Avalara is hiring a Principal Enterprise AI & Platform Architect to define and govern our AI enablement architecture across customer-facing systems, internal operational platforms, and core enterprise technologies. This strategic, cross-functional leadership role translates enterprise AI ambition into operational architecture standards and reusable design patterns.
What You'll Do
- Own the architectural integrity of enterprise back-office domains including Legal, Finance, IT (ServiceNow), and supporting operational platforms.
- Define and maintain target-state architecture across enterprise systems to ensure scalability, durability, interoperability, and economic efficiency.
- Rationalize overlapping tooling and reduce platform redundancy across corporate systems.
- Establish reusable integration patterns between enterprise systems and core platforms.
- Ensure architectural consistency across regulated workflows (contract lifecycle, financial controls, internal IT operations, compliance-driven processes).
- Partner with Domain Architects to align value stream strategies with enterprise platform capabilities.
- Define architectural standards for system design, integration, data flow, workflow automation, and control mechanisms.
- Ensure enterprise platforms meet security, compliance, auditability, and financial control requirements.
- Document architecture decisions and maintain enterprise reference models.
- Participate in architecture review boards and enforce cross-domain standards.
- Reduce technical debt and prevent shadow systems within corporate domains.
- Define explainability, traceability, and audit standards for AI-enabled workflows.
- Ensure AI systems meet security, privacy, regulatory, and financial control requirements.
- Partner with Legal, Security, Risk, and Compliance teams to establish responsible AI guardrails.
- Establish architectural review criteria for AI initiatives before production deployment.
- Ensure AI-enabled processes preserve governance integrity across regulated back-office domains.
- Embed AI capabilities into enterprise systems where they improve measurable operational outcomes.
- Integrate AI solutions through governed data foundations and reusable enterprise patterns.
- Align AI initiatives to economic viability, risk posture, and enterprise platform standards.
- Prevent isolated, duplicative, or unmanaged AI deployments across domains.
- Enable AI use cases that measurably improve Sales productivity, case resolution efficiency, legal review cycle time, finance exception handling, and IT ticket resolution automation.
- Quantify AI performance impact (cost savings, time reduction, quality improvement).
- Ensure AI improves decision quality and control effectiveness—not just automation speed.
What We're Looking For
- Proven experience defining and governing enterprise-level architecture across Legal, Finance, IT, and operational platforms.
- Expertise in establishing reusable integration patterns and platform standards.
- Deep understanding of security, compliance, auditability, and financial control requirements for enterprise systems.
- Demonstrated ability to embed AI capabilities into enterprise systems with a focus on measurable outcomes.
- Strong background in establishing responsible AI guardrails with cross-functional partners.
- Experience preventing technical debt and shadow systems in large-scale corporate environments.
Technical Stack
- Salesforce
- ServiceNow
- ERP
- Data platforms
Avalara is an equal opportunity employer.
