Senior Application Architect

ABOUT UE:

United Educators (UE) is a member-owned liability insurer serving K-12 schools, colleges and universities across the United States, with a focus on long-term partnerships. Guided by our mission to support education, we provide exceptional claims support, customized coverage and relevant risk management resources. At UE, you will join a collaborative, mission-driven team committed to delivering flexible insurance solutions, exceptional service and measurable value to our members.

The Senior Application Architect is responsible for developing and maintaining software applications following Agile Software Development Life Cycle. This role is responsible for shaping the technical direction of UE’s software ecosystem, ensuring our applications are scalable, secure, and aligned with business strategy. The Senior Application Architect will work closely with engineering, operations, and cybersecurity teams to design and guide the implementation of modern, reliable, and integrated solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to translate strategic objectives and functional needs into technical architecture, solution designs, and implementation plans.
• Develop and maintain technical and business feature roadmaps in consultation with stakeholders; identify risks, track progress, and communicate status updates to project sponsors.
• Lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and resilient enterprise application architectures that align with UE’s strategic objectives.
• Define and enforce architectural standards, integration patterns, and technology frameworks to ensure consistency and interoperability across teams and systems.
• Design and document software architecture, creating diagrams, and models to guide development and ensure long-term system sustainability.
• Define coding guidelines and review implementation to ensure design patterns and clean code principles are met.
• Evaluate emerging technologies — including AI, ML, data platforms, and integration frameworks — through proofs of concept and pilot implementations.
• Architect, prototype, and build hands-on components of AI-powered solutions such as predictive analytics, natural language processing, and generative AI models to validate feasibility and performance.
• Partner with data engineering to design and implement modern data architectures, pipelines, and governance frameworks supporting analytics and machine learning initiatives.
• Engage directly in complex solution development when needed, providing technical leadership through example and code contribution.
• Establish and enforce coding standards, design patterns, and best practices to maintain code quality, consistency, and performance across development teams.
• Integrate security and compliance requirements into all phases of design and development to ensure data protection and adherence to UE governance standards.
• Engineer systems for reliability, scalability, and performance by proactively identifying and resolving architectural bottlenecks.
• Design and manage APIs and integrations to ensure seamless interoperability and data consistency across internal and external systems.
• Mentor developers and other architects, fostering a culture of hands-on learning, experimentation, and technical excellence.
• Lead vendor evaluations, comparing solutions for scalability, integration capability, and alignment with UE’s enterprise architecture roadmap.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field; advanced degree preferred
• 10 years of experience in software design and development, including at least 5 years of architecting enterprise-level applications
• Hands-on experience with modern software development frameworks, including API design
• Skilled in database modeling, relationship design, and writing stored procedures and queries
• Skilled in Cloud and DevOps tools, with exposure to managing deployments, monitoring environments, and planning system upgrades
• Experienced in agile delivery environments, collaborating effectively across teams to achieve iterative, high-quality outcomes
• Strong understanding of enterprise architecture, infrastructure, and application security, supported by hands-on leadership in large-scale solution design
• Experience collaborating with data engineering teams to support modern data architecture, pipelines, and analytics initiatives
• Excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to lead through influence and adapt to evolving priorities
• Enterprise Architecture certification is preferred
• Insurance or risk management industry experience a plus

Benefits:

• Health Insurance — We offer subsidized plan options with an optional pre-tax Health Savings Account (HSA), including an annual employer contribution and investment options. The plans offer a prescription benefit and telehealth
• Dental Insurance — Two plan levels are available, depending on needs
• Vision Insurance —We offer in- and out-of-network options; Lasik discounts are available.
• 401(k) — UE makes a 3% safe harbor non-elective contribution beginning the first of the month after date of hire; these funds are vested immediately. After one year of service, employees receive a 7% profit sharing non-elective contribution, as well as become eligible for a matched contribution of 25% of the first 5% employee deferral. Employees can make pre-tax contributions or taxed (Roth) salary reductions. Catch-up contributions for employees 50 years old and over. Employer contributions are fully vested immediately
• Life Insurance — UE pays for Basic Life Insurance, and employees have the option to apply for additional Voluntary coverage
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance — We offer coverage in the event employees are unable to work for a period of time
• For the first two years of employment, employees accrue PTO at 24 days per year. At the beginning of the third year of service, employees accrue 30 days per year of PTO
• 11 paid holidays annually including Juneteenth and an employee choice floating holiday
• Bonus eligibility is based on salary earned and performance for the year
• Hybrid environment - employees are typically in the office 2-3 days per week after the initial training period
• Inclusive and supportive culture that embraces diversity and provides opportunities for all to succeed
• Monthly lunches and various social events throughout the year
• Opportunities to join the Social Committee, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance (IDEA)

The below annual salary range is a general guideline. Multiple factors are taken into consideration to arrive at the final hourly rate/ annual salary to be offered to the selected candidate. Factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the role, the selected candidate’s work experience, education and training, the work location as well as market and business considerations.

Salary Range: $140,000 USD - $189,000 USD