IT Architect Jobs in California
IT Architect jobs in California are among the most active in the country, concentrated in enterprise technology, cloud infrastructure, financial services, and healthcare IT, with openings at every level from associate through principal and distinguished architect. The heaviest hiring is in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego, where employers like Salesforce, Kaiser Permanente, and Northrop Grumman maintain large and ongoing architecture teams. Cloud-native design, cybersecurity architecture, and enterprise integration are the specialties California employers consistently prioritize. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 52+ IT Architect jobs
Work Schedule
Standard (Mon-Fri)
Environmental Conditions
Office
Job Description
As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you'll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world's toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer.
DESCRIPTION:
Join our collaborative team at Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Sr Staff IT Architect, specializing in HR AI solutions. You'll help drive innovation in HR technology solutions that evolve the HR services experience for our users. In this role, you'll focus on the design and architecture of our enterprise HR AI chatbot ('HiRo') and implement AI-driven HR service delivery capabilities.
How you will make an impact:
- Design and implement enterprise-wide solutions, with a focus on HR AI.
- Leverage ServiceNow (including NowAssist) capabilities as well as other AI tools and capabilities (ChatGPTe, Flowise, etc.)
- Lead the design of AI-driven HR chatbot and AI agent use cases
- Collaborate with HR stakeholders to translate requirements into robust architectural designs
- Perform technical analysis and present architecture decisions/recommendations to key stakeholders
- Define integration patterns across systems, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and protocols
- Monitor and improve AI performance and adoption in HR service delivery
- Contribute to AI strategy and governance within the HR technology ecosystem
What you will do:
Architecture
- Design AI solutions using ServiceNow and other AI platforms (ChatGPTe, Flowise, etc.)
- Work directly with HR stakeholders to refine use cases, translating ambiguous needs into clear, scalable designs
- Define how the HR chatbot and AI agents behave—how they answer questions, trigger transactions, and interact with systems like Workday and ChatGPTe
- Design how LLMs connect to APIs, workflows, and data sources—ensuring solutions are practical, secure, and maintainable
- Attend requirements gathering sessions with business stakeholders
- Design complex chatbot flows and agentic AI use cases
- Define integrations and architecture for HR AI solutions (APIs, MCP)
AI Strategy and Guidance
- Make product or technology recommendations for AI solutions, evaluating and selecting appropriate tools and platforms to meet business needs
- Analyze and model technical solutioning options, considering scale, security, UX, business value and cost implications
- Provide technical assessments, highlighting capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders
- Research industry best practices for AI technologies in HR service delivery
- Work with platform vendor to provide usage feedback and request product changes.
- Knowledge share and collaborate with other technical teams to implement architectural standards across the organization
REQUIREMENTS
- Advanced Degree plus 6 years of experience, or Bachelor's Degree plus 8 years of experience in enterprise architecture with progressive technical leadership responsibilities
- Preferred Fields of Study: Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology or related field
- Experience with OpenAI products is highly advantageous (e.g., AgentKit, Agent Builder, OpenAI API, ChatKit, MCP Servers)
AI Architecture & Development:
- Experience designing LLM-based solutions in enterprise environments
- Experience with building AI agents and multi-agent orchestration (MCP experience is a plus)
- Strong skills in prompt engineering, system instruction design, and orchestration
- Familiarity with multiple AI development platforms
- Knowledge of RAG including chunking, embeddings, reranking, and retrieval strategies
- Understanding of hallucination mitigation, grounding, citations, and knowledge freshness
- Ability to evaluate AI outputs and define performance metrics
- Knowledge of AI governance, risk, and data privacy
ServiceNow AI & Platform Requirements:
- Experience with building ServiceNow Virtual Agent topics with Now Assist
- Familiarity with AI Agent Studio and AI-powered ServiceNow capabilities
- Experience integrating ServiceNow with external AI platforms (OpenAI, AWS, etc.)
- Strong understanding of Flow Designer, IntegrationHub, Scripted REST APIs, and outbound integrations
- Experience designing HRSD solutions (Case Management, Knowledge, Employee Center) is a plus
Additional Skills:
- Deep expertise in cloud architecture, cybersecurity, data/analytics, automation, and network infrastructure
- Proven experience designing and implementing large-scale enterprise solutions
- Strong knowledge of modern architectural patterns, frameworks and best practices
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and associated services
- Expertise in infrastructure as code, automation, and DevOps practices
- Strong understanding of security principles and compliance requirements
- Strong stakeholder management and executive communication abilities
- Demonstrated ability to guide and influence through collaboration
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with attention to detail
- Experience with Agile methodologies and project delivery frameworks
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range estimated for this position based in Pennsylvania is $130,000.00–$185,000.00. This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:
- A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs
- Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement
- At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy
- Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan
- Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount
For more information on our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/total-rewards
Work Schedule
Standard (Mon-Fri)
Environmental Conditions
Office
Job Description
As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you'll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world's toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer.
DESCRIPTION:
Join our collaborative team at Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Sr Staff IT Architect, specializing in HR AI solutions. You'll help drive innovation in HR technology solutions that evolve the HR services experience for our users. In this role, you'll focus on the design and architecture of our enterprise HR AI chatbot ('HiRo') and implement AI-driven HR service delivery capabilities.
How you will make an impact:
- Design and implement enterprise-wide solutions, with a focus on HR AI.
- Leverage ServiceNow (including NowAssist) capabilities as well as other AI tools and capabilities (ChatGPTe, Flowise, etc.)
- Lead the design of AI-driven HR chatbot and AI agent use cases
- Collaborate with HR stakeholders to translate requirements into robust architectural designs
- Perform technical analysis and present architecture decisions/recommendations to key stakeholders
- Define integration patterns across systems, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and protocols
- Monitor and improve AI performance and adoption in HR service delivery
- Contribute to AI strategy and governance within the HR technology ecosystem
What you will do:
Architecture
- Design AI solutions using ServiceNow and other AI platforms (ChatGPTe, Flowise, etc.)
- Work directly with HR stakeholders to refine use cases, translating ambiguous needs into clear, scalable designs
- Define how the HR chatbot and AI agents behave—how they answer questions, trigger transactions, and interact with systems like Workday and ChatGPTe
- Design how LLMs connect to APIs, workflows, and data sources—ensuring solutions are practical, secure, and maintainable
- Attend requirements gathering sessions with business stakeholders
- Design complex chatbot flows and agentic AI use cases
- Define integrations and architecture for HR AI solutions (APIs, MCP)
AI Strategy and Guidance
- Make product or technology recommendations for AI solutions, evaluating and selecting appropriate tools and platforms to meet business needs
- Analyze and model technical solutioning options, considering scale, security, UX, business value and cost implications
- Provide technical assessments, highlighting capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders
- Research industry best practices for AI technologies in HR service delivery
- Work with platform vendor to provide usage feedback and request product changes.
- Knowledge share and collaborate with other technical teams to implement architectural standards across the organization
REQUIREMENTS
- Advanced Degree plus 6 years of experience, or Bachelor's Degree plus 8 years of experience in enterprise architecture with progressive technical leadership responsibilities
- Preferred Fields of Study: Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology or related field
- Experience with OpenAI products is highly advantageous (e.g., AgentKit, Agent Builder, OpenAI API, ChatKit, MCP Servers)
AI Architecture & Development:
- Experience designing LLM-based solutions in enterprise environments
- Experience with building AI agents and multi-agent orchestration (MCP experience is a plus)
- Strong skills in prompt engineering, system instruction design, and orchestration
- Familiarity with multiple AI development platforms
- Knowledge of RAG including chunking, embeddings, reranking, and retrieval strategies
- Understanding of hallucination mitigation, grounding, citations, and knowledge freshness
- Ability to evaluate AI outputs and define performance metrics
- Knowledge of AI governance, risk, and data privacy
ServiceNow AI & Platform Requirements:
- Experience with building ServiceNow Virtual Agent topics with Now Assist
- Familiarity with AI Agent Studio and AI-powered ServiceNow capabilities
- Experience integrating ServiceNow with external AI platforms (OpenAI, AWS, etc.)
- Strong understanding of Flow Designer, IntegrationHub, Scripted REST APIs, and outbound integrations
- Experience designing HRSD solutions (Case Management, Knowledge, Employee Center) is a plus
Additional Skills:
- Deep expertise in cloud architecture, cybersecurity, data/analytics, automation, and network infrastructure
- Proven experience designing and implementing large-scale enterprise solutions
- Strong knowledge of modern architectural patterns, frameworks and best practices
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and associated services
- Expertise in infrastructure as code, automation, and DevOps practices
- Strong understanding of security principles and compliance requirements
- Strong stakeholder management and executive communication abilities
- Demonstrated ability to guide and influence through collaboration
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with attention to detail
- Experience with Agile methodologies and project delivery frameworks
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range estimated for this position based in Pennsylvania is $130,000.00–$185,000.00. This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:
- A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs
- Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement
- At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy
- Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan
- Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount
For more information on our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/total-rewards
See All 52 IT Architect Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find IT Architect JobsIT Architect Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
IT Architect Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- NVIDIA4
- Apple3
- Smart IT Frame3
- CRUSOE2
- Illumina2
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software19
- Electronics & Hardware7
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals5
- Science & Research5
- Artificial Intelligence3
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in IT architect jobs across California.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related engineering field
- Eight or more years of enterprise IT experience with at least three in an architecture-focused role
- Demonstrated expertise in cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
- Experience designing solutions that meet California Consumer Privacy Act compliance requirements
- Relevant certifications such as TOGAF, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, or CISSP
- Strong communication skills for engaging executive stakeholders and cross-functional California-based teams
IT Architect Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a it architect in California?
Most California employers expect a bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or electrical engineering as the baseline, with a master's preferred at senior levels. IT architecture carries no state-issued license in California, so the practical path runs through progressive technical roles such as systems engineer or solutions engineer, followed by an enterprise or solutions architect title. Earning a vendor-neutral credential like TOGAF or a cloud-specific certification strengthens candidacy considerably in the California market.
How much do IT architects make in California?
IT architects in California earn a median of about $134,440 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $58,340 for the lowest 10% to over $222,690 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire it architects in California?
Employers hiring it architects in California right now include NVIDIA, Apple, and Smart IT Frame, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. California's concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters, defense contractors, and large integrated health systems means demand is spread across industries rather than limited to pure-play tech companies.
Which California cities have the most it architect jobs?
San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Diego account for the largest share of it architect openings in California. The Bay Area drives volume through its density of enterprise software companies and cloud providers, Los Angeles adds demand from entertainment technology, aerospace, and financial services firms, and San Diego's biotech sector and naval defense contractors keep a steady stream of architecture roles active in the region.
Are there remote it architect jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most technical fields, because IT architecture work centers on documentation, design reviews, and stakeholder engagement that translates well to distributed teams. About 19% of it architect openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, reflecting the broader flexibility employers built into enterprise tech roles. The phases most commonly offered remotely are solution design and governance reviews, while on-site presence is more often expected during major implementation milestones.
How can I get hired as a it architect in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is moving into architecture from a systems administrator, network engineer, or cloud engineer role, which gives you the infrastructure fluency California employers expect at the junior architect level. Large California-based employers like Kaiser Permanente and Salesforce run associate technical programs that hire candidates from these adjacent backgrounds. Building a portfolio of cloud architecture diagrams, completing a TOGAF foundation course, and targeting titles like junior solutions architect or IT associate architect at mid-size California firms will open the door faster than applying directly to senior roles.
Where can I find and apply to it architect jobs in California?
You can find and apply to it architect jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings tied to the state. Search the listings, find roles that match your background and target location, and apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 52 IT Architect Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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