Principal Enterprise Architect (AI)

Location: Hybrid in Riverwoods, Illinois, USA; onsite attendance is expected 8 days per month, and candidates may be required to attend in-person interviews at a hirify.global office.

Salary: $146,900–$262,400 USD annually, plus eligibility for a bonus.

Company

hirify.global provides a corporate environment with enterprise-scale infrastructure and operations transformation initiatives.

What you will do

• Develop and maintain a multi-year Infrastructure Transformation roadmap aligned with business and technology objectives.
• Lead modernization initiatives across infrastructure, operations, cloud, platform engineering, database services, observability, service management, automation, and operational tooling.
• Drive adoption of cloud-native operating models, modern engineering practices, reliability engineering, AI-enabled operations, intelligent automation, and self-service capabilities.
• Define future-state operating models, organizational capabilities, transformation priorities, governance frameworks, and executive reporting.
• Align infrastructure, architecture, engineering, security, operations, and business workstreams while coordinating dependencies, removing barriers, and mitigating strategic risks.
• Partner with executives, Finance, business leaders, and technology stakeholders to develop business cases, define success criteria, and validate operational and financial outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 12+ years of experience in Infrastructure, Cloud, Platform Engineering, Technology Operations, Database Engineering and Operations, Enterprise Architecture, or related fields.
• 5+ years leading large-scale technology modernization or transformation initiatives.
• Proven success driving enterprise-wide transformation programs from strategy through implementation and adoption.
• Experience driving AI, automation, platform engineering, or AIOps initiatives.
• Ability to influence large matrixed organizations and lead without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of Infrastructure and Operations within complex enterprise environments.
• Experience guiding technology organizations through operating model changes, modernization efforts, and organizational transformation.
• Strong executive communication, stakeholder management, business, financial, and strategic thinking skills.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Technology Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience leading Infrastructure and Operations transformations within global enterprises.
• Experience implementing cloud modernization programs on Azure and/or AWS.
• Experience leading large-scale operational excellence programs.
• Experience with managed services, strategic sourcing, or technology transformation partnerships.
• Experience defining transformation governance frameworks and executive reporting models.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement with 8 office days per month.
• Medical, dental, and vision plans.
• 401(k), FSA/HSA, and commuter benefits.
• Tuition assistance, vacation and sick time, and paid parental leave.
• Work focused on innovation, accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and organizational effectiveness.

Hiring process

• Interviews assess individual skills, experience, and communication without AI tools or external prompts.
• Interviews include in-person participation, and applicants may be required to appear onsite at a hirify.global office.