Solutions Architect - Technical Lead

Location

Remote U.S.-based; occasional Government-authorized onsite support may be required

Experience Level: Senior / Technical Lead - 8+ years

Salary Range: To be determined

Clearance Requirement: Must be eligible to obtain and maintain USCIS-required suitability; current Elevated Public Trust strongly preferred

Citizenship Requirement: U.S. Citizen

POSITION SUMMARY

World Services LLC, an IT engineering, solutions, and management consulting firm, is seeking a hands-on Solutions Architect / Technical Lead to support the USCIS Customer Service, Accounts, and Integration (CSAI) program.

The role will lead the design and delivery of secure, scalable, cloud-based digital services spanning online filing, account services, document intake, identity and account relationships, integrations, and secure cloud delivery.

The ideal candidate brings deep AWS architecture expertise, strong Java/Spring Boot engineering skills, CI/CD and DevSecOps leadership, and practical experience with Ruby on Rails applications and modernization.

This role will help guide the phased migration of designated myUSCIS account capabilities from a Ruby on Rails back end to Java-based services while preserving the existing React user experience, interface contracts, security controls, data integrity, and continuity of operations.

This is a hands-on architecture role. In addition to constructing solutions and leading technical delivery, the Architect must be able to read, troubleshoot, modify, test, and validate production Java/Spring Boot code; understand and assess Ruby on Rails behavior; and directly resolve complex application, integration, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, container, database, and deployment issues.

The successful candidate understands that architecture enables delivery: decisions must be technically sound, professionally communicated, appropriately documented, and made quickly enough to maintain Agile delivery momentum while protecting quality, security, reliability, and mission outcomes.

Acting as the program's technical authority and escalation point, the Architect will partner with engineering, product, QA, security, business analysis, program leadership, and Government stakeholders to translate mission needs into cohesive architecture, delivery patterns, and working implementations.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

· Lead end-to-end architecture and technical direction for cloud-native applications, APIs, account services, integrations, workflows, and data exchanges aligned with USCIS mission and modernization objectives.

· Serve as a hands-on technical lead, performing Java/Spring Boot code reviews, debugging, refactoring, testing, reference-grade implementation, and advanced troubleshooting for complex or high-risk capabilities.

· Own the technical approach for phased migration of designated account services from Ruby on Rails to Java/Spring Boot, allowing Rails and Java services to operate concurrently while preserving interface contracts and React front-end continuity.

· Define migration patterns for behavior parity, automated validation, data integrity, controlled cutover, rollback, auditability, and the orderly retirement of migrated Rails components after approval.

· Design secure and extensible account, group, membership, role, permission, delegation, and case-visibility models supporting applicants, representatives, organizations, families, and other Government-approved account structures.

· Architect metadata-driven online filing capabilities, including versioned form definitions, conditional questions, evidence guidance, validations, document and data mappings, submission workflows, and downstream acknowledgments.

· Establish secure AWS architecture patterns and drive Terraform, CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated quality gates, security scanning, observability, and reliable containerized deployments.

· Lead technical integration with USCIS enterprise sign-in, ELIS, myUSCIS, payment services, and other designated systems while protecting interface compatibility, traceability, and operational resilience.

· Ensure solutions satisfy federal security, privacy, Section 508 accessibility, ATO, auditability, release-governance, and production-support requirements.

· Serve as a trusted technical advisor to USCIS stakeholders, product owners, business analysts, QA, security, program leadership, and partner teams; communicate architecture decisions, delivery trade-offs, dependencies, and risks clearly.

· Mentor engineers, establish practical engineering standards, reduce technical debt, prevent architecture fragmentation, and strengthen testing and release readiness.

CORE RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

· Product architecture, technical vision, architectural consistency, and fragmentation prevention

· Hands-on high-risk and product-defining implementation

· Ruby on Rails to Java/Spring Boot modernization strategy, compatibility, and phased migration

· Reference-grade code standards, code review, quality assurance, and technical troubleshooting

· Foundational architecture and refactoring for scalability, performance, and maintainability

· Non-functional requirements as product capabilities: security, resilience, accessibility, observability, and data integrity

· Technical leadership by example, mentorship, ambiguity resolution, delivery unblocking, and technical-debt management

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in solutions architecture, software engineering, systems integration, or technical delivery leadership.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical or architecture lead on complex, production software delivery efforts in complex regulatory environments with strong federal compliance awareness.
• Recent hands-on Java and Spring Boot experience, including service design, REST APIs, testing, code review, debugging, refactoring, and production support.
• Demonstrated experience with Ruby on Rails applications and the architecture, assessment, modernization, or migration of Rails-based capabilities to Java or another modern service architecture.
• Experience with or ability to work with Formik, Zeus, Yup, Ruby, and other technologies used alongside Java, as required by program needs and Government-approved technology choices.
• Strong AWS architecture experience across IAM, networking, compute, storage, integration patterns, cloud security controls, observability, and operational support.
• Strong DevSecOps experience including GitHub or Jenkins, infrastructure as code such as Terraform, Docker/Kubernetes, automated testing, quality gates, vulnerability scanning, and release troubleshooting.
• Experience with role-based access, identity/account models, data migration, auditability, interface compatibility, and relational and/or NoSQL persistence in complex systems.
• Experience with document-centric, PDF, or form-driven intake workflows, workflow automation, metadata-driven implementations, or comparable digital transaction platforms.
• Exceptional professionalism, sound judgment, written communication, and client-engagement skills, including the ability to produce clear architecture recommendations, decision records, risk documentation, and executive-ready technical communications.
• Active AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certification or higher.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain USCIS-required suitability. Current Elevated Public Trust is strongly preferred.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Direct USCIS or DHS experience supporting mission-critical digital services or modernization programs.
• Experience with online filing, myUSCIS, electronic forms, form-driven intake, document processing, or metadata-driven workflow solutions.
• Experience with React front ends and preserving API/interface compatibility during back-end modernization.
• Experience with Amazon EKS, Docker, Kubernetes/OpenShift, Terraform or CloudFormation, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and modern observability platforms.
• Experience supporting ATO, continuous monitoring, vulnerability remediation, Section 508 accessibility, TMD or comparable federal release governance.
• Experience with entity resolution, deduplication, account linking, relationship modeling, or complex authorization models.
• Experience in multi-vendor Agile or Kanban delivery environments using Jira and Confluence for planning, documentation, metrics, and traceability.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
• Master's degree preferred.

Pay: $126,000.00 - $153,000.00 per year

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Washington, DC 20002