AdTechTalent
Programmatic1 month agoOn-site

FreeWheel

Principal Architect, Enterprise Architecture - FreeWheel

software architecturead techprogrammaticSSPDSPcloud-nativeKubernetesmicroservicesKafkaNoSQLsecurityprivacyAPI managementOpenTelemetryOAuthOIDCFinOpsarchitecture roadmapsolution blueprintenterprise architecturedistributed systemslow-latencyidentitymeasurementdata contractsobservabilityresilience engineeringmulti-cloudAI/ML

Key details

Salary

Not specified

Employment type

Full-time

Seniority

Lead

Years experience

10+

Location

Reston, United States

Full job description

Lead architecture for FreeWheel's cloud-native ad tech platforms including SSP, DSP, audience, measurement, and revenue science. Translate business and client needs into scalable solution designs and architecture roadmaps. Provide hands-on leadership for Kubernetes-based microservices systems focusing on reliability, security, privacy, and cost efficiency. Develop standards for data contracts, identity, consent, and programmatic interoperability. Lead initiatives to reduce technical debt and improve software quality. Advise on technical strategies and conduct architecture reviews. Mentor teams and promote inclusion and diversity. Requires 10+ years in software architecture/engineering with 5+ years leading distributed, high-scale, low-latency systems. Experience with ad serving, header bidding, DSP workflows, identity management, privacy-centric audience measurement, Kubernetes, cloud platforms, security patterns, and API management is essential. Bachelor's degree preferred. On-site role in Reston, Virginia.

What you'll do

  • Serve as architecture interface between Product and Engineering
  • Produce Solution Blueprints, Reference Architectures, and Architecture Decision Records
  • Guide Product-aligned Architecture Roadmaps
  • Provide hands-on design leadership for cloud-native systems
  • Shape standards for data contracts, identity, consent, measurement, and programmatic interoperability
  • Identify and lead strategic initiatives to grow technical capability and reduce tech debt
  • Establish common practices for seamless software and systems interaction
  • Advise and support leaders on technical choices and risks
  • Facilitate architecture reviews and de-risk delivery with proof-of-concepts
  • Ensure architecture designs are stable, secure, scalable, reusable, and operable
  • Review Solution Designs internally and from 3rd party suppliers
  • Apply innovative ideas to business and technology constraints
  • Develop strategies on cloud governance, tech stack selection, capability development, and systems deprecation
  • Operate as a product-minded architect focusing on client value and market differentiation
  • Lead design forums and cross-functional architecture reviews
  • Balance near-term delivery with long-term modernization
  • Coach and unblock delivery teams, document patterns
  • Drive operational excellence tied to business SLAs/SLOs
  • Mentor architects/engineers and evolve EA practices
  • Promote inclusion and diversity

Requirements

  • 10+ years in software architecture/engineering
  • 5+ years leading distributed, high-scale, low-latency systems
  • Experience with ad serving and SSP platforms
  • Knowledge of header bidding, deal types (OpenRTB, PMP, curated deals), supply-path optimization (SPO), and auction transparency
  • Experience with DSP workflows (planning, activation, bidding, pacing/optimization, frequency management, brand safety, measurement)
  • Understanding of identity & addressability (first-party graphs, UID2/PPID concepts, clean rooms)
  • Experience architecting privacy-centric audience and measurement capabilities
  • Hands-on experience with Kubernetes (multi-cluster, multi-region), service mesh, autoscaling, observability, and resilience engineering
  • Experience with at least one major cloud provider
  • Strong security and privacy patterns knowledge (OAuth/OIDC, tokenization, encryption, secrets, least-privilege, auditability)
  • Hands-on experience with API management and API security standards
  • Proven ability to translate ambiguous business needs into roadmaps, blueprints, and execution plans
  • Excellent communication skills with senior product leaders, engineering, sales, and client-facing teams
  • Bonus: Experience with live events / live linear ad decisioning, SSAI, or programmatic for live sports/news
  • Bonus: Knowledge of curated supply strategies and buyer curation tools
  • Bonus: Working experience with AI/ML and analytics platforms

Tech stack

GoJavaScalagRPCRESTKafkaPub-SubNoSQLKubernetesmicroservicesOpenTelemetryOAuthOIDCAPI managementAPI securitycloud-nativemulti-cloud

Benefits

Commission for sales positionsBonus for most non-sales positionsComprehensive benefits supporting physical, financial, and emotional well-beingPersonalized support options and expert guidance

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