Infrastructure Enterprise Architect

Job Title: Infrastructure Enterprise Architect (Contract-to-Hire)

Location: Remote (Onshore US preferred, Tri-State NY/NJ/PA Area highly preferred; occasional on-site flexibility)

Duration: 1-year contract, with potential for permanent full-time employment.

About the Role:
We are seeking a highly experienced and pragmatic Infrastructure Enterprise Architect to join our team. This role is critical in driving our infrastructure modernization initiatives, enhancing our operational maturity, and providing strategic technical leadership. The ideal candidate will possess deep hands-on experience, a strong understanding of enterprise-level challenges, and the ability to balance technical solutions with business objectives and security requirements. This is not a role for someone who relies solely on certifications; we are looking for a seasoned professional who has been "in the trenches" and can demonstrate practical application of architectural principles.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and contribute to the strategic direction and implementation of infrastructure modernization initiatives, including disaster recovery, automation, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and service catalog development.
• Drive maturity in monitoring and observability practices, leveraging tools like Grafana to ensure comprehensive insight across both co-located and cloud environments, with robust automation hooks.
• Advance ServiceNow maturity across ITSM processes (Change, Incident, Problem Management), ITOM, CSDM, and service mapping.
• Provide thought leadership and architectural guidance, balancing security requirements with business velocity and operational needs.
• Conduct situational analysis and develop architectural solutions that consider cost implications, resource leveling, and broader business impact.
• Evaluate and recommend technologies, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy and future growth.
• Collaborate effectively with security teams, business stakeholders, and other technical leads to achieve consensus and drive projects forward.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in an enterprise architecture role, specifically focused on infrastructure.
• Proven track record of hands-on experience in designing, implementing, and managing complex infrastructure solutions.
• Deep expertise in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles and tools (e.g., Terraform, Puppet, Chef, SaltStack).
• Extensive experience with automation, CI/CD pipelining, and related tools (e.g., BitBucket, Git, Argo CD, Jenkins).
• Strong knowledge of monitoring and observability platforms (e.g., Nagios, SolarWinds, Splunk, Datadog).
• Proficiency with at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform); ability to quickly adapt to others.
• Experience working in highly regulated industries (e.g., financial services, healthcare, higher education) is a significant plus.
• Exceptional ability to see the "bigger picture" and understand the larger ecosystem, beyond just individual technologies.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences and influence decision-making.

Desired Attributes:

• A pragmatic problem-solver who can navigate complex organizational dynamics and pushback.
• Intellectually curious, with a focus on continuous learning and staying abreast of industry trends.
• Comfortable challenging assumptions and providing constructive feedback.
• Demonstrates strong situational awareness and analytical capabilities.
• Values practical experience and tangible results over theoretical knowledge or certifications alone.

Work Environment:

• This is primarily a remote role, with a preference for candidates located onshore in the US.
• Candidates in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT) within 50-60 miles of NYC are highly desirable for occasional on-site collaboration (e.g., once a month).
• Flexibility for occasional travel to our Poughkeepsie office for key milestones or team meetings. We prioritize brain power and results over physical presence.