Senior Adobe Architect, Software Engineering

About the role

You will serve as the most senior client-facing voice on large-scale digital platform transformations within DEPT®®'s growing Adobe practice in North America. In this executive-level role, you own the intellectual agenda of the Experience Engineering & Platforms pillar and define the architectural direction for headless CMS implementations, composable experience ecosystems, and Adobe-native delivery infrastructure. You will produce the artifacts that define how global enterprises evolve from legacy monoliths to modern, performance-first stacks built on Adobe Experience Manager Sites, Edge Delivery Services, Adobe Commerce, and Adobe CDN. You are expected to defend every recommendation with the rigor of someone who has built and broken these systems firsthand while establishing DEPT®® as the authoritative partner for enterprise organizations navigating this shift. At Level 4, you are not executing within a defined scope - you are defining the scope for engagements worth millions of dollars and shaping the conditions under which client teams will succeed over a three-to-five year horizon.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect platform transformation programs by leading executive advisory engagements for enterprise clients migrating off monolithic CMS platforms, producing platform architecture assessments and composable architecture blueprints that define the target state across AEM Sites, Edge Delivery Services, Adobe CDN, and integrated commerce and analytics layers while translating technical architecture decisions into business cases that resonate with C-suite sponsors.
• Define multi-year transformation roadmaps that sequence AEM modernization, EDS adoption, and Commerce integration initiatives against measurable business outcomes, balancing technical feasibility, organizational change capacity, and investment horizons of three to five years to ensure each phase delivers standalone value while building toward the full composable vision.
• Shape pillar methodology and thought leadership by authoring the frameworks, assessment tools, and repeatable playbooks that define how DEPT®®'s Experience Engineering & Platforms practice goes to market, including headless CMS strategy templates, EDS implementation plans, performance optimization playbooks, and composable architecture decision guides while publishing and speaking on these topics to establish DEPT®® and yourself as category authorities.
• Lead pre-sales and strategic account development by partnering with DEPT®® sales leadership to qualify, shape, and close strategic Adobe platform engagements, contributing architecture vision, scope definition, and executive presence to pursuit teams and developing points of view for specific industries and use cases that open new client relationships and expand existing ones.
• Develop the pillar team by mentoring and growing a team of strategists, architects, and practice specialists within the Experience Engineering & Platforms pillar, conducting structured coaching, defining career development paths, leading internal knowledge-sharing, and establishing the quality bar for client deliverables across the portfolio.
• Conduct deep technical discovery sessions with C-level sponsors to uncover hidden technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and operational constraints that prevent legacy platforms from supporting the experimentation velocity marketing teams demand in today's competitive landscape.
• Translate complex stakeholder requirements into clear architectural narratives that connect infrastructure decisions to revenue impact, customer experience outcomes, and long-term operational efficiency for global brands operating across dozens of markets.
• Evaluate and validate third-party integrations, data layer strategies, and analytics implementations to ensure Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics maintain fidelity in headless and composable environments without sacrificing personalization or measurement accuracy.
• Facilitate cross-functional alignment between engineering, design, content operations, and commercial teams to ensure architecture roadmaps are executable, resourced, and aligned with enterprise governance models and change management capabilities.
• Represent DEPT®® in competitive deal workshops and security questionnaires, articulating the technical and commercial advantages of composable architectures powered by Adobe Experience Cloud against incumbent monolithic CMS approaches.

Requirements

• 12+ Years of Enterprise Platform Experience leading digital platform strategy and architecture engagements for large enterprise organizations, with direct responsibility for scoping, shaping, and delivering multi-year transformation programs - not just contributing to them, and having experience working in or alongside a global digital agency, systems integrator, or enterprise technology consultancy is strongly preferred.
• Composable Architecture and Headless CMS Expertise demonstrated through hands-on experience architecting and evaluating headless and composable experience platforms at enterprise scale, including content modeling for decoupled CMS deployments, API-first integration patterns, CDN strategy, and the organizational design implications of separating content authoring from front-end delivery in production environments with real stakes.
• Adobe Product Fluency at an expert level across the Adobe Experience Cloud products that define this pillar, including AEM Sites (both cloud-native AEM as a Cloud Service and on-premise modernization scenarios), Edge Delivery Services (EDS) including document-based authoring and performance optimization, Adobe Commerce (Magento) headless integration patterns, Adobe CDN configuration and performance strategy, Adobe Analytics implementation and data layer architecture, and Adobe Target for personalization and experimentation, with a proven track record of defending these choices in front of CTOs and articulating tradeoffs beyond feature lists.
• Executive Stakeholder Management and Advisory Presence with a proven track record of building trusted advisor relationships with CMOs, CTOs, CDOs, and Executive VPs, facilitating difficult conversations about platform investment, organizational change, and technology risk without losing either rigor or relationship, and commanding a room of skeptical enterprise executives to walk out with alignment.
• Practice Building and Commercial Acumen experience developing intellectual capital, go-to-market assets, and repeatable delivery methodologies within a consulting or agency practice, understanding how a pillar generates revenue, how to position against competing approaches, and how to develop and retain the talent that executes on the strategy you define.
• Demonstrated ability to operate comfortably in a remote-first, collaborative, open-door, best-idea-wins environment that prioritizes personal and company growth, fun, and DEPT®®'s values of better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done.
• Willingness to undergo background checks and verification of employment authorization as required by E-Verify participation, ensuring Form I-9 information may be sent to the federal government to confirm eligibility to work in the U.S.
• Commitment to an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment and selection process and workplace regardless of identity, background, beliefs, lifestyle or disabilities, including willingness to engage in confidential conversations about accommodations needed to support full participation.

Nice to have

• None specified in SOURCE.

Practical notes

• Work Environment: Remote position with travel expected.
• Compensation range: $176,300 - $210,000 USD based on experience, expertise, physical location, and organizational impact within a 40-hour workweek.
• This role reports into a senior Adobe architecture practice and involves frequent interaction with global enterprise clients, C-suite stakeholders, and cross-functional internal teams.
• DEPT®® is a B Corp-certified company committed to purpose-driven work and continuous improvement through collaborative innovation.
• Interested candidates should be prepared to discuss long-term platform strategies, real-world production implementations, and measurable business outcomes from previous engagements.