Principal Technical Architect

Join us and make a difference in global investor protection.

Who We Are

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a nonprofit organization established by Congress, oversees the audits of public companies and SEC-registered brokers and dealers to protect investors and to further the public interest in the preparation of independent, accurate, and informative audit reports.

Our investor protection mission is focused on modernizing audit standards, enhancing audit inspections, and strengthening enforcement of PCAOB rules and standards and other related laws and rules. People are at the heart of our mission at the PCAOB.  As we carry out that mission, we strive to uphold the highest standards in audit quality with investors’ families, savings, and futures in mind. 

We are hiring mission-driven professionals interested in a career with purpose, competitive benefit offerings, and work-life flexibility. If you are interested in working with a group of talented professionals to protect investors and drive audit quality and innovation while adhering to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct, join us.

What We Offer

At the PCAOB, we offer a highly competitive compensation and benefits package with a focus on the health and financial well-being of our valued team members. Some of the features of our comprehensive Total Rewards package include:

• Compensation – We support transparency, equity, and fairness in our compensation programs and provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range, based on data-driven market analysis, for each job posting. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range, a reasonable estimate of the salary ranges are as follows: Tampa, FL: $171,900 - $269,500 per year. Atlanta, GA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Charlotte, NC; and Dallas, TX: $180,500 - $283,000 per year. Houston, TX; Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; and Philadelphia, PA: $189,100 - $296,500 per year. Irvine, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Washington, DC (Headquarters); Ashburn, VA; and Boston, MA: $197,700 - $310,000 per year. New York, NY: $214,800 - $336,900 per year. San Francisco, CA: $223,500 - $350,400 per year.

• Hybrid work option – Staff will be assigned to one of our offices or locations, including: Washington, DC (Headquarters); Ashburn, VA; Irvine, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Tampa, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Charlotte, NC; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, TX; and Houston, TX. Staff can choose to live and work from anywhere within the United States but will be required to commute to their assigned office or location for occasional intentional gatherings or meetings at the frequency required by their supervisor. Travel to an assigned office or location for commuting purposes will not be considered reimbursable business travel, unless otherwise required by state law. Business travel is reimbursable in an amount not exceeding the cost to travel from the assigned office or location, unless otherwise required by state law.

• Generous paid time off – Up to 6 weeks annually, in addition to 12 federal holidays, 2 floating holidays, and a year-end break December 26-31, 2025

• Highly competitive 401(k) match and savings options – Immediate vesting and contributions matched dollar for dollar, up to 7 percent of eligible compensation. Roth in-plan conversion available. 

• Comprehensive and competitive health benefit offerings – Medical, dental, and vision plans

• Supportive paid family leave benefits – Up to 16 weeks paid parental leave and up to 16 weeks paid caregiver leave

• Life insurance benefits – Basic life and AD&D insurance provided; supplemental insurance also available

• Education benefits – PCAOB staff qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. We also offer student loan repayment assistance, staff college tuition assistance, and college coach program support.

• Well-being and family resources – Mental health and well-being resources, paid volunteer time, emergency child/adult dependent back-up care services, family-forming assistance, discounted gym memberships, employee assistance program (EAP), health advocate program, and more  

• Commuter benefits – Tax-free employer subsidy and pretax employee deductions 

Position Summary

The PCAOB has a full-time, regular position for a Principal Technical Architect within the Office of Technology (OT). The Office of Technology (OT) maintains a clear vision for ongoing technology transformation that accelerates business value and outcomes.  The basics of digital transformation include embracing new ways of working, training and execution of agile approaches to critical IT services and solutions delivery, continual learning and building technical acumen in essential IT skills and capabilities, embracing a culture of continuous improvement, and a keen focus on customer-centricity.  Serving as technology partners with key stakeholders, OT fosters an environment of collaborating with PCAOB offices and divisions to assess the near- and long-term planning of IT investments and resources and creating engagement around the advancement of digital transformation and innovation at all levels of the organization.

This senior-level position is pivotal in shaping and driving enterprise-wide technology and architecture strategies, ensuring alignment with business objectives, and leading complex digital transformation initiatives. The Principal Technical Architect will provide technical vision and leadership, guiding teams in developing scalable, secure, and modern IT solutions. The role requires expertise in enterprise architecture, cloud computing, application modernization, and emerging technologies. This role demands strong collaboration with executive stakeholders, technology partners, and cross-functional teams, ensuring technology investments align with PCAOB’s mission and future-state architecture. The ideal candidate will be a thought leader, mentor, and advocate for continuous technological innovation and next-generation enterprise solutions.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute PCAOB’s enterprise technology strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and industry best practices.

• Oversee large-scale digital transformation initiatives, including cloud adoption, enterprise system modernization, and platform migrations (leveraging technologies such as Azure, Databricks, Appian, ServiceNow, etc.).

• Drive IT governance and technology standards, ensuring compliance with security, regulatory, and operational policies.

• Evaluate, test, and select emerging technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)), determining their potential impact on PCAOB’s digital transformation efforts.

• Lead enterprise-wide modernization efforts, including legacy system migrations, automation strategies, and AI-driven solutions.

• Develop strategic partnerships with vendors, service providers, and technology leaders, negotiating contracts and driving innovation.

• Oversee budgeting and financial planning for enterprise technology investments, ensuring cost-effective solutions that deliver business value.

• Design, lead, and take ownership of the implementation of solutions architecture across a group of specific business applications or technologies based on enterprise business strategy, business capabilities, and business requirements.

• Define the principles, guidelines, reference architectures, standards, and solution patterns to ensure solution decisions are aligned with the enterprise's future-state architecture vision.

• Develop a roadmap for the evolution of the enterprise application portfolio from current to future state (as defined by the solutions architecture).

• Analyze the business-IT environment (run, grow, and transform the business) to detect critical deficiencies and recommend solutions for improvement (systems of record, differentiation, and innovation).

• Manage and develop the architecture for a broader scope of projects, working closely with domain architects (e.g. data, application, and security) that manage and design architecture for a specific IT function.

• Identify the organizational impact (for example, on skills, processes, structures, or culture) and financial impact of the solutions architecture.

• Work closely with the agile program management office or Enterprise Strategy and Project Management Office (ESPMO) to ensure the execution of plans corresponds with what is being promised.

• Analyze the technology industry and market trends and determine their potential impact on the enterprise.

• Understand business drivers and business capabilities (future and current state) and determine corresponding enterprise system designs and change requirements to drive the organization's targeted business outcomes.

• Monitor the current-state solution portfolio to identify deficiencies through aging of the technologies used by the application or misalignment with business requirements.

Qualifications

Education/Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree or equivalent experience required in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or similar field.

• Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience in IT solution design and deployment, enterprise architecture, technology strategy, and IT leadership.

• Proven experience in leading large-scale enterprise IT transformations, cloud migrations, and application modernizations.

• Deep understanding of enterprise security frameworks, zero-trust architectures, and regulatory compliance.

• Experience managing IT budgets, financial planning, and vendor negotiations.

• Ability to drive high-impact technology decisions in a complex, matrixed environment.

• Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills.

• Expert understanding of strategic and new and emerging technology trends, and the practical application of existing, new and emerging technologies to new and evolving business and operating models.

• Availability for off-business hours implementation and support.

• In-depth experience in successfully harmonizing diverse and competing interests.

• Superior verbal and written communication skills.

• A self-starter able to administer a number of open, ongoing assignments at any one time, where some assignments are routinely unstructured, requiring autonomy and independent judgment.

• Ability to clearly articulate a position with sound logic, supporting empirical evidence, and impartiality.

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All PCAOB employees are entitled to equal opportunity and a professional work environment, free of discrimination and harassment. A workplace free of discrimination and harassment is fundamental to professional success and to the PCAOB's mission. The PCAOB will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law.

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