Principal Architect - Application Development
Farmers Insurance8 days ago
Remote, United StatesStaff+
Base Salary
$180k - $341k/yr
Responsibilities
- Define and evolve the enterprise Spec-Driven Development standard and AI software development lifecycle reference model.
- Architect the AI engineering toolchain, including coding agents, assistants, reusable skills, plugins, Model Context Protocol servers, model gateways, routing, and context engineering.
- Own verification and evidence standards for AI-generated software, including acceptance oracles, requirement-to-test coverage, automated testing, fitness functions, and policy-as-code checks.
- Define application architecture standards and reusable patterns for microservices, event-driven systems, API-first development, domain-driven design, and integrations.
- Lead architecture for complex application and modernization initiatives, including legacy-system reverse engineering, decomposition, and cloud-native migration.
- Govern architecture quality through reviews, architecture decision records, automated conformance checks, and management of AI-specific risks.
- Scale AI SDLC and Spec-Driven Development adoption through coaching, community leadership, delivery-framework alignment, and outcome measurement.
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent is required; bachelor’s and master’s degrees are preferred.
- At least 12 years of architecture experience with significant enterprise architecture leadership across complex, regulated enterprises.
- At least two architect- or senior-level industry certifications are required upon hire, including at least one architect-level certification.
- Deep proficiency in at least one modern enterprise language and ecosystem, such as Java, C#/.NET, TypeScript/Node.js, or Python.
- Strong knowledge of API design and integration, REST, GraphQL, Kafka, domain-driven design, and secure-by-design principles.
- Working knowledge of CI/CD, DevSecOps, infrastructure as code, observability, and site reliability practices.
- Practical expertise in Spec-Driven Development, AI coding agents, prompt and context engineering, retrieval-augmented generation, Model Context Protocol, and large language model evaluation and cost management.
- Ability to design evaluation harnesses, golden datasets, acceptance oracles, and automated quality and security gates for nondeterministic AI output.
- Understanding of AI governance, responsible AI, data protection, prompt injection, software supply-chain and licensing risk, and regulatory expectations for regulated insurers.
- AI or machine learning certification, such as Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate or AWS Certified Machine Learning, or equivalent demonstrated expertise is preferred.
- Strong communication, mentoring, influence, and executive-presence capabilities are required.
Benefits
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience, qualifications, and location.
- Bonus opportunity based on company and individual performance.
- 401(k), medical, dental, vision, health savings and flexible spending accounts, life insurance, paid time off, paid parental leave, and tuition assistance.
- Hybrid work is available for employees within 50 miles of a Farmers corporate office, with at least three days in office and up to two virtual days; employees farther than 50 miles may also be considered.
- The role may be performed in person at a Farmers office or virtually at an approved alternative work location.
- The position requires rare, if any, travel.
Tech Stack
Categories
About Farmers Insurance
Farmers Insurance sells auto, home, renters, life, and small-business coverage to U.S. consumers and businesses, primarily through a network of exclusive and independent agents. Revenue comes from insurance premiums and related financial services across the Farmers Exchanges. Founded in 1928 and headquartered in Woodland Hills, California, it serves customers in all 50 states and ranks among the country’s largest personal lines insurers.