• PHP: 6 years (Required)
• Software architecture: 3 years (Required)
• Leadership: 3 years (Required)
• Technical drawing: 3 years (Required)
• Requirements gathering: 3 years (Required)

Work Location: Remote