Senior Solutions Architect

About the role

As a Senior Solutions Architect on the Delivery Architecture team at Astronomer, you will serve as the senior technical lead for customer engagements. Your primary responsibility will be to work directly with clients to design, develop, and implement scalable data orchestration platforms using Astro and Airflow. You will collaborate closely with project managers, engineers, and executive stakeholders to ensure the successful operationalization of data workflows at scale. This role combines solution architecture with hands-on technical work, including building prototypes, validating designs, and guiding customers through complex platform deployments and migrations. You will be instrumental in ensuring high standards for platform performance, security, and operational excellence, helping clients unlock the full potential of their data infrastructure.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead architecture reviews, technical workshops, and design sessions with engineering teams and executive stakeholders to align on platform architecture and deployment strategies.
• Design end-to-end data platform architectures that integrate Apache Airflow with cloud infrastructure, compute frameworks, and data storage solutions.
• Review and oversee delivery work to ensure it adheres to standards for scalability, observability, security, and operational excellence.
• Diagnose and troubleshoot issues during platform deployment, migration, or modernization projects, providing guidance and solutions to clients.
• Build reusable tools, frameworks, reference architectures, and best practices that improve delivery quality across the organization and facilitate rapid customer onboarding.
• Collaborate with clients to understand their business requirements and translate them into scalable, reliable, and secure technical architectures.
• Develop prototypes and proof-of-concept solutions to validate architectural designs and demonstrate feasibility to clients.
• Guide customers through platform deployment processes, including installation, configuration, and optimization of Airflow and Astro environments.
• Assist clients in migrating existing workflows and data pipelines to Astro, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum efficiency.
• Provide technical leadership during ongoing support and platform modernization efforts, helping clients adapt to evolving data needs.
• Stay current with industry best practices, emerging technologies, and updates related to data orchestration, cloud platforms, and security.
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing, documentation, and process improvements to enhance overall delivery quality.
• Support sales and pre-sales activities by providing technical expertise and solution demonstrations to prospective clients.
• Participate in customer meetings, presentations, and technical discussions to articulate platform capabilities and architecture options.
• Collaborate with internal teams to develop new features, tools, or integrations that improve the Astro platform and customer experience.
• Ensure compliance with security standards and best practices, including managing data security and identity management in cloud environments.
• Assist in defining project scope, timelines, and deliverables, managing stakeholder expectations effectively.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, platform engineering, or solution architecture, with a focus on cloud-native data platforms.
• Extensive experience with Apache Airflow, including authoring, deploying, monitoring, and troubleshooting DAGs in production environments.
• Proven ability to optimize Airflow performance, refactor DAG code, and implement data quality checks and alerting mechanisms.
• Demonstrated success guiding customers through complex platform deployments, migrations, or technical transformations, managing scope, timelines, and stakeholder conflicts.
• Strong background in designing and implementing cloud-native data solutions on AWS, Azure, or GCP, with knowledge of enterprise networking, security, and identity management patterns.
• Programming proficiency in Python and SQL, with the ability to develop and customize data workflows and integrations.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Docker, and Kubernetes for deploying and managing cloud infrastructure.
• Experience working with data platforms such as Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Databricks, or Redshift.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to lead architecture discussions, influence technical decisions, and drive consensus among engineering teams and executives.
• Strong documentation skills to produce clear technical specifications, architecture diagrams, and best practice guides.
• Experience working in customer-facing roles, providing technical support, and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Knowledge of security best practices for cloud data platforms, including data privacy, access controls, and compliance considerations.

Nice to have

• Experience with additional Apache projects or open-source data orchestration tools.
• Familiarity with AI and machine learning integration within data platforms.
• Knowledge of enterprise security architecture and compliance standards relevant to cloud data solutions.
• Previous consulting experience working directly with enterprise clients on solution architecture projects.
• Understanding of enterprise networking, VPNs, firewalls, and security protocols in cloud environments.
• Experience with automation tools and scripting to streamline deployment and operational processes.

Skills & tools

• Python programming language
• Cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, GCP
• Docker containerization technology
• Kubernetes container orchestration
• CI/CD pipelines and automation tools
• Apache Airflow for data orchestration
• Data engineering and platform architecture
• Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Databricks, Redshift
• SQL for data querying and transformation
• Cloud security and identity management best practices

Practical notes

• This role is based at the Astronomer office in New York City and requires on-site presence.
• Occasional travel may be necessary for conferences, customer visits, or team on-site meetings.
• The position involves working directly with clients to design and implement scalable, secure data orchestration solutions using Astro and Airflow.
• The salary range for this role is estimated between $190,000 and $250,000, depending on experience and qualifications, and includes an equity component and comprehensive benefits package.
• The role is full-time, and candidates should be prepared for on-site collaboration and customer engagement activities.
• Candidates should have a strong technical background, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
• The company values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer, welcoming applicants regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

About the company

Astronomer empowers data teams to bring mission-critical software, analytics, and AI to life and is the company behind Astro, the industry-leading unified DataOps platform powered by Apache Airflow®. Astro accelerates building reliable data products that unlock insights, unleash AI value, and powers data-driven applications.