Head of Software Architecture

Head Of Architecture Finalsite is the preferred website, communications, enrollment, and marketing platform of more than 7,000 schools and school districts in 119 countries around the world. The company's people, products and services transform how schools connect and engage with their community, recruit students and staff, and fundraise; while managing the complex requirements around data privacy, accessibility, hosting and security. Finalsite is headquartered in Glastonbury, CT, USA with employees who work remotely in nearly every state in the U.S. as well as Europe, South America, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.finalsite.com. VISION: To build innovative solutions that elevate school engagement. SUMMARY OF THE ROLE: The Head of Architecture is a senior technical leader responsible for driving Finalsite's enterprise-wide architectural vision, ensuring our products, platforms, and infrastructure scale reliably, securely, and efficiently to deliver business value. This role leads the architectural strategy across all product lines, partners deeply with engineering leadership, and ensures alignment with business priorities, customer needs, and Private Equity-backed growth expectations. You will be the key partner for Business, Product, and Engineering leadership and stakeholders. The Head of Architecture will set the long-term architectural roadmap, guide modernization initiatives, establish engineering and architectural standards, and mentor architects and senior engineers across the organization. This role will lead Platform and Application Architects, and work closely with Principal and Staff Engineers, Product Management, Security, and SRE to deliver a unified architectural direction as per business needs. LOCATION: 100% Remote - Anywhere within the US RESPONSIBILITIES Architectural Strategy & Leadership Define and own the enterprise architecture vision for Finalsite's multi-product SaaS ecosystem. Lead the development of the architecture roadmap, including modernization, scalability, integrations, data strategy, and cloud transformation. Drive alignment between business, product, engineering, and architecture teams to support Finalsite business. Partner with the CTO, VP of Engineering, and product leaders to deliver architectural solutions and technical debt reduction. Technical Leadership & Governance Establish architecture principles, standards, and best practices across engineering teams. Lead design reviews, architecture reviews, and technical governance forums. Provide oversight for major system designs, service interactions, and data flows. Ensure consistency, reliability, and interoperability across all product lines. Collaboration & Cross-Functional Influence Collaborate with engineering leadership to ensure architecture integrates seamlessly into the SDLC. Work closely with Security to implement secure-by-design frameworks and ensure compliance with data privacy standards. Partner with SRE and Platform Engineering to guide cloud, CI/CD, observability, availability, and performance strategies. Support Product Management in evaluating technical feasibility, estimating effort, and assessing platform impact for new initiatives. Mentorship & Team Leadership Provide coaching and mentoring to architects, senior engineers, and technical leaders. Lead the Platform Architect to deliver the common architectural solutions and approach. Lead the Application Architects to implement and improve best architecture practices. Influence engineering culture by promoting innovation, design excellence, and technical rigor. Execution & Delivery Oversee architecture for large-scale initiatives such as: Platform establishment and integration Common Data Layer and Schema API modernization Drive technology evaluations, vendor assessments, and buy-vs-build decisions. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS 15+ years of experience in software engineering or architecture roles, with significant hands-on design and coding experience. Being still hands-on when required is a huge plus. Experience in establishing and evolving the Architecture practices of SaaS organizations. Expertise in one or more major cloud environments (AWS and/or GCP) and associated services. Experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code. Solid understanding of data models, identity and access management, and security best practices. Ability to balance strategic architectural direction with day-to-day technical execution. Excellent communication skills and ability to influence engineers and leaders alike. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (Master's preferred). Experience in a large software-delivery organization and/or multi-product SaaS environments is a strong plus. You are a builder and a leader-someone who thrives on designing systems, guiding teams, and seeing complex ideas come to life. RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT: Finalsite offers 100% fully remote employment opportunities, however, these opportunities are limited to permanent residents of the United States. Current residency, as well as continued residency, within the United States is required to obtain (and retain) employment with Finalsite. DISCLOSURES: Finalsite is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact Finalsite's People Operations Team. Finalsite is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Finalsite will ensure that persons with disabilities or special needs are provided a reasonable accommodation.