Principal Architect - Application Development

We are Farmers - where ambition meets opportunity.

At Farmers, we're not just known for unforgettable jingle - we're a team with a passion for purpose and making a real difference in people's lives. We deliver peace of mind when it matters most. Our results-driven, high-performance culture thrives on creativity, accountability and bold solutions. Here, growth isn't just a goal - it's a way of life for both the organization and every individual on our team. We tackle challenges head-on, learn from every experience and measure our impact on the customers who trust us.

Join an award-winning, equal opportunity employer, where you'll find more than a job - you'll find a supportive community. Enjoy competitive benefits, take part in meaningful volunteer projects, and help shape the future alongside talented colleagues across all backgrounds. At Farmers, helping others is at the heart of what we do.

Ready to make your mark? Discover our vibrant culture and explore career opportunities at www.Farmers.com/careers/corporate. Connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and let's build something incredible together!

Workplace: Hybrid ( #LI-Hybrid ), Remote ( #LI-Remote )

Farmers believes in a culture of collaboration, creativity, and innovation, which thrives when we have the ability to work flexibly in a virtual setting as well as the opportunity to be together in person. Our hybrid work environment combines the best of both worlds with at least three (3) days in office and up to two (2) days virtual for employees who live within fifty (50) miles of a Farmers corporate office. Applicants beyond fifty (50) miles may still be considered.

Job Summary

The Principal Architect, Application Development is the senior technical authority for how Farmers designs, builds, and evolves its business applications. Accountable for application architecture standards, reference architectures, and engineering patterns across the portfolio, this role sets the direction for cloud-native, API-first, and AI-enabled application delivery and ensures that development teams build secure, resilient, and maintainable software at scale.

The Principal Architect partners with engineering, product, security, data, and platform leaders to translate enterprise strategy into practical application designs. They lead architecture decisions for the most complex and highest-risk application initiatives, including legacy and core-system modernization, lead the adoption of AI-native engineering and Spec-Driven Development, and mentor architects and senior engineers to raise the craft across the development community. This position requires deep hands-on technical credibility combined with the influence and executive presence to drive alignment across multiple teams and business units.

A defining accountability of this role is architecting Farmers AI-native software development lifecycle (AI SDLC). The Principal Architect owns the enterprise standard for Spec-Driven Development (SDD), in which versioned specifications, not ad hoc prompts, are the primary engineering artifact: intent is captured as testable requirements, refined into technical plans and task breakdowns, implemented with AI coding agents, and verified against objective evidence before promotion. The role designs the guardrails, governing principles, human approval gates, and verification standards that let AI agents generate code safely at enterprise scale, and coaches delivery teams to adopt these practices so that AI measurably improves speed, quality, and consistency across the application portfolio.

Essential Tasks & Leadership Philosophy

• Define, own, and evolve the enterprise Spec-Driven Development standard and AI SDLC reference model: the stages from intent and specification through plan, tasks, implementation, verification, and promotion; project constitutions and governing principles; human-approved quality gates; and end-to-end traceability from business requirement to code, tests, and evidence.
• Architect the agentic engineering toolchain, including AI coding agents and assistants, reusable skills and plugins, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, model gateways and routing, and context engineering, with built-in controls for security, data classification, cost, and auditability.
• Own the verification and evidence standard for AI-generated software: acceptance oracles, requirement-to-test coverage, automated and agentic testing, fitness functions, and policy-as-code checks that determine when AI-produced changes are ready to promote.
• Define and own application architecture standards, reference architectures, and reusable patterns (microservices, event-driven, API-first, domain-driven design, and API and integration standards), published as machine-readable specifications and skills that both engineers and AI agents consume.
• Lead architecture for the most complex application and modernization initiatives, applying AI-assisted reverse engineering to extract specifications from legacy and core systems and guide decomposition and migration to cloud-native platforms.
• Govern application design quality through pull-request-based architecture review, architecture decision records, and automated conformance checks; resolve cross-team design conflicts and AI-specific risks such as hallucinated dependencies, insecure generated code, and intellectual property exposure.
• Scale AI SDLC and SDD adoption across delivery teams: coach teams and architects, lead the engineering community of practice, align SDD artifacts with the enterprise delivery framework and work-management tooling, and measure outcomes such as cycle time, change failure rate, defect escape, and AI-assisted throughput.

First Year Success Factors

• Establish the Vision and Baseline.

• Launch the Enterprise AI SDLC.

• Establish the AI Engineering Toolchain.

• Create Architecture Guardrails.

Education & Career Experience Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent required. Bachelors degree preferred. Masters degree preferred.

• Minimum two architect or senior-level industry certifications required upon hire.

• 1+ architect-level industry certification, such as a cloud solutions architect professional certification.

• AI or machine learning certification, such as Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate or AWS Certified Machine Learning, or equivalent demonstrated expertise (Preferred).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Minimum 12 years experience in architecture with significant enterprise architecture leadership across complex, regulated enterprises required.
• Deep proficiency in at least one modern enterprise language and ecosystem (for example Java, C#/.NET, TypeScript/Node.js, or Python).
• Strong command of API design and integration (REST, GraphQL, messaging and streaming such as Kafka), domain-driven design, and secure-by-design principles.
• Working knowledge of CI/CD, DevSecOps, infrastructure as code, observability, and site reliability practices.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to engineers and executives, and to influence without direct authority,

AI SDLC and Spec-Driven Development Expertise

• Deep, practical knowledge of Spec-Driven Development methods and tooling (for example GitHub Spec Kit or similar specification-first agent workflows): writing testable specifications, technical plans, and task breakdowns that AI agents can execute reliably.
• Expert use of AI coding agents and assistants (for example GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, or equivalents), including agent configuration, custom instructions, reusable skills, and multi-agent orchestration.
• Strong grasp of prompt and context engineering, retrieval-augmented generation, Model Context Protocol, and large language model selection, evaluation, and cost management.
• Ability to design verification approaches for non-deterministic AI output: evaluation harnesses, golden datasets, acceptance oracles, and automated quality and security gates.
• Understanding of AI governance and risk in software delivery, including responsible AI principles, data protection, prompt injection, software supply chain and licensing risk, and regulatory expectations for a regulated insurer.
• Familiarity with engineering productivity measurement (for example DORA and SPACE metrics) and the ability to build evidence-based business cases for AI SDLC investment

Physical Actions

Job is performed in-person at a Farmers office or virtually at an approved alternative work location. The physical work environment is indoors and climate-controlled with adequate lighting and ventilation. Normal and customary distractions include background noise produced by office equipment and chatter among people, as well as interruptions. Frequently sits for prolonged periods of time, up to a full shift. Occasionally moves about the workplace including, navigating stairs, ramps, and level or uneven surfaces. Occasionally moves, pushes, pulls, lifts, carries, and/or places objects or materials weighing up to 25 pounds without assistance. Frequently uses shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers to manipulate equipment, tools, and objects necessary to perform job duties. Frequently performs fine motor tasks such as typing, mousing, or writing, up to a full shift. Rarely performs movements such as bending, stooping, crouching, kneeling, twisting, and reaching overhead or below the knees. Possesses clear vision, with or without correction, to visually read and verify information. Relies on depth perception and peripheral vision to navigate the work environment visually by identifying barriers, changes in terrain and locating objects. Possesses adequate hearing, with or without correction, to communicate with co-workers, respond promptly to auditory signals or alarms, and discern sounds essential for maintaining safety and productivity in the workplace. Jobs in this category require rare, if any, travel.

Physical Environment

This position operates in an open office working environment which will include normal and customary distractions, noise, and interruptions.

Benefits

• Farmers offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience, qualifications and location.

o CA Only: $191,475 - $325,490

o CO & ME: $179,850 - $280,830

o HI/IL/MN/VT Only: $179,850 - $300,190

o MA Only: $179,850 - $300,190

• o MD & VA: $179,850 - $300,190

o DC/NJ/NY/OH Only: $179,850 - $325,490

o Albany County, NY/Cleveland, OH: $191,475 - $280,830

o WA Only: $179,850 - $341,125

• Bonus Opportunity (based on Company and Individual Performance)
• 401(k)
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Tuition Assistance
• For more information, review "What we offer" on https://www.farmers.com/careers/corporate/#offer

Job Location(s): R_US - United States

Anticipated application deadline: At Farmers, the recruitment process is designed to ensure that we find the best talent to join our team. As part of this process, we typically close open positions within 8 to 21 days after posting. If you are interested in any of our open positions, we encourage you to submit your application promptly.

Farmers will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance or other applicable law. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1033, Farmers is prohibited from employing any individual who has been convicted of any criminal felony involving dishonesty or a breach of trust without prior written consent from the state Department of Insurance.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Farmers is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in any employer/employee relations based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military and veterans status, or any other basis protected by applicable discrimination laws.

Want to learn more about our culture & opportunities? Check out www.Farmers.com/careers/corporate and be sure to follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Spokane, WA only: Residents who prefer not to provide their address click here to submit your resume via email: careers@farmers.com