Sr Manager, IT Architecture & Engineering - PetSmart

It’s an exciting time in technology, and that buzz is felt throughout PetSmart! We are continuing to grow at a faster pace and we want to continue to provide best-in-class experiences for pets and pet parents.

Our Technology team has 6 different departments: Information Security, Service Delivery, Business Enabling Systems, eCommerce & Marketing Technology, Data and Stores, Services & Supply Chain.

Whether it’s online or in our stores, the work that the IT team does is instrumental in PetSmart’s success. We have a strategic and actionable plan underway and are looking for associates who are just as excited about it as we are.

Hybrid Position:

This position may be considered Hybrid based on PetSmart’s FlexSmart policy and business needs. A Hybrid work arrangement is considered to be a blend of onsite and remote work activity. Associates with a Hybrid work arrangement have a work space at Phoenix Home Office and can be required to come onsite between 1-5 days a week as determined by leadership and based on business needs.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Manager of Architecture to join our dynamic architecture & engineering team. The Senior Manager of Architecture will play a critical role in shaping the technical direction and architectural design of our products and solutions. This individual will lead a team of talented architects, driving strategy, innovation, promoting best practices, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality, scalable, and reliable solutions.

This role is a leadership role in the Engineering team supporting the Stores/Services/Supply Chain organization and reporting into the Director of Architecture & Engineering in this space.

The role is a hybrid role with a minimum of 3 days in the Phoenix Home Office location per week.

Your goals and responsibilities will include:

• As a leader of this team, you will be responsible to collaborate with the various PetSmart business areas to help translate business requirements into technical solutions while driving robust and sustainable architecture for software applications, integration, and infrastructure solutions to meet business needs and add significant business value.
• Solutions provided should be in alignment with enterprise architecture direction and standards.
• Drive architectural design and development of technical specifications for high-level and low-level application and data integration solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, enterprise & data architecture, operations, and information security to ensure support, adherence to standards and consistency in solution designs.
• Act as a liaison between the architecture team and senior management, providing updates on team performance, capacity allocations, progress against goals, and resource requirements.
• Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in architecture and engineering management, and leverage this knowledge to drive continuous improvement and innovation within the team.
• Define and maintain architectural standards, principles, and guidelines to ensure consistency and quality across projects inclusive of meeting overall non-functional requirements (supportability, performance, security, availability, scalability, and such)
• Champion the evaluation and adoption of new technologies, tools, and frameworks to enhance our capabilities and maintain our competitive edge.
• Oversee the architecture review process, ensuring that proposed designs meet scalability, performance, security, and maintainability requirements.
• Participate in strategic planning and roadmap discussions, contributing valuable insights and recommendations to support business objectives.
• Develop strategic direction for holistic architecture to ensure an evolution to constantly improve on our current and plan for future implementations.

People Management goals and responsibilities:

• Strong and experienced people management skills to help lead an experienced architecture team around design efforts for our products and solutions, ensuring alignment with business goals, technical requirements, and industry best practices.
• Ensure that the architects in your team develop a deep understanding of development patterns, styles, and integration strategies that enable solving business problems.
• Set clear goals, objectives, and performance expectations for team members, and provide regular feedback and coaching to support their professional growth and development.
• Manage resource allocation, workload distribution, and project assignments to ensure optimal utilization of team members' skills and expertise.
• Conduct regular team meetings, workshops, and training sessions to facilitate knowledge transfer, share best practices, and promote continuous learning.
• Develop and implement strategies to attract, retain, and motivate top talent, and build a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the company's values and priorities.
• Resolve conflicts, address performance issues, and provide support and guidance to team members to ensure a positive and productive work environment.
• Foster team’s approach for collaborative, creative, strategic and optimistic approach to find solutions and alternatives to help drive business ROI while providing pros and cons of options.
• Collaborate with HR and other stakeholders to develop and implement policies, processes, and programs that support the professional development, well-being, and success of the architecture team.

Qualifications: 

• BS Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, MIS or other technical discipline
• Proven experience leading architecture initiatives for complex, large-scale systems.
• Strong understanding of software design principles, patterns, non-functional requirements, and best practices.
• Minimum 8 years hands on Application and Data Integration solution architectures, integration patterns (ETL/ELT/API/Pub-Sub) and best practices

• Experience using tools in the PetSmart Platform: .NET Core / Azure Cloud Services / Tibco BW / Mulesoft / Informatica
• Experience on designing/building rest APIs with JSON and XML
• API management configuration and best practices
• Experience on designing/building infrastructure solutions (hardware and cloud)
• Experience in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) / Waterfall and Agile development.

• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated problem solving, multi-tasking, troubleshooting skills with a high degree of flexibility.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to understand key business processes and related issues.
• Strong self-leadership and ability to work independently and manage conflict.

About the Culture

Our home office offers outstanding amenities in a fun and rewarding workplace including:

• Pet friendly environment, bring your pets to work!
• A work-life balance and family events such as movie nights, art events and holiday festivals
• “Top Dog” gym with equipment, fitness classes, massage therapists and personal trainers
• “Sit & Stay” Café serving fresh breakfast and lunch options.
• Starbucks cart—productivity at its finest!
• “Lil’ Paws” learning center and onsite daycare facility
• Volunteer events with PetSmart Charities

At PetSmart, we work hard to create a culture where every associate feels like they truly belong and we celebrate the unique stories, backgrounds, and experiences our associates share.  These experiences not only bring new perspectives in shaping our Belonging culture but they’re core to PetSmart’s success.

Not sure if you meet 100% of the position requirements and whether you should apply? We’d still like to hear from you and encourage you to apply with us! You just may be the ideal candidate for this role, and if not this one, perhaps another position.

Our home office offers outstanding amenities in a fun and rewarding workplace including:

• Pet friendly environment, bring your pets to work!
• On-site Dog Park
• “Top Dog” gym with equipment, fitness classes, massage therapists and personal trainers
• “Sit & Stay” Café serving fresh breakfast and lunch options
• On-site coffee bar
• “Lil’ Paws” learning center and onsite daycare facility (associate paid)
• Volunteer events with PetSmart Charities
• Learn more about #LifeAtPetSmart here: https://www.lifeatpetsmart.com/life-at-petsmart/
• Check out Associate stories and share in some celebrations at PetSmart: https://www.blog.lifeatpetsmart.com/
• Explore PetSmart Benefits here: https://benefits.petsmart.com/
• If you don't already live in the Phoenix area here's a guide to the area:  Welcome to Phoenix Guide

PetSmart provides an equal opportunity for all associates and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics.