Solutions Architect

About the Team

It’s an exciting time in technology, and that buzz is felt throughout PetSmart! We are continuing to grow at a faster pace and we want to continue to provide best-in-class experiences for pets and pet parents.

Our Technology team has 6 different departments: Information Security, Service Delivery, Business Enabling Systems, eCommerce & Marketing Technology, Data and Stores, Services & Supply Chain.

Whether it’s online or in our stores, the work that the IT team does is instrumental in PetSmart’s success. We have a strategic and actionable plan underway and are looking for associates who are just as excited about it as we are.

About the Location

Associates at our Costa Rica office are eligible for hybrid work.

About the Job

How this role will make an impact

• As the Solution Architect for eCommerce and Marketing Technology, you will translate business and product goals into scalable, secure, reliable, and extensible application architectures that support PetSmart’s digital commerce and customer experiences. You will design solutions for web and mobile applications and guide engineering teams through delivery. You will evaluate technology options and promote reusable patterns such as composable commerce, API-based services, and event-driven integrations.

• Essential Duties and Responsibilities 
• Partner with business and product stakeholders to understand requirements, identify solution options, and recommend approaches for eCommerce and Marketing Technology capabilities.
• Own end-to-end solution architecture for initiatives spanning web and mobile experiences, backend services, enterprise integrations, data flows, and supporting platform services.
• Create and maintain architecture models and technical design documentation for eCommerce and MarTech solutions, including system, integration and sequence diagrams, specifications, and architecture decisions consistent with PetSmart standards and industry best practices.
• Ensure proposed solutions meet functional needs and non-functional requirements, including supportability, performance, security, availability, scalability, reliability, and extensibility.
• Apply composable commerce, MACH principles, microservices, APIs, Pub/Sub, and event-driven architecture patterns where they provide clear business and technical value.
• Collaborate proactively with Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, Product, Engineering, Security, Data and Operations to align designs, resolve dependencies, and address cross-cutting concerns.
• Guide Tech Leads and engineering teams and serve as an escalation point for complex technical decisions and solution conflicts.
• Work with engineering teams throughout delivery by clarifying designs, supporting estimates, managing solution risks and adapting architecture as implementation learning emerges.
• Contribute to technology roadmaps and strategies, promote reusable patterns, and help minimize duplication, technical debt and uncontrolled technology sprawl.
• Manage multiple concurrent initiatives while maintaining commitments and timelines, and stay current on digital commerce, Marketing Technology, application architecture, integration, security, and architecture trends.

What You'll Bring to the Table

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems, or another technical discipline; equivalent practical experience will also be considered.
• Eight or more years of experience in solution architecture, including at least five years designing and delivering eCommerce, Marketing Technology, B2C digital experience or other high-volume customer-facing solutions.
• Experience architecting enterprise-scale eCommerce, Marketing Technology, large-scale B2C, or other high-volume digital platforms.
• Strong understanding of digital solution architecture across frontend applications, backend services, APIs, integrations, data flows and supporting cloud services.
• Experience with microservices, REST or service-based APIs, event-driven architecture, Pub/Sub, integration design patterns, and non-functional requirements such as performance, security, availability, scalability, reliability, and supportability.
• Ability to translate business and product goals into clear technical options, recommendations, and delivery-ready architecture artifacts.
• Experience working in product-led, Agile environments and collaborating directly with engineering scrum teams through implementation.
• Excellent stakeholder management, written communication, and presentation skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, prioritization, and conflict-management skills, with the self-leadership to work independently across distributed teams.
• Experience working with diverse, multi-country and cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Composable Commerce and MACH Alliance principles and digital modernization programs.
• Familiarity with eCommerce and digital experience platforms such as Commercetools, Algolia, Contentful, and Vercel.
• Working knowledge of frontend technologies such as React, Next.js, and micro-frontends; backend technologies such as Node.js or .NET; and Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience with Marketing Technology capabilities such as content, search, personalization, analytics, customer engagement, and experimentation frameworks.
• Familiarity with data architecture, AI or machine learning integration and FinOps practices.

About the Culture

Our associates are the heart of Team PetSmart. Together, we’re building the best team in retail through our values-based culture, connection, and teamwork. Our goal is to create a culture where associates learn and grow together, thrive as effective teams and challenge each other to be the best they can be.

Our Costa Rica office offers outstanding amenities in a fun and rewarding workplace including:

• You will be able to bring your pets to work!
• Free access to UltraPark gym facility
• Learn more about #LifeAtPetSmart here: https://www.lifeatpetsmart.com/life-at-petsmart/
• Check out Associate stories and share in some celebrations at PetSmart: https://www.blog.lifeatpetsmart.com/
• Will have medical, dental & vision benefits for all associates
• Offer paid time off including holidays and discretionary days

PetSmart provides an equal opportunity for all associates and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics.