Lead Architect

Location: Ohio

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they are doing!

We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

Enterprise Architect, Azure (CPG)

Fractal is a strategic AI partner to Fortune 500 companies with a vision to power every human decision in the enterprise. Fractal is building a world where individual choices, freedom, and diversity are the greatest assets. An ecosystem where human imagination is at the heart of every decision. Where no possibility is written off, only challenged to get better. We believe that a true Fractalite is the one who empowers imagination with intelligence. Fractal has been featured as a Great Place to Work by The Economic Times in partnership with the Great Place to Work® Institute and recognized as a ‘Cool Vendor’ and a ‘Vendor to Watch’ by Gartner.
 

Please visit Fractal | Intelligence for Imagination for more information about Fractal

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Note: This position is not eligible for Immigration Sponsorship at this time.
 

Position Overview: 
The Enterprise Architect (Azure) is responsible for defining and governing the end-to-end technology architecture across applications, data, integration, infrastructure, and security, with a primary focus on the Microsoft Azure ecosystem. This role ensures that all technology initiatives are aligned to business strategy, leverage Azure-native capabilities, and are scalable, secure, and cost-effective. The Enterprise Architect works closely with business leaders, product owners, solution and data architects, and delivery teams to shape roadmaps, review designs, and guide execution for enterprise-scale, multi-region, and multi-tenant use cases.

Responsibilities: 

Strategy, Roadmap & Governance

• Define and maintain the enterprise architecture blueprint (business, application, data, technology, and security layers) with Azure as a strategic platform.

• Translate business strategy and priorities into Azure-centric technology roadmaps and target-state architectures.

• Establish and govern architecture principles, standards, patterns, and reference architectures (e.g., landing zones, reference solutions on Azure).

• Run Architecture Review Boards (ARBs) / design councils to review and approve major Azure solutions and changes.

• Identify technology risks, technical debt, and rationalization opportunities (e.g., legacy to Azure migration, consolidation) and recommend remediation plans.

Solution & Platform Architecture (Azure-Focused)

• Provide architecture guidance to solutions data, and technical architects across Azure projects and products.

• Review high-level and detailed designs to ensure compliance with enterprise standards, scalability, performance, and security on Azure.

• Define integration patterns (e.g., API Management, Service Bus, Event Hub, Event Grid) and APIs for interoperability between systems and external partners.

• Drive cloud adoption and modernization (microservices on AKS/App Service, serverless, event-driven architectures, cloud-native data platforms).

• Ensure architectures support observability, resilience, and reliability (App Insights, Log Analytics, Availability Zones, DR patterns).

Data, Security & Compliance

• Partner with data and information architects to define data architectures on Azure (Data Lake, Synapse, Databricks, SQL/NoSQL stores).

• Work with security, risk, and compliance teams to embed security-by-design using Azure-native controls (Defender, Key Vault, IAM/RBAC, Policies).

• Ensure alignment with enterprise security, regulatory, and compliance requirements (data residency, encryption, identity, access management).

Stakeholder Management & Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders and product owners on Azure technology choices, patterns, and trade-offs.

• Communicate complex architectural concepts in clear, business-focused language, linking architecture decisions to value, risk, and TCO.

• Influence and align multiple stakeholders (business, IT, vendors, global/regional teams) around common Azure standards and roadmaps.

• Coach and mentor solution architects, technical leads, and engineering teams on architecture and Azure best practices.

• Support vendor evaluation and technology selection (RFPs, POCs, benchmarks) for Azure and adjacent platforms.

Delivery Support & Quality

• Support estimation and planning by providing Azure architecture input, assumptions, and constraints.

• Ensure solutions are designed for operations (supportability, maintainability, monitoring, SLAs) using Azure-native capabilities.

• Define and track architecture KPIs (e.g., reuse of patterns, standardization, reduction of tech debt, system performance, cloud cost efficiency).

• Conduct post-implementation reviews to capture lessons learned and continuously improve reference architectures and guardrails.

Qualifications: 

Technical Skills (Azure & Enterprise Architecture)

• Strong experience across application, data, integration, and infrastructure architectures in enterprise environments.

• Hands-on architecture and design experience on Microsoft Azure, AI/GenAI platforms and AI Factory (AIF), including several of:

  • Compute: App Service, AKS, Functions, VM scale sets

  • Data: Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Data Lake, Synapse, Databricks

  • Integration & Events: API Management, Service Bus, Event Hub, Event Grid

  • Security & Management: Azure AD / Entra ID, RBAC, Key Vault, Defender, Policies, Monitor, Log Analytics

• Solid understanding of API and integration patterns, microservices, event-driven and domain-driven design.

• Exposure to enterprise-scale, global architectures (multi-region, high availability, DR, performance and cost optimization).

• Familiarity with architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF) and modelling tools (e.g., UML, ArchiMate) is a plus.

Behavioral & Leadership Competencies (Thinking & Broader Use Cases)

• Strong structured and strategic thinking: able to connect business strategy to technical roadmaps.

• Systems thinking: understands end-to-end value streams, dependencies, and impacts across domains.

• Ability to abstract patterns and generalize solutions so they can be reused across multiple products, markets, and use cases.

• Comfortable evaluating trade-offs (build vs buy, cloud services vs custom, speed vs robustness vs cost).

• Excellent verbal and written communication and storytelling skills; able to explain architecture options, risks, and recommendations clearly to both senior business stakeholders and technical teams.

• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority across distributed and cross-functional teams.

• High degree of ownership, accountability, and bias for action in ambiguous and fast-changing environments.

Domain / Industry Knowledge (Good to have)

• Prior experience in CPG / FMCG domain.

• Understanding of transportation, logistics, and warehousing processes (e.g., network design, route optimization, warehouse operations, inventory flows).

• Exposure to supply chain planning and execution systems and their integration into enterprise and analytics platforms.

Qualification & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.

• 10–15+ years of overall IT experience, including:

  • Significant experience in solution / technical / enterprise architecture roles.

  • Proven track record on large-scale Azure or multi-cloud programs.

• Relevant Azure and architecture certifications preferred (e.g., Azure Solutions Architect Expert, TOGAF).

Pay:

The wage range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.  The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled.  At Fractal, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.  A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Up to $155,000. In addition, you may be eligible for a discretionary bonus for the current performance period.

Benefits:

As a full-time employee of the company or as an hourly employee working more than 30 hours per week, you will be eligible to participate in the health, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability plans in accordance with the plan documents, which may be amended from time to time.  You will be eligible for benefits on the first day of employment with the Company.  In addition, you are eligible to participate in the Company 401(k) Plan after 30 days of employment, in accordance with the applicable plan terms.   The Company provides for 11 paid holidays and 12 weeks of Parental Leave. We also follow a “free time” PTO policy, allowing you the flexibility to take the time needed for either sick time or vacation.

Fractal provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us!

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