Principal Solutions Architect & Technical Lead

About Ad hoc Research

Ad hoc Research develops advanced engineering and software solutions for federal and commercial customers. Our core capabilities include artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital twins, modeling and simulation, cloud-native distributed systems, intelligent automation, cybersecurity, and mission-oriented systems integration.

Our flagship DarkStax™ platform provides capabilities for modeling, orchestration, simulation, automated testing, experimentation, analytics, and decision support across complex operational and enterprise environments.

We are seeking an exceptional Principal Solutions Architect & Technical Lead to help shape technical solutions, strengthen customer engagements, and guide advanced engineering initiatives.

Position Overview

The Principal Solutions Architect & Technical

Lead is a senior, hands-on technical leadership position combining sophisticated software architecture, direct customer engagement, demonstration development, and engineering mentorship. This individual serves as a trusted technical advisor to customers and a technical authority within our engineering organization.

The successful candidate can independently understand complex customer problems, design credible solutions, translate them into practical engineering plans, and guide multidisciplinary teams through implementation and delivery. They can communicate effectively with software architects, AI/ML engineers, research scientists, program managers, operational stakeholders, and senior executives.

This is not a traditional presales role or a purely managerial position. Substantial hands-on engineering experience is essential. The candidate must remain capable of participating directly in architecture design, prototyping, integration, code reviews, and complex technical problem-solving.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Customer Technical Engagement and Solution Development

• Serve as a senior technical representative in engagements with existing and prospective customers.
• Build trusted customer relationships through engineering credibility, responsiveness, and understanding of operational needs.
• Lead discovery sessions, architecture workshops, and technical discussions.
• Translate ambiguous customer challenges into well-defined technical requirements, solution architectures, and implementation approaches.
• Identify how DarkStax and complementary technologies can address operational, enterprise, and mission-specific challenges.
• Explain sophisticated engineering concepts and solution value to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Support technical proposals, solution scoping, feasibility assessments, and customer presentations.
• Communicate technical constraints, architectural tradeoffs, implementation risks, and expected outcomes accurately.

2. Solution Architecture and Systems Engineering

• Design complex distributed solutions integrating multiple applications, services, data sources, and intelligent components.
• Architect cloud-native, on-premises, and hybrid deployments using modern containerization and orchestration technologies.
• Define application architectures, APIs, data flows, messaging patterns, integration interfaces, and deployment models.
• Guide implementation of scalable, secure, maintainable, resilient systems.
• Evaluate technologies using architectural fit, performance, complexity, operational requirements, and lifecycle considerations.
• Produce clear architecture diagrams, technical specifications, interface contracts, and implementation guidance.
• Participate in reviews, critical design decisions, integration troubleshooting, and technical risk mitigation.

3. Technical Demonstrations and Prototype Engineering

• Lead planning, architecture, technical integration, and delivery of customer-specific demonstrations and proofs of concept.
• Work with customers to identify meaningful use cases and define measurable demonstration objectives.
• Design scenarios that demonstrate operational or business value rather than just individual technical features.
• Coordinate software developers, AI/ML engineers, simulation engineers, and infrastructure specialists.
• Participate directly in configuration, development, troubleshooting, and integration as needed.
• Ensure demonstrations are reliable, repeatable, appropriately instrumented, and supported by credible results.
• Present and explain demonstrations to engineering teams, program stakeholders, and senior leadership.
• Convert customer feedback into engineering requirements, future capabilities, and potential delivery opportunities.

4. Engineering Technical Leadership and Mentorship

• Provide technical direction to mid-level and junior software engineers, AI/ML engineers, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Translate complex architecture into manageable development tasks and achievable engineering increments.
• Lead technical design discussions, architecture reviews, code reviews, and problem-solving sessions.
• Mentor engineers in software design, systems integration, algorithm selection, testing, troubleshooting, and technical communication.
• Reinforce maintainable design, automated testing, sound documentation, security, and engineering accountability.
• Collaborate with project and engineering leadership on priorities, resource capabilities, and delivery commitments.
• Raise the overall technical competency, autonomy, and effectiveness of the engineering team.

Leadership scope

The position carries significant technical influence, but does not initially include direct personnel management, performance reviews, or administrative supervision.

5. AI/ML and Intelligent Systems Integration

• Guide the integration of AI/ML capabilities into applications, distributed systems, digital twins, and automation frameworks.
• Work with AI/ML engineers to define data requirements, model interfaces, integration patterns, evaluation criteria, and deployments.
• Understand practical applications of generative AI, LLMs/SLMs, AI agents, machine learning, optimization, and automated reasoning.
• Evaluate AI concepts for technical feasibility, reliability, and operational usefulness.
• Distinguish experimental AI capabilities from systems that can be reliably engineered, evaluated, maintained, and deployed.
• Integrate intelligent components with data pipelines, APIs, workflow engines, simulation environments, and operational software.

6. Product Evolution and Strategic Technical Guidance

• Collaborate with leadership and engineering teams to shape future platform capabilities.
• Identify reusable patterns and product capabilities emerging from customer needs.
• Balance near-term demonstration objectives with sustainable product development.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and potential integrations.
• Contribute technical expertise to strategic partnerships, customer opportunities, and engineering initiatives.

Required Qualifications

Engineering and Architecture

• Significant progressive experience, typically 10+ years, in software engineering, technical architecture, or systems engineering; exceptional equivalent experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex software system architecture and implementation.
• Strong hands-on development background in C#/.NET, Python, Java, or comparable languages.
• Strong understanding of distributed applications, microservices, APIs, asynchronous messaging, systems integration, and data architecture.
• Practical knowledge of Kubernetes, containerization, Linux, cloud-native systems, and modern software delivery practices.
• Ability to evaluate scalability, maintainability, security, reliability, and performance tradeoffs.
• Ability to investigate difficult technical problems and give actionable engineering guidance.

Customer and Solution Leadership

• Proven direct engagement with customers or external stakeholders on technically sophisticated projects.
• Ability to conduct independent customer discovery and architecture discussions.
• Experience designing and delivering complex demonstrations, prototypes, proofs of concept, or customer implementations.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication across technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to connect technical capabilities with operational, mission, or business outcomes.

Engineering Leadership

• Demonstrated technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience mentoring engineers, reviewing designs, guiding implementation, and resolving technical challenges.
• Ability to influence technical decisions without relying on managerial authority.
• Strong organization, ownership, accountability, and independent judgment.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline; or equivalent demonstrated experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Digital twins, modeling and simulation, system experimentation, or autonomous systems.
• C#/.NET and Python experience in real distributed software applications.
• Actor-based architectures, finite state machines, workflow orchestration, event-driven systems, or intelligent agents.
• AI/ML system integration, generative AI, LLMs/SLMs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), reinforcement learning, optimization, or evaluation frameworks.
• Network systems, telecommunications, RF simulation, C5ISR, cybersecurity, or complex mission systems.
• Software delivery to DoD, other federal agencies, or regulated commercial customers.
• DevSecOps, secure development, and deployments into customer-controlled environments.
• Work in product-oriented teams developing proprietary software platforms.

Ideal Personal Attributes

• Technically exceptional: Deep engineering knowledge and excellent architectural judgment.
• Articulate and persuasive: Makes complex concepts understandable without oversimplifying or exaggerating.
• Customer-oriented: Understands the customer's actual problem before recommending a solution.
• Hands-on: Participates in design, implementation decisions, and technical troubleshooting.
• Collaborative leader: Builds confidence and capability in other engineers.
• Intellectually curious: Learns emerging technologies and unfamiliar domains quickly.
• Strategically minded: Connects engineering decisions to customer outcomes and product direction.
• Execution-focused: Owns technical outcomes and follows through on commitments.
• Adaptable: Works effectively with evolving requirements and multidisciplinary challenges.
• Professionally credible: Exercises sound judgment and communicates limitations transparently.

Why Join Ad hoc Research?

This role offers meaningful influence over an advanced technology platform and its real-world applications. The candidate will work across distributed software, AI/ML, intelligent automation, digital twins, and mission-focused experimentation while helping shape products and engineers.

We are seeking a technical leader who wants to build, innovate, influence, and deliver - not simply manage established processes.

Ad hoc Research is an equal opportunity employer.

Pay: From $175,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person