Program Architect – ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management System)

Application Architecture and Reliability Tower

Hybrid - Downtown Dallas (On-site minimum 3 days per week)

6-Month Contract (Statement of Work)

NOTE: MUST INTERVIEW ON-SITE!!!

About Our Client

Our client is a leading organization committed to digital transformation and grid modernization initiatives. As a forward-thinking company implementing an Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) as part of a strategic program, they are revolutionizing distribution and outage management operations. The company operates in a highly regulated environment where architectural excellence, system reliability, and innovative technology solutions converge to deliver essential services. Their mission centers on operational excellence, infrastructure resilience, and leveraging cutting-edge enterprise architecture to meet the evolving demands of modern operations and smart grid technologies.

Job Description

As a Program Architect for ADMS, you'll provide architectural leadership and decision-making on the Advanced Distribution Management System implementation strategic program, ensuring alignment of solution design, delivery, and governance across multiple work-streams. Your day-to-day will involve coordinating architecture activities across related projects, managing dependencies, escalating risks that affect the broader transformation initiative, and serving as the subject matter expert on ADMS from an architectural, solution, and design perspective for the entire program. You'll be part of the Solution Architecture team within the Application Architecture and Reliability Tower of the Digital Grid Operation Organization, working at the intersection of enterprise architecture, cloud technologies, and critical infrastructure operations.

This role exists to ensure consistency of High-Level Design (HLD) and Low-Level Design (LLD) across work-streams, track technical risk and design debt at the program level, and lead program-wide architecture forums that reconcile differences in design patterns, platforms, and constraints. You'll translate enterprise and domain guidance into coordinated execution, maintain a Program Architecture Plan that maps solution blueprints to enterprise principles, and serve as the point of contact for Architecture Review Board (ARB) escalations from multiple Solution Architects. The ideal candidate has 10+ years in IT application development with deep expertise in architecting ADMS solutions, leading complex enterprise programs, and managing architectural teams in critical infrastructure environments.

You'll collaborate extensively with Solution Architects, Technical Leads, Technical Staff, cybersecurity teams, cloud platform engineers, vendor partners, and executive leadership, serving as the architectural authority who ensures all solution designs align with enterprise architecture strategies and support the organization's digital transformation objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Align architecture activities across related ADMS projects to ensure consistency and alignment with enterprise and domain guidance, coordinating multiple Solution Architects and technical work-streams.
• Translate enterprise and domain guidance into coordinated execution, ensuring that solution design, delivery, and governance are aligned across all ADMS work-streams and supporting initiatives.
• Ensure consistency of High-Level Design (HLD) and Low-Level Design (LLD) across work-streams, proactively identifying and mitigating cross-project design conflicts before they impact delivery.
• Track technical risk and design debt at the program level, identifying and escalating risks that affect the broader ADMS transformation initiative to appropriate stakeholders and leadership.
• Lead program-wide architecture forums, reconciling differences in design patterns, platforms, technology choices, and constraints across multiple technical teams and vendor solutions.
• Maintain a comprehensive Program Architecture Plan that maps ADMS solution blueprints to enterprise principles, ensuring all architectural decisions support long-term strategic objectives.
• Serve as the point of contact for Architecture Review Board (ARB) escalations from multiple Solution Architects, representing all program-related architectural solutions in ARB discussions and approvals.
• Ensure updates to architecture repositories reflect the aggregate learning from the ADMS program, creating institutional knowledge and reusable patterns for future initiatives.
• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert on ADMS from an architectural, solution, and design perspective for the entire program, representing architectural decisions at the program level to executive leadership.
• Collaborate with Solution Architects, Technical Leads, and Technical Staff to ensure that ADMS system designs, solutions, and processes align with and support Enterprise Architecture strategies.
• Shape the solution architecture roadmap through the application of technology expertise, domain knowledge, industry best practices, and organizational capability understanding.
• Drive implementation of large-scale ADMS enterprise programs, ensuring alignment between Architecture and program objectives while maintaining focus on delivery excellence.
• Participate in Enterprise Solution Review Board, ensuring that proposed ADMS solutions align with Enterprise Architecture Strategies and speaking to the collaborative design of solutions and key architectural decisions.
• Work with various technology organizations to produce and plan Enterprise/Solution Architecture Strategies & Guidelines for cloud and on-premises applications, microservices, SOA, DevOps, containerization platforms, cloud security, and infrastructure automation.
• Create and validate cloud-based elements of ADMS designs, participate in vendor and product selection processes, and provide recommendations for product roadmaps, consolidation, prioritization, and implementation timing.
• Integrate with technology capability project teams to produce architecture artifacts, assist with high-level and low-level designs, ensure compliance with architecture guidelines, industry best practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in IT Security discussions (especially Cloud Security) regarding the changing threat landscape, evaluate risk, and provide recommended changes to defense postures for ADMS infrastructure.

Required Experience/Skills

• Minimum 10+ years' experience in IT Application Development with proven track record delivering enterprise-scale applications.
• Minimum 7 years of experience architecting applications and solutions across multiple technology platforms and domains.
• Minimum 3 years of experience as a Lead Architect in complex projects, demonstrating ability to drive architectural decisions in large-scale implementations.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing IT Architectural teams, including mentoring architects and leading technical strategy.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience architecting ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management System) solutions – candidates without ADMS experience will not be considered.
• Advanced understanding of application development, source code management (Git, Azure DevOps), and DevOps practices (CI/CD, automation).
• Expertise in cloud architecture including serverless computing models, microservices, Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), containerization platforms (OpenShift, AWS, Azure, IBM Cloud).
• Strong knowledge of cloud components: VPC, subnets, transit gateways, firewalls, relational/non-relational/object storage, IAM, identity federation, security policy enforcement.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure automation tools (CloudFormation, Terraform, Ansible) and cloud-based solution estimation.
• Great communication and interpersonal skills with ability to influence stakeholders at all levels, from technical teams to executive leadership.
• Strong working knowledge of IT risks, cybersecurity, and computer operating software in critical infrastructure environments.
• Excellent documentation, presentation, and mentoring skills with proven ability to create architectural artifacts and communicate complex technical concepts.
• Ability to work on-site in Downtown Dallas minimum 3 days per week (subject to change based on program needs).
• Must be available for in-person interviews – remote interviews will not be conducted for this position.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in the electrical utility industry – understanding of distribution operations, outage management, and grid modernization initiatives.
• Experience in Distribution Management Systems (DMS) and Outage Management Systems (OMS) beyond ADMS.
• Enterprise Architecture certifications (TOGAF, Zachman, or equivalent).
• Cloud certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect, or equivalent).
• Experience with industry-specific standards and protocols (IEC 61968, IEC 61970, CIM, MultiSpeak).
• Knowledge of SCADA systems integration with ADMS platforms.
• Experience leading Architecture Review Boards or similar governance forums.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field required. Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Business Administration (MBA with technical focus) strongly preferred.

Pay & Benefits Summary

• Hourly Rate: $100-110/hr (based on experience and qualifications)
• Contract Duration: 6-month Statement of Work (SOW)
• Work Arrangement: Hybrid - Minimum 3 days per week on-site in Downtown Dallas (subject to change)
• Opportunity to lead architectural strategy for a transformational ADMS implementation program
• Collaborate with executive leadership and influence enterprise architecture direction
• Work on cutting-edge smart grid and digital transformation initiatives
• Make a meaningful impact on critical infrastructure operations
• Gain deep experience in ADMS architecture and large-scale program leadership

Apply Now!

Ready to provide architectural leadership for a transformational ADMS program? Submit your application today and join a team driving innovation in distribution management and smart grid technology. This is your opportunity to leverage your ADMS architecture expertise to shape the future of grid operations!

ADMS | Program Architect | Advanced Distribution Management System | Enterprise Architecture | Cloud Architecture | Microservices | DevOps | Smart Grid | Distribution Management | Solution Architecture | Downtown Dallas