<p>At Robots & Pencils, we build meaningful, scalable digital products for forward-thinking organizations. We are seeking a Principal Software Architect to provide technical leadership across complex, multi-platform engagements. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, delivery, and client partnership owning system design decisions while remaining deeply connected to execution.<br>As a Principal Software Architect, you will guide architecture across mobile, backend, cloud, and emerging AI-enabled solutions. You will collaborate closely with delivery <br>leaders, engineers, designers, and client stakeholders to ensure systems are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with business outcomes. This is a hands-on, deliveryembedded role, not a pre-sales or advisory-only position.</p><p><br><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p><p>Architecture & Technical Leadership</p><p>• Define and evolve application architecture across iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), .NET, and Node.js backend services.</p><p>• Lead architectural decisions for scalable, secure systems using SQL Server, Oracle, and Azure-based infrastructure.</p><p>• Provide technical direction across frontend, backend, mobile, and integration layers.</p><p>• Review designs and implementations to ensure alignment with architectural standards and long-term maintainability.</p><p>Delivery & Execution Partnership</p><p>• Partner with Delivery Managers and engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.</p><p>• Support end-to-end delivery across multiple concurrent engagements, balance speed, quality, and sustainability.</p><p>• Act as a technical escalation point, resolving complex architectural or integration challenges.</p><p>• Ensure architecture supports CI/CD, observability, performance, and operational excellence.</p><p>Client Engagement & Communication</p><p>• Serve as a senior technical leader in client-facing discussions, building trust through clarity and credibility.</p><p>• Translate complex technical concepts into clear business value for non-technical stakeholders.</p><p>• Support roadmap planning, risk identification, and technical decision-making with clients.</p><p>• Maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and followthrough.</p><p>Platform, Tooling & Integration Oversight</p><p>• Guide use of Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, and modern delivery tooling.</p><p>• Support integrations with enterprise platforms such as Radar/GeoMoby (geofencing), Oracle Recruiting Booster, and Dropbox Sign.</p><p>• Contribute to AI-enabled initiatives using Python, TypeScript, and Azure OpenAI, ensuring responsible and practical adoption. </p><p>Mentorship & Engineering Excellence</p><p>• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, fostering strong architectural thinking and craftsmanship.</p><p>• Promote engineering best practices, documentation, and shared learning across teams.</p><p>• Encourage collaboration between disciplines including mobile, backend, design, and data.</p><p><strong>Required Skills & Experience </strong></p><p>• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant handson ownership of production application architecture.</p><p>• Proven experience acting as the technical owner for complex, user-facing applications, not just reviewing or advising.</p><p>• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver end-to-end application systems,</p><p>including:</p><ul><li>Mobile clients (iOS with Swift, Android with Kotlin)</li><li>Backend application services (.NET and Node.js)</li><li> RESTful and event-driven APIs</li><li>Relational data models using SQL Server and Oracle</li></ul><p>• Strong experience defining application-level architecture patterns, including:</p><ul><li> Service boundaries and ownership models</li><li>API versioning and contract governance</li><li>Data consistency, transactional integrity, and validation strategies</li><li>Error handling, resiliency, and failure recovery</li></ul><p>• Hands-on experience building and operating applications on Azure, including:</p><ul><li>CI/CD pipelines</li><li>Deployment and environment strategies</li><li>Logging, monitoring, and performance observability</li></ul><p>• Experience working in delivery-driven consulting or product environments, where architecture must adapt to evolving requirements.</p><p>• Comfort staying close to implementation through code reviews, architectural validation, and team unblockers.</p><p>• Strong understanding of modern SDLC practices, DevOps workflows, automated testing, and release management. </p><p><strong>Nice to Have </strong></p><p>• Experience modernizing or replacing legacy applications with modern mobile and cloud-native architectures.</p><p>• Background supporting regulated or enterprise environments where reliability, auditability, and data integrity are critical.</p><p>• Prior responsibility for architectural decisions that scaled to high user volumes or multi-region deployments.</p><p>• Experience evaluating and integrating AI features into applications where they deliver clear user or business value.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Why Join Robots & Pencils? </strong></p><p>At Robots & Pencils, we blend strategy, design, and engineering to deliver technology that drives real impact. As a Principal Software Architect, you will shape the technical direction of high-visibility initiatives while working alongside talented teams across mobile, web, cloud, and AI. You’ll influence how modern systems are built without losing connection to delivery, people, or outcomes.</p>