Principal Solutions Architect

Summary

Join Coforma's growth team as a Principal Solutions Architect, playing a pivotal role in shaping the vision and strategy of proposals from a technical perspective. You will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders throughout the solicitation lifecycle, ensuring alignment with partners' needs. This role blends technical expertise, strategic thinking, and strong communication skills to guide product teams and craft innovative digital services solutions. Unlike a standard solution architect, this position focuses on early-stage ideation and concept delivery through proposals and presentations. The role is remote, based in the US, with some travel required. Coforma offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience (experience in digital services supporting federal contracts strongly preferred)
• Minimum of 4 years of experience creating and delivering demos, presentations, proposals, architecture diagrams, and products in digital modernization and technology setting
• Experience responding to federal and state requests for proposals (RFPs) and requests for information (RFIs)
• Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and cloud-native architectures
• In-depth knowledge of web technologies, microservices, API design, and integration patterns
• Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code (IaC)
• Strong understanding of security principles and best practices including encryption, authentication, and authorization
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor technical teams in a collaborative, agile environment
• Experience working with Product, Design and Research, and Engineering teams as a cohesive unit and maintaining open lines of communication in a multi-disciplinary environment
• Ability to nurture relationships to help drive prioritization across multiple projects and create ecosystems of success
• Experience leading and facilitating working sessions with multidisciplinary teams to achieve creative solutions to solicitations, engage in thoughtful trade-off negotiations, and enable team members to align behind a selected strategy
• A proactive, empathetic, persistent, positive, and growth mindset
• Full-time resident of the contiguous United States (must be legally authorized to work in the US now and in the future without sponsorship)
• Applicants selected for this position may be subject to a government security clearance and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information related to the nature of some of our clients' work

Responsibilities

• Conduct technical reviews of Request for Proposals (RFPs), and supporting solicitation materials, documenting risks and mitigation strategies to incorporate into our solution
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders as well as colleagues across all of Coforma’s technical capabilities to understand RFP requirements and objectives
• Contribute to the development of proposals and presentations in support of opportunities being pursued (and take part in the delivery of these to government clients)
• Support product teams in all solicitation-related activities such as design and code challenges, technical presentations, oral presentations, etc
• Design and architect end-to-end solutions that are scalable, secure, and aligned with best practices in digital services, highlighting Coforma’s unique capabilities and differentiators
• Develop technical roadmaps and provide strategic guidance to ensure alignment with organizational goals and client needs
• Lead the evaluation and selection of technology stacks, tools, and frameworks that best suit a solicitation’s stated requirements
• Serve as the technical subject matter expert in the development of client and market penetration strategies by analyzing and designing solutions to meet target client requirements and objectives
• Support proposal writing and oral presentation efforts by defining technical solutions and coordinating with the assigned Coforma proposal manager while taking a leadership role in the proposal solutioning efforts
• Ensure our proposed solution is compliant and in alignment with federal government standards and regulations including security, accessibility, and data privacy
• Facilitate cross-functional team discussions leading to the proposed solutions for any given RFP response and draft the proposed solution, as directed by the assigned Coforma proposal manager
• Mentor and guide our teams (Growth, Design and Research, Engineering, Product, and Project Management) on systems thinking and solutions architecture to foster a culture of continuous improvement and technical excellence through creative strategies aligned to active solicitations
• Assist in transition management during contract start up, providing technical solution consulting as well as supporting other client-facing requirements as needed
• Stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and industry trends and proactively identify opportunities for innovation and improvement
• Stay up-to-date and familiar with government-issued policies and guidance and how they may impact work we’re currently performing or considering as part of our solicitation lifecycle, leveraging these to support our Growth activities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with multiple software development lifecycles and methodologies such as Scrum and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®)
• Experience leading technical teams in code challenges
• Expertise in the delivery of digital services with both internal and external audiences from idea to implementation
• Prior professional services, local government, federal, or private consulting experience
• Familiarity with federal government standards and regulations (e.g., FedRAMP, FISMA, Section 508)
• Expertise in key modern digital services capabilities such as agile software development, human-centered design, product management, DevOps (including CI/CD), API design and implementation, microservices, etc
• 2+ years of experience working on a remote team or remote freelancing

Benefits

• Flexible PTO along with paid holidays
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• A 401(k) plan with an employer match
• Internet, phone, and home office stipends
• A professional development fund along with numerous growth opportunities