Enterprise/Principal Architect – Digital Commerce & Experience Platforms

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to make learning limitless– and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class higher education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading online learning platform, 2U powers thousands of  higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with our college, university, and corporate partners, we are helping accelerate careers and transform lives. 

What We’re Looking For:

2U is looking for a highly technical, hands-on Principal Enterprise Architect with 17–20+ years of experience in web engineering, solution architecture, and enterprise architecture, with deep expertise in modern JavaScript-based frontends, cloud-native architectures, and e-commerce platforms.

This role will define and drive the end-to-end architecture vision for rebuilding and evolving large-scale digital platforms such as edx.org and GetSmarter.com, integrating commerce, search, marketing experiences, and LMS ecosystems. In addition to architectural leadership, this role provides technical leadership and people management for senior tech leads, offshore engineering teams, with accountability for execution, quality, and delivery outcomes.

You will operate as a technical authority and thought leader, balancing architectural rigor with real-world delivery.

We are looking for someone who has built and scaled modern web platforms, understands trade-offs deeply, and can partner closely with engineering teams to deliver.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

Engineering & Architectural Vision 

• Own and guide the architecture vision for enterprise-scale digital experience and commerce platforms, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned to business outcomes.
• Lead the modernization of high-traffic web platforms using modern JavaScript frameworks and cloud-native architectures, with a focus on performance, SEO, accessibility, and global delivery.
• Define and govern composable, API-first architectures that integrate commerce, subscriptions, payments, search, marketing platforms, and LMS ecosystems, enabling flexibility and long-term platform evolution.
• Drive build vs. buy vs. partner decisions across the digital stack, balancing speed, cost, risk, and long-term ownership.
• Establish architectural standards and patterns across frontend, backend, and integrations, including event-driven and serverless designs on AWS, to optimize scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Set and enforce engineering and architectural standards across teams, including system design, resiliency, security, observability, data modeling, and performance optimization.

Technical Leadership & Team Management 

• Provide technical leadership and day-to-day direction to Tech Leads, Senior Engineers, and offshore delivery teams.
• Manage and mentor Tech Leads and/or offshore engineering and QA teams, ensuring clarity of ownership, accountability, and delivery standards.
• Partner with delivery managers and program leadership to plan capacity, staffing, and sequencing of work.
• Own technical delivery outcomes, including quality, timelines, and risk management across distributed teams.
• Establish and enforce engineering best practices, coding standards, and architectural guardrails across onshore and offshore teams.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and performance development of senior technical talent in partnership with Engineering leadership.

Agile Leadership & Collaboration 

• Work closely with engineering, product, marketing, and data teams in Agile environments.
• Translate long-term architectural vision into incremental, executable delivery plans.
• Participate actively in PI planning, sprint reviews, and technical design forums.
• Mentor senior engineers, tech leads, and solution architects.

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• 15+ of progressive experience in web engineering, solution architecture, and enterprise architecture, operating at Principal or Enterprise Architect level in large, complex organizations.
• Demonstrated ownership of architecture vision and execution for enterprise-scale digital platforms, including high-traffic websites and e-commerce systems.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in modern JavaScript-based architectures, including React.js, Next.js, and Node.js, with accountability for frontend and platform design decisions.
• Proven experience architecting commerce, payments, and subscription platforms at scale, including integrations with external vendors and internal systems.
• Strong experience designing API-first, cloud-native architectures, including GraphQL, event-driven integrations, and distributed systems.
• Extensive experience with AWS, including serverless architectures (AWS Lambda) and NoSQL data platforms (DynamoDB), with an emphasis on scalability, resilience, and cost optimization.
• Experience integrating search, content, and marketing platforms (e.g., Algolia, CMS, experimentation tools) into unified digital ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead system design, architectural governance, and technical decision-making across multiple teams.
• Exceptional communication and executive-facing skills, with the ability to articulate trade-offs, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Proven success operating in Agile / product-led delivery environments, partnering closely with Engineering, Product, and Business leaders.

Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:

• Experience in education, learning platforms, or content-driven businesses.
• Exposure to data science, ML, or AI-driven personalization (e.g., transformers or recommendation systems).
• Experience modernizing or replacing legacy CMS or monolithic platforms.
• Experience working in global, distributed engineering organizations.

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Arlington, VA two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide millions of learners and counting with access to world-class higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. 

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, U.S. benefits include: 

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match
• Free snacks and drinks in-office
• Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO
• Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break

The anticipated base salary range for this role is ($201,800 -$235,300), with potential bonus eligibility.  Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, budget for the position and cost of labor in the market in which the candidate will be hired.

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At 2U, we are committed to building and sustaining a culture of belonging, respect, and inclusion. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken to bring together an employee base that embodies diverse walks of life, ideas, genders, ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, abilities and other unique qualities. We strive to offer a workplace where every employee feels empowered by what makes us different, as well as by how we are alike. 

2U is committed to providing reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process. If you need assistance or accommodations, please reach out to us at: recruitingaccommodations@2u.com. 

About 2U

2U partners with the world's top universities and companies to develop and deliver education programs that accelerate careers and transform lives. Through partnerships with the world’s leading colleges, universities, and companies, 2U delivers thousands of online programs to millions of learners worldwide on edX, its global learning platform. From executive education and professional credentialing to master’s degree programs and free, open courses, 2U transforms how top institutions deliver workforce-aligned online education, enabling professionals to advance without pausing their careers. Learn more at 2U.com.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans’ status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U’s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits and pay.