Senior Principal Software Architect

When you work at Daktronics, you’ll be part of something amazing. We design, engineer, manufacture and support bold, eye-catching digital LED display technology and audio systems. 

Our products bring excitement to professional, college and high school games. They attract customers for businesses around the world, and even provide direction for people as they travel, work and play. 

As part of the Daktronics team, you’ll have interesting, impactful work with flexible opportunities. You can learn and grow at a company that provides competitive compensation and meaningful benefits – and the people are second to none. 

What will the work look like for me? 

We are currently seeking a Senior Principal Software Architect to join our team as the senior software architecture leader, responsible for the technical integrity, scalability, security, and long-term evolution of the company's software platforms and shared technology capabilities. 

The Senior Principal Software Architect establishes architectural direction, standards, and governance across cloud and edge-based systems while partnering with Engineering, Product Management, Software Strategy, and Business Development to ensure technology investments align with business objectives and customer needs. This role will provide leadership for the software architecture function, which may include direct supervision and development of software architects. 

Architecture Leadership 

• Lead, mentor, and develop the software architecture team. 

• Provide direction and oversight for architectural decisions across products, platforms, and shared services. 

• Establish and enforce architecture standards, principles, and governance processes. 

• Serve as the organization's primary technical authority for software architecture. 

• May assume direct supervisory responsibility for software architects or others as organizational needs evolve.  This could include coaching, performance management, talent development, etc.   

• Architecting our solutions to be AI-enabled. 

Platform & System Architecture 

• Define and evolve the long-term architecture of shared cloud platform services and edge-based software systems. 

• Drive scalable, secure, reliable, and reusable platform capabilities that support multiple products and future SaaS offerings. 

• Define interaction patterns and responsibilities across cloud and edge environments. 

• Ensure solutions are designed with a security-first and systems-level perspective. 

Modernization & Technology Strategy 

• Lead platform modernization efforts that improve consistency, reuse, scalability, and development efficiency. 

• Identify and reduce duplicated functionality, technical complexity, and architectural fragmentation. 

• Guide technology decisions that support long-term business and product strategies. 

Build, Buy & Partner Evaluation 

• Evaluate technical aspects of build, buy, and partner opportunities. 

• Provide recommendations based on architectural fit, scalability, integration complexity, security, and maintainability. 

• Ensure selected solutions align with long-term platform direction. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Partner with Software Strategy, Product Management, Engineering, and Business Development to align architecture with organizational goals. 

• Build alignment across teams and promote consistent architectural practices throughout the organization. 

Success Measures 

• Increased adoption and reuse of shared platform capabilities. 

• Improved consistency, reliability, security, and performance across software solutions. 

• Reduced technical complexity and duplication. 

• Effective development and growth of the software architecture team. 

• Strong alignment between architecture decisions, product strategy, and business objectives. 

Where is this opportunity located?  

Position has opportunity to work from a US-Based home office. This position is open to candidates eligible to work in the U.S.  Travel to a Daktronics campus and/or customer sites may be needed rarely.  

What are the pay and perks? 

The typical hiring range for this position is $160,000 to $200,000 annually. The actual offer will consider a wide range of factors, including relevant education, experiences, location, and applicable local legislation.  

To be considered for this position, we require the following: 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field. 

• Ten (10)+ years of experience in software architecture, platform engineering, distributed systems, or related technical leadership roles. 

• Demonstrated experience designing and evolving large-scale cloud, SaaS, or hybrid cloud/edge platforms. 

• Experience leading, mentoring, and developing architects or other senior technical professionals. 

• Strong understanding of distributed systems, API-based architectures, software modernization, and platform engineering. 

• Experience with designing solutions with AI capabilities. 

• Proven ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams and organizations. 

• Excellent communication, leadership, problem-solving, and collaboration skills. 

• Fluent in English, written and verbal.  

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. 

• Daktronics does not sponsor, renew, or extend immigration visas for this position. 

Desired traits 

• Experience with tools such as: Microsoft Azure DevOps, AWS, Git, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Teams.   

• Experience with device ecosystems, telemetry platforms, lifecycle management, or real-time control systems. 

• Experience supporting SaaS transformation and platform-based product strategies. 

• Familiarity with Daktronics products, systems, or development environments. 

Ready to make an impact? Apply now! 

Daktronics is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.