OPT Platform Architect Jobs
Platform Architect roles sit at the intersection of infrastructure, cloud engineering, and systems design, making them a strong fit for F-1 OPT students with computer science, software engineering, or information systems degrees. Most employers filing LCAs for this role classify it as a specialty occupation, which supports both OPT and H-1B visa sponsorship.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
CLA is a top 10 national professional services firm whose purpose is to create opportunities every day, for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. Even with more than 8,500 people, 130 U.S. locations, and a global reach, we promise to know you and help you.
CLA is dedicated to building a culture that invites different beliefs and perspectives to the table, so we can truly know and help our clients, communities, and each other.
CLA is growing and seeking to hire an experienced Senior Data Platform Architect to join our talented Information Technology team. The position offers growth, flexibility, and a collaborative work environment.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This role is responsible for guiding platform architecture and engineering practices across one or more platform domains (e.g., cloud foundation, container platforms, integration, data platforms, developer experience). This role leads a small team of platform architects, sets technical direction, establishes enterprise platform standards, and partners with Cloud Architecture, DevOps, and engineering leaders to define platform strategies, automation frameworks, and CI/CD deployment patterns that enable secure, scalable, and reliable software delivery across the organization.
How you’ll create opportunities in this Senior Data Platform Architect role:
Platform Architecture & Strategy:
- Define and evolve platform reference architectures, standards, guardrails, and deployment patterns that enable engineering teams to deliver software safely, consistently, and efficiently.
- Establish target-state platform roadmaps aligned to business strategy, cloud strategy, security requirements, and technical debt reduction.
- Partner with Cloud Architecture leaders to align platform capabilities, cloud services, and infrastructure standards with enterprise architecture objectives.
- Evaluate technology options and make architecture recommendations balancing cost, risk, scalability, maintainability, and operational effectiveness.
Engineering Leadership & Delivery:
- Lead architecture and design reviews for complex platform initiatives and provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams.
- Define enterprise CI/CD architecture standards, deployment patterns, automation frameworks, and software delivery guardrails.
- Partner with DevOps leaders to establish and continuously improve build, release, deployment, and environment management practices across the technology organization.
- Ensure platform solutions meet non-functional requirements including availability, performance, resilience, security, compliance, and operability.
- Drive adoption of platform capabilities through reference implementations, reusable patterns, technical guidance, and governance.
Leadership:
- Provide day-to-day leadership through coaching, mentoring, development, and performance management.
- Support hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, and technical skill development.
Governance, Risk & Reliability:
- Promote secure-by-design and compliance-by-default architectural patterns.
- Establish governance processes that ensure platform solutions adhere to architectural standards, operational requirements, and risk management practices.
- Own or co-own platform reliability practices, including SLOs, SLIs, incident reviews, root-cause analysis, and continuous reliability improvements.
- Define platform lifecycle management, including versioning, deprecation strategies, change management, and adoption planning.
Stakeholder Partnership & Communication:
- Translate complex technical topics into clear decisions and tradeoffs for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Partner with Cloud Architecture, DevOps, Security, Infrastructure, Network, Data, and Application teams to ensure end-to-end solution integrity and alignment.
- Create and maintain architecture artifacts including reference architectures, diagrams, ADRs, deployment standards, and decision logs.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
6 years relevant experience required.
- Experience in platform engineering, cloud architecture, SRE, or infrastructure engineering preferred.
- Supervisory experience preferred.
Education
- Bachelor's degree is required. Combination of relevant experience, education, and training may be accepted in lieu of degree.
- Degree in Information Management, Computer Science, or a related field preferred.
TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES
- Expert knowledge of enterprise platform architecture, platform engineering principles, and large-scale technology ecosystems.
- Advanced knowledge of cloud architecture and cloud-native technologies across Azure, AWS, and/or Google Cloud Platform environments.
- Expertise establishing platform standards, governance frameworks, reference architectures, and technology roadmaps.
- Experience defining enterprise CI/CD strategies, deployment patterns, release automation frameworks, and DevOps operating models.
- Advanced understanding of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), platform automation, and environment provisioning technologies.
- Deep knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), observability, monitoring, logging, performance engineering, and operational excellence practices.
- Advanced understanding of security architecture, identity and access management, secrets management, vulnerability management, and secure software delivery practices.
- Experience leading architecture reviews and governing technology decisions across multiple products, platforms, or teams.
- Expertise communicating architectural vision and technical strategy to executive, business, and technical stakeholders.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
WELLNESS AT CLA
To support our CLA family members, we focus on their physical, financial, social, and emotional well-being and offer comprehensive benefit options that include health, dental, vision, 401k and much more.
INTRODUCTION
CLA is a top 10 national professional services firm whose purpose is to create opportunities every day, for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. Even with more than 8,500 people, 130 U.S. locations, and a global reach, we promise to know you and help you.
CLA is dedicated to building a culture that invites different beliefs and perspectives to the table, so we can truly know and help our clients, communities, and each other.
CLA is growing and seeking to hire an experienced Senior Data Platform Architect to join our talented Information Technology team. The position offers growth, flexibility, and a collaborative work environment.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This role is responsible for guiding platform architecture and engineering practices across one or more platform domains (e.g., cloud foundation, container platforms, integration, data platforms, developer experience). This role leads a small team of platform architects, sets technical direction, establishes enterprise platform standards, and partners with Cloud Architecture, DevOps, and engineering leaders to define platform strategies, automation frameworks, and CI/CD deployment patterns that enable secure, scalable, and reliable software delivery across the organization.
How you’ll create opportunities in this Senior Data Platform Architect role:
Platform Architecture & Strategy:
- Define and evolve platform reference architectures, standards, guardrails, and deployment patterns that enable engineering teams to deliver software safely, consistently, and efficiently.
- Establish target-state platform roadmaps aligned to business strategy, cloud strategy, security requirements, and technical debt reduction.
- Partner with Cloud Architecture leaders to align platform capabilities, cloud services, and infrastructure standards with enterprise architecture objectives.
- Evaluate technology options and make architecture recommendations balancing cost, risk, scalability, maintainability, and operational effectiveness.
Engineering Leadership & Delivery:
- Lead architecture and design reviews for complex platform initiatives and provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams.
- Define enterprise CI/CD architecture standards, deployment patterns, automation frameworks, and software delivery guardrails.
- Partner with DevOps leaders to establish and continuously improve build, release, deployment, and environment management practices across the technology organization.
- Ensure platform solutions meet non-functional requirements including availability, performance, resilience, security, compliance, and operability.
- Drive adoption of platform capabilities through reference implementations, reusable patterns, technical guidance, and governance.
Leadership:
- Provide day-to-day leadership through coaching, mentoring, development, and performance management.
- Support hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, and technical skill development.
Governance, Risk & Reliability:
- Promote secure-by-design and compliance-by-default architectural patterns.
- Establish governance processes that ensure platform solutions adhere to architectural standards, operational requirements, and risk management practices.
- Own or co-own platform reliability practices, including SLOs, SLIs, incident reviews, root-cause analysis, and continuous reliability improvements.
- Define platform lifecycle management, including versioning, deprecation strategies, change management, and adoption planning.
Stakeholder Partnership & Communication:
- Translate complex technical topics into clear decisions and tradeoffs for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Partner with Cloud Architecture, DevOps, Security, Infrastructure, Network, Data, and Application teams to ensure end-to-end solution integrity and alignment.
- Create and maintain architecture artifacts including reference architectures, diagrams, ADRs, deployment standards, and decision logs.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
6 years relevant experience required.
- Experience in platform engineering, cloud architecture, SRE, or infrastructure engineering preferred.
- Supervisory experience preferred.
Education
- Bachelor's degree is required. Combination of relevant experience, education, and training may be accepted in lieu of degree.
- Degree in Information Management, Computer Science, or a related field preferred.
TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES
- Expert knowledge of enterprise platform architecture, platform engineering principles, and large-scale technology ecosystems.
- Advanced knowledge of cloud architecture and cloud-native technologies across Azure, AWS, and/or Google Cloud Platform environments.
- Expertise establishing platform standards, governance frameworks, reference architectures, and technology roadmaps.
- Experience defining enterprise CI/CD strategies, deployment patterns, release automation frameworks, and DevOps operating models.
- Advanced understanding of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), platform automation, and environment provisioning technologies.
- Deep knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), observability, monitoring, logging, performance engineering, and operational excellence practices.
- Advanced understanding of security architecture, identity and access management, secrets management, vulnerability management, and secure software delivery practices.
- Experience leading architecture reviews and governing technology decisions across multiple products, platforms, or teams.
- Expertise communicating architectural vision and technical strategy to executive, business, and technical stakeholders.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
WELLNESS AT CLA
To support our CLA family members, we focus on their physical, financial, social, and emotional well-being and offer comprehensive benefit options that include health, dental, vision, 401k and much more.
See all 384+ OPT Platform Architect Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Platform Architect
Target employers with existing LCA filings
Companies that have previously filed Labor Condition Applications for Platform Architect or similar titles are already familiar with the sponsorship process. This significantly reduces friction when you raise OPT and future H-1B visa sponsorship during interviews.
Align your degree to the role explicitly
Platform Architect positions require demonstrating that your computer science, software engineering, or systems engineering degree directly supports the specialty occupation standard. Make this connection explicit in your resume summary and cover letter, not just your education section.
Lead with cloud and platform credentials
Certifications in AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure signal technical depth that employers associate with senior platform roles. For OPT students, credentials help bridge any concerns about experience gaps and strengthen your case for H-1B sponsorship down the line.
Know your OPT expiration and plan your timeline
Platform Architect hiring cycles often run eight to twelve weeks. If your OPT expires within six months, lead with that timeline early. STEM OPT extension eligibility gives you up to 36 months total, which comfortably covers most H-1B cap timelines.
Focus on system design interview preparation
Platform Architect interviews heavily emphasize system design problems involving scalability, availability, and distributed systems. Strong performance in these rounds signals seniority, which makes employers more willing to invest in sponsorship and immigration paperwork for your offer.
Raise sponsorship after the technical rounds
Bringing up OPT sponsorship before you have demonstrated technical fit can stall conversations. Wait until after the system design or final rounds, when the employer has already decided you are qualified, then address your authorization timeline and STEM extension eligibility directly.
Platform Architect OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work as Platform Architects in the United States?
Yes. Platform Architect roles fall squarely within specialty occupation definitions, which aligns with the degree requirements that support F-1 OPT work authorization. You need a computer science, software engineering, information systems, or a closely related degree. Your OPT EAD card serves as your work authorization document for the duration of your authorized period.
Does a Platform Architect role qualify for STEM OPT extension?
It does in most cases. Platform Architect positions typically fall under CIP codes related to computer science or information technology, which are STEM-designated fields eligible for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Your employer must also be enrolled in E-Verify. Confirm the specific CIP code on your degree with your DSO before applying for the extension.
How do I find Platform Architect jobs that sponsor OPT and H-1B visas?
Migrate Mate is the recommended platform for F-1 OPT students searching for Platform Architect roles at employers willing to sponsor. Rather than filtering through general job postings, Migrate Mate surfaces roles from companies with sponsorship history, saving you significant time and reducing the risk of pursuing employers unfamiliar with the process.
What happens to my Platform Architect job if my OPT expires before the H-1B is approved?
If your employer files an H-1B cap-subject petition by April 1 and USCIS selects it in the lottery, your OPT is automatically extended under cap-gap rules until October 1. This allows you to continue working without interruption. STEM OPT holders whose status expires during cap-gap are similarly protected, provided the petition was filed before their STEM OPT end date.
Is Platform Architect considered a senior enough role for employers to sponsor visas?
Generally yes. Platform Architect is a senior technical role that requires specialized expertise in cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, and platform engineering. Employers filling this role have already committed significant resources to hiring, which makes them more likely to absorb sponsorship costs. The higher the seniority of the role, the stronger the business case employers can make to USCIS for a specialty occupation determination.