Enterprise Architect SME

Enterprise Architect SME

Ignite IT · Washington, United States (Hybrid) · Full-time · Posted 2026-08-17

Workplace: hybrid

Department: CENSUS

Description

We are seeking a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Enterprise Architect to join our team supporting a large-scale federal modernization program. This role owns enterprise architecture direction across business, data, application, security, and technology domains. You will be setting target-state architecture and modernization priorities, to running architecture governance and review processes, to ensuring the architecture repository and modeling practice stay current and adopted across the organization.

This is a hands-on architecture role. You'll be expected to work in real architecture artifacts and drive real decisions, not just set direction from a distance.

This is a hybrid role based out of Washington, DC. Candidates must be U.S. citizens.

Key Responsibilities

1.     Architecture Vision & Strategy 

• Assess and continuously improve the enterprise architecture framework to support the organization's mission, business, and IT objectives.
• Define target-state architecture direction and cross-domain integration priorities across business, data, application, security, and technology.
• Set modernization priorities and connect strategic architecture direction to practical, implementable designs.

2.     As-Is, To-Be & Transition Architecture 

• Develop and maintain current-state (As-Is), target-state (To-Be), and transition architectures across business, data, application, security, and technology domains at appropriate physical, logical, solution, and technical levels.
• Maintain architecture principles, standards, reference architectures, technology standards, inventories, and roadmaps.

3.     Governance & Review Leadership 

• Operate or support the Architecture Review Board, investment reviews, engineering reviews, design reviews, working groups, and phase-gate reviews with clear intake, criteria, decisions, and records.
• Evaluate proposed architectural deviations, document risks and impacts, and provide recommendations for approval.
• Serve as a senior architecture voice in governance forums, working directly with leadership stakeholders.

4.     Architecture Assessment & Modernization 

• Perform architecture assessments to identify gaps, redundancy, technical debt, and opportunities for modernization, standardization, optimization, and rationalization.
• Provide recommendations for technology modernization, application rationalization, cloud adoption, and process improvement based on architecture analysis.

5.     Repository & Modeling Practice 

• Administer and improve the enterprise architecture modeling suite (repository, models, metamodel guidance, quality rules, permissions, and workflows).
• Drive artifact inventory, remediation, migration, quality validation, training, and adoption across the organization.

6.     Stakeholder Coordination & Reporting 

• Coordinate architecture activities with cybersecurity, data management, cloud, infrastructure, application development, and portfolio management stakeholders.
• Prepare and deliver periodic reports summarizing architecture activities, compliance status, risks, modernization initiatives, and progress toward the target architecture.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in enterprise or solution architecture, including significant responsibility for architecture governance, standards, and cross-domain design decisions.
• Demonstrated experience developing or governing As-Is, To-Be, transition, domain, solution, and technical architectures.
• Hands-on experience with architecture review boards, compliance reviews, deviations/waivers, standards, roadmaps, and decision records.
• Proven ability to connect strategic architecture direction to practical designs, implementation gates, technical debt remediation, and modernization actions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to both technical teams and leadership.
• U.S. Citizenship Required.

Nice to Have

• Direct federal, government, or large regulated-enterprise architecture experience.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise architecture modeling and repository tools (e.g., Sparx Enterprise Architect, Prolaborate) — administration, modeling, migration, or adoption.
• TOGAF, FEAF, DoDAF, Zachman, ArchiMate, UML, BPMN, SysML, or comparable framework/modeling credentials.
• Experience establishing measurable architecture governance that accelerates decisions rather than producing ceremonial reviews.
• Experience with repository remediation, metamodels, taxonomy, reference architectures, or application rationalization.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Apply

Apply at Ignite IT

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