Sr Enterprise Architect at Ascend Learning, Inc. in Burlington, Massachusetts

Job Description:

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning.

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

Ascend Learning leads the way in innovation and solution creation to improve outcomes and deliver results for students, educators, and healthcare workers in the ever-changing field of healthcare. We offer advanced resources that drive nursing success, empower front-line certified allied health workers, help physicians pass boards and stay current, and provide education management tools for medical education programs.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Ascend Learning is hiring an experienced Sr Enterprise Architect to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will have a strategic mindset and a deep understanding of enterprise-level architecture. You will be responsible for the overarching architecture across the enterprise and engineering groups, strategically collaborating with Technical Product Managers to develop and maintain forward-looking platform and capability roadmaps that align with business objectives.

Within our software engineering organization, you will directly influence multiple engineering groups, each comprising 5 to 10 agile Scrum teams and 1 or 2 Solution Architects, responsible for delivering customer-centric platforms and shared capabilities.  As an Enterprise Architect, you will play a pivotal leadership role, guiding 1 or 2 engineering groups by setting architectural direction and supporting Solution Architects and Engineering Teams.

You will enforce and refine architectural governance, increasing the engineering group’s adherence to Ascend's architectural standards and practices, while proactively identifying areas of non-compliance. You will be spearheading the development of comprehensive cross-group architecture plans and reference architectures, ensuring a cohesive and scalable technology framework across the enterprise.  While this is a strategic leadership position, it does not encompass direct management responsibilities.

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Burlington, MA or Leawood, KS office location.

HOW YOU’LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Foster cross-functional collaboration with stakeholders from product management, development, operations, and security to align architectural initiatives with company-wide strategic goals.


• Articulate and champion the architectural vision, decisions, and roadmaps to stakeholders at all levels, securing executive support and cross-departmental alignment.


• Define the scope and ensure alignment of architecture across the enterprise and engineering groups.


• Establish a strong partnership with Technical Product Managers to develop and continuously refine platform and capability architecture in support of roadmap milestones that improve the overall ecosystem while delivering high business value.


• Create cross-group architecture plans and develop reference architectures that serve as standards for technology projects.


• Develop and enforce robust standards and policies for architectural practices to promote consistency and quality across the enterprise.


• Create and uphold a comprehensive architecture documentation framework, utilizing appropriate tooling to manage and govern the existing architecture.


• Enforce and continuously refine architectural governance processes, driving compliance with Ascend's architectural standards and practices.


• Proactively evaluate the enterprise architecture, identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to enhance efficiency, scalability, and performance.


• Systematically identify architectural risks and devise comprehensive mitigation strategies to safeguard the enterprise technology landscape.


• Deliver expert implementation support for cross-engineering group projects, assessing and optimizing the architectural impact on DevSecOps/SRE practices.


• Offer early-phase implementation estimates to guide project planning.


• Collaborate with Solution Architects to guide their creating of project architectures.


• Serve as a mentor and thought leader to Solution Architects and Engineering Teams, cultivating architectural acumen and a shared vision of excellence.


• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and technical excellence within the organization.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field preferred. Equivalent work experience considered.


• Minimum of 8 years of experience in an architectural role within a software engineering environment.


• Proven track record of designing and implementing enterprise-level solutions and architectures.


• Extensive experience with agile methodologies and leading agile Scrum teams.


• Ability to travel as needed for success in the position.


• Proficiency in creating platform and capability roadmaps, as well as cross-group architecture plans.


• Strong knowledge of DevSecOps practices and their integration into architectural designs.


• Experience with cloud computing environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and designing scalable, resilient cloud-native architectures.


• Familiarity with microservices architectures, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and related technologies.


• Competence in cybersecurity principles and designing secure architectures.


• Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to influence and guide engineering groups without direct management authority.


• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to a non-technical audience.


• Strategic thinker with a proven ability to align architectural strategies with business objectives.


• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop talent within technical teams.


• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to manage risks and develop mitigation strategies.

BENEFITS

• Flexible and generous paid time off


• Competitive medical, dental, vision and life insurance


• 401(k) employer matching program


• Parental leave


• Wellness resources


• Charitable matching program


• Hybrid work


• On-site workout facilities (Leawood, Gilbert, Burlington)


• Community outreach groups


• Tuition reimbursement

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued and be their authentic selves. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.

About Ascend Learning

As a tech-enabled services company, Ascend Learning is a national leader in developing and delivering data-driven online educational content, software, assessments, analytics, and simulations serving institutions, students and employers across healthcare, fitness and wellness, public and workplace safety, skilled trades, insurance, financial services, cybersecurity, and higher education. We're committed to accelerating the learning pathways that can move people into careers where they have the knowledge and skills to have an impact and help change lives in the communities they serve. Headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2023 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

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