Applications Engineering Architect

Job Description and Requirements

**Please note that this role can be based in any of the following locations: Colorado Springs, CO, Washington, DC area, Huntsville, AL, Exton, PA

We Are

Synopsys is the leader in engineering solutions from silicon to systems, enabling customers to rapidly innovate AI-powered products. We deliver industry-leading silicon design, IP, simulation and analysis solutions, and design services. We partner closely with our customers across a wide range of industries to maximize their R&D capability and productivity, powering innovation today that ignites the ingenuity of tomorrow.

You Are

You have spent years building systems that have to hold together under real operational pressure, where "good enough" is not an option and the stakes are measured in mission success. Architecture is not an ivory tower exercise for you. It is the discipline of making hard tradeoffs early so that teams downstream can build with confidence and systems can scale without falling apart six months into production.

You are comfortable walking into a room with a program manager, a customer stakeholder, and a team of developers and walking out with a technical plan that everyone understands and believes in. You know how to translate vague customer requirements into concrete architectural decisions, and you know when to push back when a request does not align with what the system can actually support.

You have built cloud-native distributed systems that had to deploy, scale, and secure themselves across environments you did not fully control. Kubernetes, microservices, CI/CD pipelines, these are not buzzwords for you. They are tools you have used to solve real problems. You have worked with data at scale, designed schemas that perform, and integrated AI or ML components into production systems where they had to actually deliver value, not just demo well.

At Synopsys, you will architect software solutions that directly support aerospace and defense missions. The work is complex, the customers are sophisticated, and what you build will matter to the warfighter.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead end-to-end technical planning and architectural design for large-scale custom software solutions integrating Ansys simulation tools for aerospace and US defense customers
• Define and enforce architectural standards, governance processes, and best practices across engineering teams, conducting technical reviews and mentoring developers through complex design decisions
• Partner directly with project managers, customers, and Synopsys product teams to gather requirements, establish technical specifications around capability, performance, cybersecurity, and deployment, and align architecture with mission objectives
• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies including AI, machine learning, and cloud-native platforms (AWS, Azure) into production systems, ensuring scalability, interoperability, and long-term platform strategy alignment
• Design and oversee implementation of back-end services, front-end architectures, data pipelines, and distributed systems using modern technologies like C#, Java, Python, Node, TypeScript, Angular, React, Docker, and Kubernetes
• Architect secure CI/CD pipelines, containerized microservices, and cloud-enabled distributed systems that meet DoD cybersecurity requirements and deployment constraints
• Drive technical strategy and influence product roadmaps by assessing new capabilities, managing technical risks, and communicating architectural impacts to executive leadership and external defense stakeholders

The Impact You Will Have

• Enable warfighters and defense analysts to extract maximum insight from simulation data through production-quality software solutions that integrate and automate complex engineering workflows
• Accelerate mission-critical decision-making by architecting scalable, secure platforms that deliver simulation results faster and with greater reliability across aerospace and defense operations
• Reduce technical debt and integration friction across multiple product teams by establishing architectural standards and governance that ensure consistency, compatibility, and maintainability
• Expand the operational reach of Synopsys simulation capabilities into classified and edge environments by designing systems that meet stringent DoD security and deployment requirements
• Influence the long-term technology strategy for government solutions by evaluating and integrating AI, machine learning, and cloud-native technologies that directly support national security missions
• Mentor and elevate engineering teams by leading technical reviews, sharing architectural best practices, and guiding developers through complex design tradeoffs
• Strengthen customer confidence and program success by translating technical complexity into clear architectural plans that align with mission objectives and stakeholder expectations

What You'll Need

• Bachelor's in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with 12+ years of experience, Master's with 10+ years, or PhD with 8+ years
• Deep hands-on experience designing and implementing back-end services and front-end architectures using modern technologies including C#, Java, Python, Node, TypeScript, and Angular or React
• This position requires a government Top Secret or TS/SCI security clearance. You must be a U.S. citizen for consideration. 
• Extensive experience architecting and delivering scalable, cloud-enabled distributed systems with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), microservices, and secure CI/CD pipelines on AWS or Azure
• Strong knowledge of data architecture including relational and NoSQL databases, object storage systems like Amazon S3, data pipelines, and schema design for high-performance applications
• Proven ability to define, evaluate, and enforce architecture standards, specifications, and interoperability requirements across complex, multi-team systems
• Demonstrated capability integrating AI or machine learning components into production software platforms, or architecting systems that support these technologies
• Travel domestically up to 10% of the time
• Experience with version control systems, Agile development methodologies, and software design tools such as Cameo or DrawIO is a plus
• Familiarity with W3C Web Components specifications and building reusable, interoperable components is a plus
• Experience with web 3D technologies like WebGL, Three.js, Cesium JS, or Omniverse is a plus

Who You Are

• You can sit in a requirement meeting with a defense customer, ask the three questions that clarify what they actually need, and walk out with a technical plan that your team can execute without constant course correction
• You know when to advocate for a clean architectural approach and when to pragmatically work within constraints, and you can explain the tradeoff to both a developer and a program executive in terms they will understand
• You operate autonomously on complex technical initiatives, managing risk and making decisions without waiting for perfect information, but you know when to escalate and bring stakeholders into the conversation
• You have led teams through hard technical problems, not by dictating solutions but by mentoring through design reviews, pairing on tough architectural decisions, and building shared understanding across disciplines
• You are comfortable working in environments where requirements evolve, security constraints are non-negotiable, and the mission context matters as much as the technical implementation
• You can translate between the language of Kubernetes operators and the language of mission engineers, and you care about both audiences getting what they need from the conversation

The Team You'll Be Part Of

You will join the Programs and Solutions team within Ansys Government Initiatives, part of Synopsys. The team focuses on crafting custom software solutions that integrate and automate Ansys commercial simulation tools to meet specific customer requirements for design, engineering, and operations in the aerospace and US defense market. You will collaborate closely with project managers, developers, designers, and Synopsys product teams, and work directly with defense customers to deliver production-quality solutions that support national security missions.

#LI-CM-1

At Synopsys, we want talented people of every background to feel valued and supported to do their best work. Synopsys considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, military Tveteran status, or disability.

In addition to the base salary, this role may be eligible for an annual bonus, equity, and other discretionary bonuses. Synopsys offers comprehensive health, wellness, and financial benefits as part of a competitive total rewards package. The actual compensation offered will be based on a number of job-related factors, including location, skills, experience, and education. Your recruiter can share more specific details on the total rewards package upon request. The base salary range for this role is across the U.S.