H-1B Visa Chief Architect Jobs
Chief Architect roles qualify as H-1B visa specialty occupations under USCIS guidelines, requiring at least a bachelor's degree in architecture, computer science, or a related field. Large technology firms, enterprise software companies, and architecture practices regularly sponsor H-1B visa petitions for this title, making it one of the more consistently sponsored senior technical roles.
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Get Access To All JobsReady to join a team that’s all in? At Imprivata, we deliver unified access and security management programs that eliminate friction, empowering healthcare and mission-critical organizations to work smarter, faster, and more securely.
We believe work can be more than a job or task—it’s a collective spirit; the type that emboldens creativity, embraces challenge, and fosters excitement. We are constantly raising the bar on what’s possible, owning the outcome of our triumphs and trials, staying nimble amidst change, and cultivating an environment where we win together. Here, your ideas matter, your differences are celebrated, and your work drives real results—for your career, your teammates, and our customers.
When you join Imprivata, you embark on a shared journey of ambition and growth. We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. If you’re looking for a place to match your passion with purpose—and where every day you can make an impact—you’ll find it here.
We are seeking a Chief Architect to join our team. This is a hybrid opportunity based out of our Waltham, MA or Austin, TX office.
Job Summary
The Chief Architect is responsible for maintaining the technical coherence of Imprivata’s products and platforms. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role chairs the Architecture Review Board, drives the company-wide technology roadmap, and serves as the architectural authority across Product Platform, Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Security. The Chief Architect translates business and product strategy into architectural standards, patterns, and decisions that support both near-term execution and long-term scalability. This role coordinates architecture across teams and product lines, leads technical change across organizational boundaries, and guides complex trade-offs to ensure alignment, security, and sustainable product development.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Chair the Architecture Review Board. Collaborate with the company’s product and technical leadership to make binding architecture decisions across Enterprise, Platform, Data, AI, and Security domains, and keep those decisions coherent across products.
- Develop the Imprivata-wide Technology Roadmap. Pair it with the product roadmap, engage with stakeholders to inform and set the two-to-five-year technical direction, and own the sequence for getting there.
- Set and steward the standards corpus. Approved patterns, the technology radar (adopt / trial / assess / hold), reference implementations, and the Architecture Decision Record (ADR) log that captures each decision with its context, rationale, trade-offs, and consequences.
- Continually analyze the architecture for fitness. Collect input from across the organization and recommend revisions as the business, products, and technology change. Optimize for the rate at which systems can safely change with confidence.
- Translate strategy into technical direction bidirectionally. Lead the team to turn business and product strategy into architecture and carry technical realities back to executive leadership.
- Lead the architecture function. Set direction for a team of architect leads (Platform, Data, AI, Security); mentor architects and senior engineers across the company.
- Govern decisions under uncertainty. Minimize irreversible decisions and defer reversible ones; make consequential trade-offs explicit; preserve optionality where the cost of being wrong is high.
- Run the exception process. Time-bound, publicly tracked deviations from standard; revise the pattern when the same exception recurs; ensure the exception register never becomes the de facto architecture.
- Stay accountable to delivery. Embed with delivery teams and remain accountable for outcomes, ensure architecture decisions get real feedback on their effectiveness and their cost.
- Partner across the executive team. Work with the product and the engineering organization; represent architecture in operating reviews; provide architecture input to M&A technical due diligence.
- Make security and privacy the default. Partner with the CISO so the secure path is the fast path, and so architectural decisions adhere to regulatory needs like HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001/27701/42001, PCI DSS, and emerging AI regulation.
- Report architecture posture to leadership and the Audit Committee. Adoption of approved patterns, exception aging and velocity, pattern-revision rate, and metrics.
- Keep current. Maintain the technical breadth and depth to decide well across many domains and emerging technology and approaches.
- Other duties as assigned and required.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; advanced or research degree a plus.
- 12+ years in software engineering, including several years in a senior architecture or technical-leadership role spanning multiple systems or product lines.
- Demonstrated cross-domain technical breadth across several of: distributed systems and cloud/platform infrastructure, data architecture, AI/ML systems, and application security. Depth in at least one; literacy across the rest.
- Track record of leading technical change across organizational boundaries.
- Hands-on engineering credibility: able to read and reason about production code.
- Experience setting and enforcing architecture governance — review boards, decision records, technology radars, or equivalent mechanisms that make standards binding.
- Experience in regulated or security-sensitive environments (healthcare, financial services, or similar), and fluency with the architectural evidence that auditors and regulators expect.
- Ability to communicate complex technical trade-offs to executives, the Board, and customers.
- Sound judgment under ambiguity: decisions grounded in empirical evidence, with options and trade-offs explicitly surfaced.
- Cloud-native and Kubernetes depth; platform and security certifications (e.g., CKA, CKS) a plus.
- Experience standing up a new technical function or capability, and with M&A technical due diligence, a plus.
This position offers a total compensation range of $350,350.00 to $380,000.00 (inclusive of base salary and variable compensation, such as bonuses and incentives). In addition, more information about Imprivata’s benefit offerings can be found here. This range represents the high and low end of Imprivata’s compensation range for this position. Actual compensation will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, such as a candidate’s location, skills, experience, and qualifications.
At Imprivata, we have a top-notch work environment, developmental opportunities, a competitive total rewards package, and the desire to have fun. If you have the skills and qualifications as we have described above, we want to hear from you!
Imprivata provides equal employment opportunities, regardless of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
LI-Hybrid #LI-ML1
Ready to join a team that’s all in? At Imprivata, we deliver unified access and security management programs that eliminate friction, empowering healthcare and mission-critical organizations to work smarter, faster, and more securely.
We believe work can be more than a job or task—it’s a collective spirit; the type that emboldens creativity, embraces challenge, and fosters excitement. We are constantly raising the bar on what’s possible, owning the outcome of our triumphs and trials, staying nimble amidst change, and cultivating an environment where we win together. Here, your ideas matter, your differences are celebrated, and your work drives real results—for your career, your teammates, and our customers.
When you join Imprivata, you embark on a shared journey of ambition and growth. We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. If you’re looking for a place to match your passion with purpose—and where every day you can make an impact—you’ll find it here.
We are seeking a Chief Architect to join our team. This is a hybrid opportunity based out of our Waltham, MA or Austin, TX office.
Job Summary
The Chief Architect is responsible for maintaining the technical coherence of Imprivata’s products and platforms. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role chairs the Architecture Review Board, drives the company-wide technology roadmap, and serves as the architectural authority across Product Platform, Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Security. The Chief Architect translates business and product strategy into architectural standards, patterns, and decisions that support both near-term execution and long-term scalability. This role coordinates architecture across teams and product lines, leads technical change across organizational boundaries, and guides complex trade-offs to ensure alignment, security, and sustainable product development.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Chair the Architecture Review Board. Collaborate with the company’s product and technical leadership to make binding architecture decisions across Enterprise, Platform, Data, AI, and Security domains, and keep those decisions coherent across products.
- Develop the Imprivata-wide Technology Roadmap. Pair it with the product roadmap, engage with stakeholders to inform and set the two-to-five-year technical direction, and own the sequence for getting there.
- Set and steward the standards corpus. Approved patterns, the technology radar (adopt / trial / assess / hold), reference implementations, and the Architecture Decision Record (ADR) log that captures each decision with its context, rationale, trade-offs, and consequences.
- Continually analyze the architecture for fitness. Collect input from across the organization and recommend revisions as the business, products, and technology change. Optimize for the rate at which systems can safely change with confidence.
- Translate strategy into technical direction bidirectionally. Lead the team to turn business and product strategy into architecture and carry technical realities back to executive leadership.
- Lead the architecture function. Set direction for a team of architect leads (Platform, Data, AI, Security); mentor architects and senior engineers across the company.
- Govern decisions under uncertainty. Minimize irreversible decisions and defer reversible ones; make consequential trade-offs explicit; preserve optionality where the cost of being wrong is high.
- Run the exception process. Time-bound, publicly tracked deviations from standard; revise the pattern when the same exception recurs; ensure the exception register never becomes the de facto architecture.
- Stay accountable to delivery. Embed with delivery teams and remain accountable for outcomes, ensure architecture decisions get real feedback on their effectiveness and their cost.
- Partner across the executive team. Work with the product and the engineering organization; represent architecture in operating reviews; provide architecture input to M&A technical due diligence.
- Make security and privacy the default. Partner with the CISO so the secure path is the fast path, and so architectural decisions adhere to regulatory needs like HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001/27701/42001, PCI DSS, and emerging AI regulation.
- Report architecture posture to leadership and the Audit Committee. Adoption of approved patterns, exception aging and velocity, pattern-revision rate, and metrics.
- Keep current. Maintain the technical breadth and depth to decide well across many domains and emerging technology and approaches.
- Other duties as assigned and required.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; advanced or research degree a plus.
- 12+ years in software engineering, including several years in a senior architecture or technical-leadership role spanning multiple systems or product lines.
- Demonstrated cross-domain technical breadth across several of: distributed systems and cloud/platform infrastructure, data architecture, AI/ML systems, and application security. Depth in at least one; literacy across the rest.
- Track record of leading technical change across organizational boundaries.
- Hands-on engineering credibility: able to read and reason about production code.
- Experience setting and enforcing architecture governance — review boards, decision records, technology radars, or equivalent mechanisms that make standards binding.
- Experience in regulated or security-sensitive environments (healthcare, financial services, or similar), and fluency with the architectural evidence that auditors and regulators expect.
- Ability to communicate complex technical trade-offs to executives, the Board, and customers.
- Sound judgment under ambiguity: decisions grounded in empirical evidence, with options and trade-offs explicitly surfaced.
- Cloud-native and Kubernetes depth; platform and security certifications (e.g., CKA, CKS) a plus.
- Experience standing up a new technical function or capability, and with M&A technical due diligence, a plus.
This position offers a total compensation range of $350,350.00 to $380,000.00 (inclusive of base salary and variable compensation, such as bonuses and incentives). In addition, more information about Imprivata’s benefit offerings can be found here. This range represents the high and low end of Imprivata’s compensation range for this position. Actual compensation will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, such as a candidate’s location, skills, experience, and qualifications.
At Imprivata, we have a top-notch work environment, developmental opportunities, a competitive total rewards package, and the desire to have fun. If you have the skills and qualifications as we have described above, we want to hear from you!
Imprivata provides equal employment opportunities, regardless of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
LI-Hybrid #LI-ML1
See all H-1B Visa Chief Architect Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new H-1B Visa Chief Architect Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship in Chief Architect
Verify your degree aligns with the role
USCIS scrutinizes whether your degree field directly relates to the Chief Architect position. A degree in architecture, systems engineering, or computer science strengthens your petition. Unrelated degrees require a detailed specialty occupation argument from your employer.
Target employers with cap-exempt H-1B filing history
Universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government-affiliated entities are cap-exempt and can file H-1B petitions outside the annual lottery window. Chief Architect roles exist at these institutions, particularly for research infrastructure and enterprise systems.
Search H-1B sponsors on Migrate Mate
Use Migrate Mate to filter Chief Architect openings by employers with verified H-1B LCA filing history. This surfaces companies that have already cleared DOL prevailing-wage certification for this title, cutting your research time significantly.
Request the prevailing wage tier before negotiating
Your employer must file an LCA with DOL certifying your salary meets the prevailing wage for Chief Architect in your work location. Pull the OFLC Wage Search for your metro area and wage level before salary discussions so you understand the floor your offer must clear.
Document your portfolio for specialty occupation evidence
USCIS may issue an RFE if the Chief Architect title appears generic. Prepare a portfolio of system designs, technical leadership evidence, and degree transcripts that demonstrate the role requires specialized theoretical and applied knowledge at the bachelor's level or above.
Confirm your employer's H-1B filing timeline before accepting
If you're on OPT or a status with a fixed end date, verify your employer can file before your authorization expires. Cap-subject H-1B petitions have an October 1 start date, so a late-cycle offer may require bridging through cap-gap or an extension.
H-1B Visa Chief Architect: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Chief Architect role qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation?
Yes. Chief Architect consistently qualifies as a specialty occupation because the role requires theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge, typically in architecture, systems engineering, or computer science. USCIS evaluates whether the specific job duties require at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field, so your employer's job description should reflect the technical complexity of the position.
Which industries sponsor H-1B visas most frequently for Chief Architect positions?
Enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, financial technology, and large consulting firms file LCAs for Chief Architect roles with regularity. Architecture and engineering firms also sponsor for traditional building design roles under the same title. You can browse employers with verified H-1B filing history for this title on Migrate Mate, filtered by industry and location.
What happens to my H-1B petition if I switch from a solutions architect to a Chief Architect title at the same employer?
A promotion that materially changes your job duties, salary, or work location requires your employer to file an amended H-1B petition with USCIS before the change takes effect. A title change alone with identical duties may not trigger an amendment, but most employers file one as a precaution to avoid status complications during future extensions or green card applications.
Can a Chief Architect role support a concurrent H-1B with a second employer?
Yes. H-1B allows concurrent employment, meaning a second employer can file a separate H-1B petition for a part-time or consulting Chief Architect engagement while your primary petition remains active. Each employer files independently with USCIS, and each must meet prevailing wage requirements under a separate LCA for the specific work location.
How does O*NET classify Chief Architect for H-1B purposes?
O*NET classifies Chief Architect work under multiple SOC codes depending on the domain, including Computer and Information Systems Managers and Architecture and Engineering Occupations. Your employer's LCA must reference the correct SOC code for your actual duties, since the prevailing wage and specialty occupation argument are both tied to that classification. Mismatched SOC codes are a common source of RFEs for senior technical titles.