Architecture Lead

Reports to:Product Engineering Director
Employment Type:Full-Time
About the RoleWe are seeking an exceptional Architecture Lead to provide architectural authority and direction across Morae's AI-native product portfolio.
This is a senior architecture leadership role accountable for system-level architectural decision-making, defining architectural standards, and guiding how Morae's products and shared capabilities evolve over time.
The role exists to ensure architectural coherence, scalability, security, and enterprise readiness as the platform and product set grow.
As Architecture Lead, you will be responsible for defining and maintaining architectural direction for MorAI, including the decisions, principles, and integration standards that govern how AI capabilities are designed, evolved, and used across Morae's products.
You will work closely with product leadership, engineering leads, DevEx, and DevSecOps to translate business strategy and product goals into clear architectural intent, constraints, and guidance.
Key ResponsibilitiesArchitectural Authority & Direction (MorAI)Be accountable for architectural decision-making related to MorAI and AI-driven capabilities across the product portfolio
Define, maintain, and evolve architectural principles and standards governing agent-based systems and AI capability integration
Own architectural decision records (ADRs) related to AI systems and platform evolution
Act as the final escalation point for architectural decisions within scope
Agentic Systems ArchitectureProvide architectural guidance for the design and evolution of agentic models and agent-based workflows
Define decision frameworks for task decomposition, agent coordination, and state or context management
Guide teams on architectural trade-offs related to autonomy, control, cost, and reliability in agent-based systems
Define architectural standards for microservices and distributed systems across Morae products
Establish guidance on service boundaries, interaction patterns, and dependency management
Provide architectural direction for event-driven workflows, long-running processes, and failure recovery strategies
Ensure architectures support observability, debuggability, and operational stability
Define architectural standards for how products integrate with shared capabilities and services
Govern API-first architectural principles, including interface design, versioning, and lifecycle management
Ensure architectural consistency across products while enabling appropriate team autonomy
Guide architectural decisions related to multi-tenancy, scalability, resilience, and data separation
Define architectural standards governing model access, prompt orchestration, and embeddings or vector stores
Provide guidance on model lifecycle management, rollout, and evolution
Guide architectural decisions related to cost control, latency, reliability, and auditability of AI workloads
Ensure AI-related architectural decisions align with enterprise security and compliance requirements
Architectural Governance & StandardsEstablish and maintain architectural principles, standards, and decision frameworks
Conduct architectural reviews and provide guidance without becoming a delivery bottleneck
Ensure architectural intent is consistently applied across teams
Partner with DevEx and DevSecOps to ensure architecture is realised through appropriate tooling and practices
Maintain architectural artefacts communicating current state, target direction, and evolution paths
Technology Assessment & Architectural EvolutionLead architectural evaluation of emerging AI, agentic, and platform technologies
Maintain an architecture and technology radar
Guide experimentation and proof-of-concepts from an architectural perspective
Incorporate learnings into architectural standards and long-term direction
Cross-Functional Architectural LeadershipWork closely with product and engineering leadership to ensure architecture supports product strategy
Translate business, regulatory, and product requirements into architectural guidance
Act as a trusted architectural advisor to senior leadership and stakeholders
Influence teams through principles, rationale, and architectural authority
Required Skills & ExperienceProven experience owning architecture for AI-native, multi-product SaaS systems
Demonstrated experience making architectural decisions involving agent-based or AI-driven systems
Strong background in microservices and distributed systems architecture
Experience defining and governing architecture across multiple teams or products
Deep understanding of cloud-native architectural patterns (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Strong understanding of enterprise security, compliance, and data protection considerations
Experience with multi-tenant system architecture
Leadership & Soft SkillsStrong architectural judgment and decision-making capability
Ability to balance long-term architectural direction with delivery realities
Excellent communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
Proven ability to influence without direct line management
Comfortable operating at strategic and detailed design levels
Qualifications10+ years of experience in software architecture and system design
3+ years in a senior architecture, principal engineer, or equivalent role with architectural ownership
Demonstrated ownership of product or platform architecture
Strong collaboration and influencing skills across senior stakeholders
Excellent written, visual, and verbal communication skills
Bonus QualificationsExperience in legal tech or other regulated industries
Experience operating AI-driven systems in audit-heavy environments
Experience working in global, multi-tenant SaaS organisations
Why Join Morae?
This role offers the opportunity to own architectural direction for a shared AI platform that underpins Morae's products.
You will shape how AI capabilities are architected, governed, and evolved across the organisation, providing clarity and coherence as the platform and product set scale.
Employment EquityMorae is committed to Employment Equity and transformation.
Candidates from designated groups are encouraged to apply in line with our EE objectives.
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