Solutions Architect

PRIMARY PURPOSE

The Solutions Architect is an experienced, self-directed technologist who leads the design, architecture, and delivery of full-stack web applications, and who owns the architecture of the infrastructure and systems those applications run on. Working within our Digital Strategy team, you will take ownership of complex projects end to end, set technical and infrastructure direction, and mentor junior developers, while partnering closely with Marketing, Advancement, Enrollment, IT, and other cross-functional stakeholders. This role carries significant autonomy and accountability. You are expected to identify architectural risks before they become problems, make sound technology and infrastructure decisions with minimal oversight, and raise the technical bar for the entire team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Leadership and Architecture

• Own the technical architecture of key web applications and data platforms, making informed decisions on frameworks, infrastructure, and system design
• Lead the evaluation and adoption of new technologies, tools, and best practices, and define coding standards for the team
• Design scalable, secure, and maintainable data models, APIs, and integrations across the university's systems
• Identify technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and security risks proactively, and drive remediation efforts
• Serve as the escalation point for complex bugs and production issues across the full application stack

Infrastructure Architecture

• Design and own the architecture of the university's hosting, network, and cloud infrastructure supporting web applications and data platforms
• Evaluate and select infrastructure providers, hosting environments, and deployment models, weighing cost, scalability, and security
• Define standards for environment architecture, including staging, production, and disaster recovery configurations
• Design CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows that support reliable, repeatable releases across projects
• Partner with IT and the CISO's office on infrastructure security, access controls, and compliance requirements
• Plan for scalability and resilience of infrastructure as institutional systems and traffic grow

Full-Stack Development

• Design and build responsive, accessible, high-performance front-end experiences using modern JavaScript frameworks
• Architect and develop robust server-side logic, APIs, and database integrations that scale with institutional needs
• Translate ambiguous or high-level requirements into well-scoped technical plans and clean, well-documented, testable code
• Champion automated testing, code review rigor, and CI/CD practices across projects

Platform and Systems Ownership

• Serve as the senior technical owner of Virtuous, our constituent relationship management (CRM) platform, including architecture of integrations, customizations, and data flows
• Lead advancement and support of key platforms including Jenzabar Student 1 (student information system), HubSpot (marketing and communications), and Slate (enrollment management), including planning for platform consolidation and migration initiatives
• Direct the ongoing evolution of the university's web platforms and digital tools, ensuring reliability, security, and long-term maintainability
• Design and oversee integrations between internal systems, third-party services, and APIs, including data governance and compliance considerations
• Establish monitoring, alerting, and incident response practices to ensure application health and rapid resolution of issues

Mentorship and Collaboration

• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior developers and student workers, reviewing their code and supporting their growth
• Lead project planning, sprint planning, and code reviews for the Digital Strategy Team
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to scope projects, set realistic timelines, and manage technical risk
• Document technical processes, system architecture, and codebases so that knowledge is shared and institutionalized
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear guidance for non-technical stakeholders and university leadership

Strategic Contribution and Growth

• Stay current with emerging web technologies and evaluate their fit for the university's needs
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve systems, workflows, and user experiences at an institutional level
• Take ownership of ambiguous, cross-team initiatives from concept through delivery
• Contribute to long-range technology roadmaps and platform strategy in partnership with DST leadership

EDUCATION

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Web Development, Information Technology, or a related field. Significant equivalent experience or a strong portfolio demonstrating advanced full-stack development skills will be considered in lieu of a degree.

EXPERIENCE

Minimum of 5+ years of professional full-stack web development experience, including experience owning production systems, architecting infrastructure, and mentoring other developers. Experience in a higher education or mission-driven organization is a plus.

CERTIFICATION

N/A

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Deep, hands-on expertise with modern front-end JavaScript frameworks and current web development standards
• Strong back-end development experience with languages such as Node.js, Python, PHP, or similar, including designing systems from scratch
• Advanced understanding of relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases, including schema design and performance tuning
• Extensive experience with version control systems, particularly Git, including branching strategy and code review workflows
• Proven experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs, and integrating third-party services
• Demonstrated ability to make sound architectural decisions independently and communicate the tradeoffs clearly
• Track record of writing readable, maintainable, well-tested code and holding others to that same standard
• Comfortable leading in an agile or iterative development environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated experience mentoring or leading other developers
• Collaborative team player who can also work independently and lead projects with minimal supervision
• Demonstrated experience designing or architecting infrastructure, hosting environments, or cloud systems
• Working knowledge of infrastructure security, access controls, and compliance considerations
• Must support the University's Catholic mission

PHYSICAL SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Requires ordinary ambulatory skills sufficient to visit other locations; the ability to stand, walk and manipulate (lift, carry, move) light weights of up to 10 pounds. Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp, type and perform data entry, visual acuity to use a keyboard and read technical information, ability to hear in order to answer telephones and communicate verbally, and the ability to sit for extended periods of time.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work is performed indoors in a standard office environment with minimal safety hazards, requiring seated, standing, and movement work.