Senior Software Architect - SaaS Platform (AWS, Distributed Systems)

Poppulo is seeking an experienced Senior Software Architect to join their Employee Communications Architecture team. This role involves leading the design and evolution of their SaaS Employee Communications platform, providing multi-channel capabilities to a global customer base. The ideal candidate will bring deep SaaS expertise, hands-on experience with AWS serverless technologies, a solid understanding of distributed system design, and familiarity with AI technologies. The architect will define scalable architectural patterns, design platform-wide capabilities, and collaborate with various teams to deliver high-quality solutions at enterprise scale.

Must Have

• Define, promote, and govern scalable, reliable architectural patterns and standards.
• Architect and evolve systems for modularity, scalability, performance, and maintainability in a multi-tenant SaaS environment.
• Design and implement platform-wide capabilities and lead proofs of concept for emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align architectural roadmaps with product vision and agile delivery plans.
• Design and implement secure authentication and authorization solutions (Curity, Cognito, OAuth2, OIDC).
• Guide design decisions, lead architecture/design reviews, and mentor engineers.
• Evaluate open-source/commercial solutions and lead build-vs-buy decisions.
• Maintain strong focus on performance optimization, cost efficiency, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Support troubleshooting of complex issues related to system design, performance, and scalability.
• Monitor industry trends, including security and platform evolution.
• 10+ years of software development experience, with 3+ years in an architect role.
• Strong backend engineering (Java preferred), 2+ years in Node.js and TypeScript.
• Hands-on experience designing and scaling systems using microservices and AWS serverless.
• Proven understanding of distributed systems, multi-tenancy, RBAC, and SaaS security.
• Hands-on experience with event-driven and streaming systems (Kafka, Kinesis, SNS/SQS).
• Strong focus on observability and reliability (logging, metrics, tracing, resilience patterns).
• Experience designing, implementing, and governing data architecture.
• Experience with CI/CD, infrastructure as code (CDK, Terraform), Git, automated testing.
• Excellent communication and ability to influence stakeholders.
• Ability to lead change and drive adoption of new architectural standards.
• Strategic and innovative mindset for complex problem-solving.

Good to Have

• Explore and integrate AI/ML capabilities, including LLMs and generative workflows.
• Familiarity with React or other modern frontend frameworks.
• Exposure to AI/ML integrations, LLM tooling, or generative AI workflows.

Perks & Benefits

• Values-driven organization
• Encourages authentic selves at work
• Empowers employees to make tangible impact
• Dynamic environment with driven, fun, and flexible individuals
• Opportunity to contribute to culture
• Named a Great Place to Work (2015-2021)

Introduction:

Are you searching for an opportunity to play a key role in driving the dramatic growth of a highly successful software company?

At Poppulo, we’re working on what’s next in communications and workplace technology. As a pioneer in this industry, we understand that meaningfully reaching every employee is hard. And so is managing office space in a hybrid world. And so is improving the customer and guest experience. We exist to make each of these things easier. We exist to bring harmony to our customers.

And we do that at enterprise scale. Our omnichannel employee communications, customer communications, and workplace experience platform is trusted by over 6,000 organizations today, reaching more than 35M employees and delivering content to 500,000+ digital signs.

We know there’s no such thing as a “perfect" candidate - we’re all a work in progress and are growing new skills and capabilities all the time. We encourage you to apply for a position with Poppulo even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We believe in fostering an environment where there is a diversity of perspectives, in hopes that we can all thrive.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Senior Software Architect to join our Employee Communications Architecture team. You will lead the design and evolution of our SaaS Employee Communications platform providing multi-channel employee communications capabilities to our global customer base.

The ideal candidate brings deep SaaS expertise, hands-on experience with AWS serverless technologies, a solid understanding of distributed system design and understanding of AI technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Define, promote, and govern scalable, reliable architectural patterns and standards, including reference implementations.
• Architect and evolve systems to ensure modularity, scalability, performance, and maintainability in a multi-tenant SaaS environment.
• Design and implement platform-wide capabilities, including leading proofs of concept for emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align architectural roadmaps with product vision, business value, and agile delivery plans.
• Work closely with engineers, product managers, DevOps, and QA to deliver cohesive, high-quality solutions.
• Design and implement secure, standards-compliant authentication and authorization solutions (e.g., Curity, Cognito, OAuth2, OIDC).
• Guide key design decisions, lead architecture and design reviews, and mentor engineers to foster engineering excellence.
• Evaluate open-source and commercial solutions, leading build-vs-buy decisions and vendor or partner technical assessments.
• Explore and integrate AI/ML capabilities, including LLMs and generative workflows, where they add clear business value.
• Maintain strong focus on performance optimization, cost efficiency, reliability, and operational excellence using metrics and monitoring.
• Support troubleshooting and resolution of complex issues related to system design, performance, and scalability.
• Monitor industry trends, including security and platform evolution, to identify opportunities and risks.
• Mentor and coach engineers, encouraging innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the organization.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of software development experience, including at least 3 years in an architect or senior architecture-focused role.
• Strong backend engineering background (Java preferred), with 2+ years of experience in Node.js and TypeScript and a solid grasp of asynchronous programming and modular architecture.
• Hands-on experience designing and scaling systems using microservices and AWS serverless technologies.
• Proven understanding of distributed systems, multi-tenancy, RBAC, and SaaS security principles.
• Hands-on experience with event-driven and streaming systems (Kafka, Kinesis, SNS/SQS) and asynchronous workflows.
• Strong focus on observability and reliability, including logging, metrics, tracing, and resilience patterns (circuit breakers, retries, chaos testing).
• Experience designing, implementing, and governing data architecture in complex systems.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (CDK, Terraform), Git workflows, and automated testing practices.
• Familiarity with React or other modern frontend frameworks.
• Exposure to AI/ML integrations, LLM tooling, or generative AI workflows is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, gain alignment, and drive adoption of new architectural standards.
• Strategic and innovative mindset, with the ability to solve complex problems using industry standards or by defining new ones when needed.

Who We Are

We are a values-driven organization that encourages our employees to bring their authentic selves to work every day and empowers everyone to make a tangible impact on our products, clients, and culture. We offer a dynamic environment with driven, fun, and flexible individuals who thrive on challenge and responsibility. This is an opportunity to contribute to our culture and join a company that’s on the move.

We live the Poppulo values each day, as they are key to everything we do.

• Bring Your Best Self

We show up authentically, are self-aware and always strive to be better.

• See it. Own it. Solve it.

We proactively innovate and solve for our customers and each other. We set an example with high standards for our work. We foster a culture of learning, acknowledging our successes and our failures.

• Together We’re Better

We value and celebrate our diversity. We learn from others, respecting their expertise, and focus on building trust. That's what makes us a team.

Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK.

Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer.

Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK.

Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer.

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