Software Technical Lead / Architect– SaaS

Job Title: Software Technical Lead / Architect– SaaS
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Reports To: Director of Software Engineering

Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled Software Technical Lead / Architect to drive the technical design, modernization, and cloud transformation of our core Legacy manufacturing and Factory Execution applications. You will play a key architectural role in re-engineering a complex, homegrown legacy system into a secure, scalable, cloud-native SaaS platform on Microsoft Azure.

In this high-impact role, you will collaborate closely with engineering managers, product leaders, DevOps, cybersecurity, and business stakeholders across manufacturing, supply chain, and finance. You will provide technical direction, design patterns, and hands-on architecture for one of the company’s most critical digital transformation programs.

This role requires deep expertise in modern application architecture, distributed systems, Azure cloud, microservices, and secure API design — along with the ability to guide teams through legacy-to-cloud migration.

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• End-to-end architecture ownership (data and software). Lead the end-to-end technical architecture for Legacy modernization, cloud migration, and Database redesign.
• Define and implement API-first, microservices-based architecture on Azure using App Services, AKS, Azure Functions, and API Management.
• Break down a monolithic .NET into domain-driven, modular services and guide teams in modernization patterns (strangler fig, decomposition, DDD).
• Establish architectural guardrails, design patterns, reference architectures, and technical standards for engineering teams.
• Design, champion, and implement comprehensive strategies for enterprise-wide AI enablement. This includes establishing best practices, governance frameworks, and core platforms that empower various business units to adopt machine learning solutions responsibly and efficiently.

Hands-on Technical Design & Development

• Produce high-quality architecture artifacts: sequence diagrams, service contracts, API definitions, data models, and deployment patterns.
• Review technical designs, PRs, and solution approaches to ensure correctness, scalability, and adherence to best practices. Identify technical risks, and advise business partners, key stakeholders
• Lead modernization from IIS to NGINX and containerized platforms (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Implement secure, token-based authentication (OAuth2.0, SAML 2.0, Entra ID, AD) and policy-driven API security via Azure API Management.

Modernization of Legacy Application

• Partner with SMEs and engineering teams to stabilize and enhance the legacy .NET application during the transition phase.
• Define migration paths for modules, schemas, integrations, and reporting systems (SQL Server → PostgreSQL).
• Ensure zero or minimal downtime during incremental cutovers and parallel runs.

Cloud, DevOps, and Operational Excellence

• Work closely with DevOps to design scalable CI/CD pipelines, IaC (Terraform/Bicep/ARM), blue green/canary deployments, and observability frameworks.

• Define performance, scalability, and security requirements; implement metrics and monitoring using Datadog, Kafka events, or Azure Monitor.
• Improve engineering KPIs: code quality, performance, test automation, deployment frequency, and architectural compliance.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with product managers, engineering managers, cybersecurity, infrastructure, QA, and business leaders.
• Translate business requirements into technical design that balances performance, security, and maintainability.
• Provide technical oversight on vendor integrations, supply chain workflows, financial processes, and factory operations.

Technical Mentorship

• Coach developers and junior architects on design principles, cloud-native patterns, distributed systems, and secure coding.
• Prepare best coding best practices document w.r. t code quality, and ensure compliance across multiple teams.
• Enforce architecture decisions across internal and external teams by reviewing the low-level design produced by internal and collab partners
• Responsibility for coding security best practices (design patterns, threat modeling, code vulnerability management, and compliance enforcement)
• Champion engineering excellence through peer reviews, technical deep dives, demos, and knowledge-sharing sessions.

Technical Skills & Experience:

• Deep hands-on experience with Azure services: App Services, AKS, Functions, API Management, Key Vault, Azure SQL/PostgreSQL.
• Proven success modernizing legacy .NET systems into cloud-native microservices architectures.
• Strong expertise in RESTful API design, schema evolution, event-driven patterns (Kafka, Service Bus), and distributed systems.
• Proficiency with NGINX, Docker, Kubernetes, containers, and service deployment at scale.
• Strong database experience (SQL Server, PostgreSQL) including performance tuning and data modeling.
• Expertise with modern frontend frameworks (React, Angular, Vue) for SPA modernization.
• Experience with Terraform/Bicep/ARM, CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps.
• Strong understanding of security standards including OAuth2.0, OIDC, SAML 2.0, AD/Entra ID integration, and API policy enforcement.
• Experience with QA automation frameworks (unit, integration, API-level, performance).

Soft skills and Leadership Attributes:

• Strong communication skills with ability to explain complex technical concepts to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to work across globally distributed teams.
• High ownership, structured thinking, strong problem-solving skills.
• Ability to drive clarity in ambiguity and lead technical decision-making.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of hands-on software engineering experience with at least 3+ years in an architectural or technical lead role.
• Experience with real-time distributed systems or factory/industrial software a strong plus.
• Experience with Power BI or Tableau for KPI dashboards.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to engage with executives and technical teams alike.

Success Measures:

• Delivery of well-architected, secure, scalable microservices on Azure.
• Successful incremental migration of legacy modules without major production disruption.
• Improved engineering velocity, code quality, reliability, and observability.
• Strong technical alignment across engineering, DevOps, cybersecurity, and business stakeholders.
• Creation of reusable architectural patterns, frameworks, and reference components that accelerate team delivery.

Why Choose Us:

This is more than just a job - it’s a chance to lead a bold, game-changing transformation at the heart of Rocket EMS. You’ll be empowered to innovate with cutting-edge technology, inspire a global team, and build the future of manufacturing software from the ground up. If you’re ready to make a lasting impact in a fast-paced, forward-thinking company that values vision and leadership, then this is the role you’ve been waiting for. Step up and make your mark with us - the future is yours to build.