Cloud Solution Architect / Principal Engineer

Job Description: Architect / Principal Engineer (CAKE Platform)

Role: Architect / Principal Engineer

Experience: 8–12+ Years

Location: Herndon, VA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO

Company Description:

Giggso, founded in 2017 in Michigan, specializes in helping enterprises manage digital transformation with a focus on AI and governance. As a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), we provide diverse perspectives for solving intricate challenges and service Fortune 500 clients globally. Our expertise lies in turning AI governance—from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage—by aligning Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) with Engineering. Visit us at www.giggso.com to learn more about our mission and initiatives.

Position Summary

As the Architect / Principal Engineer for the CAKE platform, you will serve as the technical visionary for our core cloud infrastructure. This role is designed for a seasoned expert who has moved beyond senior-level execution into the realm of high-level system design and cross-team technical strategy. You will be responsible for the "blueprints" of our Kubernetes ecosystem, ensuring that our automation engines are not only functional but are industry-leading in terms of scalability, security, and developer experience.

Core Responsibilities:

* Architectural Authority: Define the long-term architectural roadmap for the CAKE platform. Lead high-stakes decisions regarding distributed system design, cloud-native integrations, and platform backplane architecture.

* Kubernetes Engineering: Design and implement custom Kubernetes controllers, operators, and extensions. Optimize the K8s engine for high-performance automation workflows.

* Code Review & Governance: Provide expert-level guidance and rigorous peer reviews for:

* Backend/Systems: Python and Go.

* Frontend/Tooling: TypeScript and JavaScript.

* Technical Mentorship: Act as a "Force Multiplier" by mentoring senior engineers, establishing best practices, and fostering an engineering culture of innovation and reliability.

* Strategic Design: Lead the design of complex microservices architectures, focusing on inter-service communication, authentication/authorization (OIDC/OAuth2), and data consistency.

* Platform Reliability: Oversee the scalability and resilience of the cloud backplane, ensuring the platform can handle hyper-growth without architectural degradation.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

Experience & Leadership

* 8–12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in an Architect, Principal, or Staff level capacity.

* Proven experience leading the architecture of a major platform or product from inception through global scale.

* History of making "build vs. buy" decisions that align with long-term business goals.

Technical Deep-Dive

* Kubernetes Internals: Deep, under-the-hood knowledge of K8s (API Server, etcd, Scheduling, CNI/CSI). Experience extending K8s via CRDs and the Operator pattern.

* Distributed Systems: Expert understanding of microservices design patterns, event-driven architecture, and distributed state management.

* Polyglot Proficiency: Ability to read and critique high-performance code in Go/Python and modern TypeScript/JavaScript ecosystems.

* Cloud Infrastructure: Expert-level experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure), specifically around automated provisioning and governance.

* Security & Identity: Robust knowledge of authentication systems, backplane data security, and zero-trust networking principles.

Soft Skills

* Innovative Thinking: A track record of patenting, open-source contributions, or delivering "first-of-its-kind" technical solutions.

* Influence without Authority: The ability to align multiple engineering teams toward a single architectural vision.

What We Offer:

An exciting opportunity to be part of a growing startup in the cutting-edge field of AI and ML.

A dynamic and inclusive work environment.

Competitive salary with performance-based incentives.

Opportunities for professional growth and development.

Comprehensive benefits package.