Application Architect

Position Overview
Zelis Healthcare seeks a highly experienced, hands-on Application Architect to play a key role in driving the modernization of our platform within the Platform Engineering organization - Core Business Services. This role will partner closely with engineering leadership to define and execute a strategy to evolve our technology from a monolithic architecture to a scalable, cloud-native platform.

This individual will not only help shape the technical vision but will actively contribute to its execution. Working across multiple engineering pods, this role will embed with teams to design, build, and deliver critical components-helping decompose core systems, modernize our payments and communications platforms, and establish scalable patterns using AWS and cloud-native technologies.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in distributed systems, API design, and platform engineering, along with a pragmatic approach to driving incremental, business-aligned transformation. They will lead by example-writing code, contributing to system design, and guiding teams through complex technical challenges while introducing best practices for containerization, CI/CD, observability, and resilient system design.

Operating in a highly secure, high-volume, 24x7 transactional environment, this role will influence architecture and elevate engineering practices across the organization. While this is not a people management role, it requires strong leadership through influence-mentoring engineers, partnering with engineering managers, and helping teams adopt modern development approaches, including AI-enabled engineering workflows.

Success in this role requires a balance of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, with the ability to turn long-term architectural vision into tangible progress. This individual will be instrumental in accelerating our platform transformation by building alongside teams, improving developer experience, and enabling scalable, sustainable growth.

What You'll Do
Partner with engineering leadership to define and execute an application modernization strategy, evolving from a monolithic architecture to scalable, cloud-native servicesContribute directly to the design and development of critical components across engineering pods, including APIs, services, and shared platform capabilitiesLead the decomposition of core systems into modular, service-oriented or event-driven architecturesEmbed with teams to guide and implement best practices for building, deploying, and operating services in AWS (containers, CI/CD, observability, resilience)Establish and standardize patterns for APIs, reusable engines, and platform services to enable consistency and scaleIdentify and drive incremental modernization opportunities that reduce risk while delivering measurable business valueMentor engineers and engineering managers through hands-on collaboration, design reviews, and pairingPartner cross-functionally with product, platform, and operations teams to align technical direction with business prioritiesChampion modern development practices, including AI-enabled engineering workflows (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor), to improve developer productivity

What You'll Bring to Zelis
10+ years of software engineering experience, with significant hands-on development in backend systems and distributed architecturesProven experience actively contributing to the decomposition of monolithic applications into microservices or modular architecturesMust have experience with AWS and cloud-native development (compute, storage, networking, and managed services)Demonstrated ability to design and build scalable APIs, event-driven systems, and platform servicesExperience with containerization (e.g., Docker) and modern deployment practices (CI/CD pipelines)Track record of influencing technical direction across multiple teams without direct authorityStrong communication skills with the ability to drive alignment through practical, actionable guidanceAbility to balance long-term architectural vision with hands-on execution and incremental delivery

Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading or contributing hands-on to large-scale cloud migrations or platform modernization initiativesFamiliarity with container orchestration platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, ECS) and infrastructure-as-code practicesDevelopment experience helpful using C# or JavaExperience working on payments platforms or other high-scale transactional systemsExposure to communications platforms (messaging, notifications, real-time systems, physical print production)Experience building shared platforms, internal developer tooling, or enabling "paved road" solutionsFamiliarity with AI-assisted development tools or integrating AI capabilities into engineering workflows or productsBackground in platform engineering, developer experience, or multi-team enablement at scaleExperience operating in regulated and/or high-availability environments

What This Role Is Not
Not a people management role-this position leads through hands-on contribution and influence, not direct reportsNot purely architectural or advisory-this role requires active coding, design, and delivery alongside teamsNot a short-term migration effort-this role focuses on building sustainable, long-term platform capabilitiesNot isolated to a single team or domain-success depends on working across multiple pods and systemsNot a "rewrite everything" initiative-this role emphasizes pragmatic, incremental modernizationNot limited to infrastructure-this role spans application architecture, platform design, and developer experience

Please note at this time we are unable to proceed with candidates who require visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Location and Workplace Flexibility

Zelis is headquartered in the U.S., with multiple locations across the country and in Hyderabad, India. Check out our locations to learn more about our offices. All employee work locations are based on the needs of the position and are determined by the Leadership team. In-office work and activities vary based on work and team objectives in accordance with Company policies.

While location expectations vary by role, candidates within approximately 50 miles of a U.S. office are generally preferred to support collaboration when needed. Our hybrid approach is flexible, and in-office presence is guided by team and business needs rather than a fixed weekly schedule.

Base Salary Range
$139,000.00 - $176,700.00

At Zelis we are committed to providing fair and equitable compensation packages. The base salary range allows us to make an offer that considers multiple individualized factors, including experience, education, qualifications, as well as job-related and industry-related knowledge and skills, etc. Base pay is just one part of our Total Rewards package, which may also include discretionary bonus plans, commissions, or other incentives depending on the role.

Zelis' full-time associates are eligible for a highly competitive benefits package as well, which demonstrates our commitment to our employees' health, well-being, and financial protection. The US-based benefits include a 401k plan with employer match, flexible paid time off, holidays, parental leaves, life and disability insurance, and health benefits including medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.