Architect (Contract)

RBA is a trusted consulting partner helping enterprise and mid-sized organizations transform their businesses through modern technology solutions. We blend strategic thinking with deep technical expertise to deliver scalable, high-impact outcomes aligned to our clients’ goals. Our team partners with some of the most recognized companies in our market while fostering a culture that values collaboration, innovation, and engineering excellence.

We are seeking an Application Architect to join our growing Software Engineering practice. This is a client-facing, consultative role for an experienced technology leader who combines deep engineering expertise with architectural vision and the ability to guide teams in delivering modern, scalable software solutions.

In this role, you’ll collaborate with client stakeholders, solution architects, product owners, and engineering teams to define application architecture, establish engineering standards, and drive technical strategy across engagements. You’ll balance hands-on technical contributions with architectural leadership while helping organizations modernize applications, adopt cloud-native technologies, and responsibly integrate AI into their software development lifecycle.

What You’ll Do

• Define application architecture and technical strategy for enterprise software solutions across client engagements
• Partner with client stakeholders to translate business objectives into scalable, secure, and maintainable technical solutions
• Collaborate with architects, product owners, and engineering teams to establish architecture roadmaps and implementation strategies
• Provide technical leadership across Agile delivery teams, ensuring alignment with architecture standards and engineering best practices
• Design and validate proof of concepts, reference architectures, reusable frameworks, and implementation templates
• Guide teams in designing distributed systems, REST APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures
• Lead architecture reviews and provide oversight throughout the software development lifecycle
• Evaluate emerging technologies, cloud platforms, AI capabilities, and engineering tools to identify opportunities for innovation and modernization
• Design and guide implementation of AI-enabled applications, intelligent automation, and agent-based workflows while promoting responsible AI practices, governance, and security
• Establish architecture standards for application performance, resiliency, scalability, observability, and operational readiness
• Partner with DevOps teams to promote CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, cloud automation, and modern deployment practices
• Provide technical leadership during production incidents and assist engineering teams in resolving complex technical challenges
• Mentor engineers and technical leads through architecture guidance, code reviews, design discussions, and technical coaching
• Contribute to solution development, client pursuits, and technical strategy across the Software Engineering practice

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering with at least 2 years providing technical leadership, solution architecture, or engineering leadership
• Deep expertise designing and building enterprise applications using C# and the .NET ecosystem
• Strong understanding of object-oriented design, software architecture patterns, SOLID principles, and modern engineering practices
• Experience designing distributed systems, microservices, RESTful APIs, and event-driven architectures
• Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks such as React, Angular, or Vue.js
• Experience working with SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or other enterprise relational databases
• Strong understanding of Agile software development, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and automated testing
• Experience designing cloud-native applications on Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform
• Experience evaluating and implementing AI-assisted engineering tools to improve software development, code quality, testing, documentation, and delivery
• Practical experience designing or supporting AI-enabled applications, intelligent automation, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic workflows, or model-assisted software capabilities
• Strong understanding of application security, governance, observability, scalability, and operational excellence
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence technical direction across technical and business stakeholders
• Passion for mentoring engineers and helping teams adopt modern software engineering practices

Nice to Have

• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration platforms
• Experience with cloud networking, load balancing, application gateways, and distributed infrastructure
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, or similar technologies
• Experience building mobile or cross-platform applications
• Experience with messaging technologies and event streaming platforms such as Azure Service Bus, Kafka, RabbitMQ, or Event Grid
• Experience modernizing legacy enterprise applications
• Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, TOGAF, or other architecture-related certifications

Why RBA?

At RBA, you’ll help organizations solve complex technology challenges through thoughtful architecture, modern engineering practices, and innovative technology solutions. You’ll collaborate with talented consultants across software engineering, AI, cloud, data, and digital experience while influencing enterprise technology strategy for clients across a variety of industries. We invest in our people through continuous learning, technical leadership opportunities, and a collaborative culture that encourages curiosity, innovation, and professional growth.