Lead Software Engineer & Architect

Summary of Purpose:

Under minimal supervision, the Lead Software Engineer & Architect, internally referred to as an Enterprise Software Engineer II, provides technical leadership and architectural direction across platforms and products. This role applies deep business and technical expertise to design scalable, maintainable solutions that address complex business challenges. This role is collaborative and influences decision making by providing facts and details to support arguments. They have proficiency in multiple programming languages and platforms. The role operates with a high degree of ownership, working independently and leading team efforts from concept through delivery.

Essential Functions

• Evaluates and designs comprehensive solutions, offering strategic recommendations that emphasize scalability, maintainability, and alignment with long-term business goals
• Acts as technical lead for IT applications, providing direction, coaching, and mentoring to developers and co-ops on different platforms and products as needed
• Creates or contributes to the creation of solution architectures and proof of concepts, thoroughly detailing architectural solutions and decisions through diagrams and documentation
• Creates or contributes to the definition of architectural principles, standards, methodologies, and best practices and guides the team on implementation
• Collaborates seamlessly with business analysts and project managers to align technology solutions with user needs
• Works with IT leadership and other IT architects to ensure application development, integration, and data quality best practices are defined and followed
• Guides team members on platforms, architectures, designs, patterns, and practices
• Continuously improves development methodologies in partnership with QA and Data Engineers, supporting the shift toward automated testing and robust data pipelines
• Provides excellent second-tier customer support and effectively troubleshoots developed solutions
• Leads scope of work estimation and forecasting for development cycles
• Performs other duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proven ability to work in an Agile/Scrum software development environment
• Extensive demonstrated knowledge of software architecture
• Proven experience leading initiatives, mentoring team members, and driving innovation and strategic improvements within the organization
• Ability to convey complex ideas and project strategies in a clear and compelling manner to stakeholders, project teams and senior leadership
• Ability to lead diverse teams to achieve common goals, while mentoring team members
• Demonstrates advanced planning, organizational, and time management skills, leading multiple projects within the program, guiding all stakeholders, and driving strategic initiatives to achieve organizational goals
• Advanced ability to analyze data, trends, and complex problems to make informed decisions within relevant specialty area
• Exemplifies a strong ability to seek out and learn from feedback, coaching, and new experiences. Proactively adapts to new challenges and leverages learnings to drive innovation and mentor others
• Ability to foster collaboration across different departments or teams to harness collective creativity and drive innovation. Strong communication skills to effectively convey ideas and facilitate discussions. Demonstrated impact in cross-functional projects, ensuring alignment and synergy among diverse teams
• Ability to work and maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive/private information

Education, Licenses, and Certifications

Required

• High School Diploma or GED

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a closely related field
• Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect AZ-304 certification or other solutions architect certifications

Experience

Required

• Five or more years of professional work experience
• Three or more years of hands-on experience in software development, designing and architecting solutions on large scale enterprise level applications, building large scale applications with front end technology platforms like Angular, ASP.net, or any other JavaScript technology, designing, developing, and integrating application programming interfaces (APIs), including REST webservices, SOAP API, Graph API, etc.

Preferred

• Five or more years of professional work experience
• Three or more years of experience preparing proof of concepts, analyzing results, and presenting them to a variety of stakeholders
• Two or more years of experience evaluating buy vs. build solutions
• Two or more years of experience with enterprise level architect concepts and with developing strategic plans and roadmaps
• Experience in integrating Artificial Intelligence (LLMs, Model Context Protocol) into enterprise software solutions

Additional Requirements

Work Context

• Must be able to work prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to work under minimal supervision
• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, and crawl
• Must be able to lift 25 pounds
• Must have a US state or territory issued Real ID compliant driver’s license or identification card

Behaviors and Assessments/Additional Requirements

• All INPO employees are expected to abide by behavioral expectations as outlined in INPO’s Core Values, Team Effectiveness Attributes, and Leadership Effectiveness Attributes.
• Employment is dependent upon successfully completing a pre-employment background check and drug and alcohol test.
• This position may require obtaining unescorted access status.
• This position requires direct or indirect access to certain export-controlled technology, for which INPO may be required to obtain an export license in accordance with applicable U.S. export control laws and regulations.  If an export license is required, any offer of employment at INPO for this position is contingent upon receipt of the export license or authorization.