Technical Architect (IT Manager II) - 61070020

The mission of the South Carolina Department of Education is to serve students, support teachers, empower parents, and engage the community so that every student graduates prepared to reach their full potential.

PURPOSE OF POSITION The South Carolina Department of Education is seeking an experienced Technical Architect to define and guide the architecture of the applications, integrations, and data platforms that support the Agency's mission. Serving as the senior technical authority across application development, web, data, and emerging technology teams within the Office of Information Technology, this role sets architectural direction, establishes standards and reference patterns, and guides engineering teams from concept through delivery as the agency modernizes legacy systems onto Microsoft Azure. The ideal candidate will bring deep, hands-on experience in solution and cloud architecture, integration design, and enterprise application modernization, with the credibility to lead through influence. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Solution Architecture and Design (35%)

• Define solution architectures for new applications and major enhancements, including component boundaries, integration patterns, data flows, security models, and technology selections.
• Produce and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical architecture artifacts, along with architecture decision records (ADRs) documenting the rationale behind significant technical choices.
• Design integration architecture across agency applications, Salesforce, data platforms, and external partners, including API strategy, versioning, and event-driven patterns.
• Build security, identity, and compliance into designs from the start, including Entra ID authentication and authorization, secrets management, encryption, and student data privacy requirements.

Cloud Platform and Modernization Strategy (25%)

• Own the target-state architecture for the agency's applications on Microsoft Azure, including hosting models (App Service, Azure Functions, Container Apps), data services, and infrastructure-as-code (Bicep).
• Develop transition strategies for legacy applications and data platforms, including interfaces with legacy and external systems and sequencing of deployments to maintain architectural integrity.
• Partner with infrastructure and cloud operations staff on networking, identity, environment, and cost management decisions.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, including AI and large language model services, and lead proofs of concept and product evaluations with clear trade-off analysis.

Architecture Standards and Governance (20%)

• Establish and maintain reference architectures, design patterns, and engineering standards adopted across development teams.
• Lead architecture reviews, evaluating proposed designs for scalability, security, maintainability, cost, and alignment with agency and state standards.
• Assist in developing agency architecture policies, standards, and procedures, and ensure adherence throughout design, acquisition, and deployment.
• Identify system-level technical debt, prioritize remediation, and build the case for investment.

Technical Leadership and Consultation (20%)

• Provide technical direction to engineering teams through requirements, design, development, and delivery, prototyping approaches where needed.
• Mentor senior engineers in architectural thinking, design documentation, and technical decision-making.
• Communicate architectural strategy, status, risks, and trade-offs to agency leadership and non-technical stakeholders.
• Lead technical research for Requests for Proposals (RFPs), vendor evaluations, and review of contracted solutions.

The position is located in the Office of Information Technology. A bachelor's degree in communications, business administration, information technology, mathematics, statistics, management information science or a related field and experience in telecommunications, data processing and/or information technology. Relevant experience may substitute for the bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis.

• Experience in business administration, computer science, mathematics, engineering, management information science, networking-telecommunications, and/or data processing in either an on-premises, cloud-based or hybrid environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Eight (8) or more years of professional software engineering experience, including at least three (3) years in a senior, lead, or architecture role.
• Demonstrated ownership of architecture decisions for significant production systems, from design through delivery and operation.
• Deep experience architecting solutions on Microsoft Azure (App Service, Azure Functions, Container Apps, Azure SQL, Entra ID, Key Vault), including infrastructure-as-code (Bicep).
• Strong background in API and integration design, including REST, event-driven architectures, messaging, versioning, and contract design.
• Experience modernizing legacy applications and data platforms onto cloud platforms.
• Data architecture experience across relational and analytical platforms, including data modeling and query optimization.
• Security architecture knowledge, including identity and access management, secrets management, encryption, and secure development practices.
• Hands-on credibility in modern application stacks such as React, TypeScript, C#/.NET, and Python.
• Familiarity with AI solution architecture, including Azure AI services and retrieval-augmented generation patterns.
• Familiarity with Salesforce platform architecture and integration patterns.
• Experience designing for observability and operability, including logging, metrics, and distributed tracing.
• Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification or equivalent; TOGAF a plus.
• Experience in state government, K–12 education, or a similarly regulated environment, including student data privacy requirements (FERPA).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a record of building consensus across teams through influence rather than formal authority.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Primary location: West, Columbia, SC.
• On-call availability may be required for mission-critical system incidents.
• Background check required.

The South Carolina Department of Education is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As a part of a competitive compensation package, we offer comprehensive benefits that include generous paid time off, preeminent health care benefits, professional development opportunities, pension, and a 401(k). The South Carolina Department of Education offers an exceptional benefits package that includes:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children.
• 15 days annual (vacation) leave per year.
• 15 days sick leave per year.
• 13 paid holidays.
• State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs (401(k) and 457 options).

ONLY THOSE APPLICANTS CHOSEN FOR AN INTERVIEW WILL BE NOTIFIED BY LETTER THAT THE POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED. http://www.ed.sc.gov/jobs/human-resources/title-ix-nondiscrimination/