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Architect, Digital Engineering (Drupal/Acquia Architect)

Chicago, IL

Merge Storytelling and Technology

We bring together the minds and passions of creative pioneers, tech innovators, and data explorers to help ambitious clients solve business challenges and rise to the top. MERGE has enduring client partnerships with American Express, T-Mobile, LG, Subway, Kate Spade NY, Coach, The North Face, Meta, Adobe, BlueCross BlueShield, Abbott, Astellas, Supernus, CSL, GE Healthcare, Broward Health, Indiana University Health, Nationwide, and Morgan Stanley. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, New York City and Los Angeles. MERGE uses a talent-to-task process that enables clients to think higher and feel deeper about their customers. 

Promote Health, Wellness & Happiness

We are committed to promoting health, wellness and happiness in the world by partnering with purpose-driven clients in purpose-driven industries in healthcare, life science, and consumer products. Our deep vertical expertise and category insights stem from decade-long partnerships with our top clients.

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

As our Architect, Digital Engineering, you will…

Play a crucial role in our technology practice, reporting directly to a Technical Director. In this position, you will take full ownership of architecting and building world-class, enterprise-grade digital experiences on the Acquia Digital Experience Platform. You will be responsible for transforming complex business requirements into robust, scalable, and secure solutions, leading projects from high-level technical design through to hands-on implementation and deployment.

In this role, you will work with the latest technologies in the Drupal ecosystem and champion best practices in architecture, development, and security. You will be accountable for the technical integrity of your projects, mentor junior developers, and engage directly with clients and stakeholders to translate their needs into powerful and effective technical solutions.

Be Accountable and Responsible

Solution Architecture & Technical Strategy

  • Independently lead the technical design and architecture for large-scale Drupal projects, defining the technology stack, module selection, and integration strategies to meet long-term business goals
  • Design and document robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions built for high-traffic, enterprise environments, ensuring optimal performance and reliability
  • Develop, enforce, and evangelize Drupal coding standards and development best practices across the team
  • Lead technical discovery workshops with clients and stakeholders to translate business requirements into detailed technical specifications and architectural blueprints
  • Ensure all solutions adhere to enterprise-grade security protocols and meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards

Full-Stack Drupal Development & Implementation

  • Develop, customize, and extend custom and contributed Drupal modules, demonstrating expert-level knowledge of Drupal’s core APIs (Entity, Form, Render, Database, etc.)
  • Build and maintain sophisticated, component-based Drupal themes using Twig, HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, translating UI/UX designs into fully responsive and accessible user interfaces
  • Architect and execute complex third-party integrations with enterprise systems such as CRMs, ERPs, and payment gateways using REST and GraphQL APIs
  • Act as the final escalation point for troubleshooting, debugging, and resolving the most complex technical issues, and optimize application performance through advanced caching strategies and database tuning

Acquia Platform Management & DevOps

  • Own the end-to-end development lifecycle on the Acquia Cloud Platform, managing code deployments, and database/file synchronization across development, staging, and production environments
  • Mature and manage CI/CD workflows using Acquia Pipelines and Git/GitHub to automate testing, builds, and deployments
  • Perform and support Drupal and Acquia core, module, and security updates, ensuring the ongoing health, security, and stability of the platform
  • Leverage Acquia's full suite of developer tools, including Cloud IDE and logging services, to streamline development and accelerate troubleshooting

Leadership, Mentorship, & Client Engagement

  • Act as a primary technical point of contact and a client-facing expert, effectively communicating complex technical solutions and strategies to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including UX designers, project managers, and QA engineers, to ensure the seamless and successful delivery of projects
  • Mentor junior developers through constructive code reviews, pair programming sessions, and ongoing technical guidance, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement
  • Contribute to the broader Drupal community through open-source projects, documentation, or knowledge sharing

These are the qualifications we’re looking for

  • 7+ years of professional Drupal development experience, with a proven track record of delivering large-scale, high-traffic Drupal applications
  • 3+ years in a technical leadership or architect role with demonstrated project ownership and mentoring responsibilities
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent professional experience
  • Expert proficiency in Drupal 9/10+, with a deep understanding of its core architecture, key APIs (e.g., Entity, Form, Render), and hook system
  • Expert-level PHP skills, including modern Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles and extensive experience with the underlying Symfony framework components
  • Strong, hands-on experience with the Acquia Cloud Platform, including Acquia Pipelines for CI/CD and related developer tools
  • Proficiency with headless/decoupled architectures and front-end technologies (JavaScript, Twig, CSS)
  • Strong leadership potential and excellent communication skills, with the proven ability to articulate complex technical ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Proactive problem-solver with a passion for industry trends and a demonstrable commitment to continuous learning and professional growth
  • Direct experience interacting with clients or stakeholders in a technical lead, consulting, or primary point-of-contact capacity

Highly Desired Qualifications

  • Acquia Certified Developer or Acquia Certified Back End/Front End Specialist
  • A history of meaningful contributions to the Drupal community (e.g., maintaining a module, contributing to core)
  • Experience with Drupal multi-site architectures
  • Familiarity with modern JavaScript frameworks (e.g., React, Vue.js) in a progressively decoupled context

 

At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.

MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, we’re proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

The salary range for this role is $111,800 - $134,150, based on the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.  

MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that include meaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

 

 

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And here’s how we live our values at MERGE

  • Ability. Mastering our craft
  • Agility. Delivering with a growth mindset
  • Humility. Collaborating for shared success

MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be!

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