Lead Cloud Application Architect

ICF is seeking an experienced Lead Application Architect to define and guide the end-to-end architecture for mission-critical systems supporting Federal land management agencies, including USFS, USDA, DOI, and BLM. This role provides technical leadership across engineering teams, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned with modern cloud-based architectures and Federal security requirements. The ideal candidate brings deep experience designing enterprise systems, establishing technical standards, and guiding development teams to deliver interoperable, high-performing platforms that support complex operational and mission workflows. Job Location

This position requires that the job be performed in the United States. ICF monitors employee work locations and blocks access from foreign locations/foreign IP addresses and prohibits personal VPN connections.

• You may be asked to travel once a quarter to an office.
• Our core work hours are 10?am - 4?pm Eastern Time with the option to start earlier or work later depending on your time zone.

What You Will Do

• Define and maintain the overall solution architecture, technical standards, and reference architectures supporting mission-critical systems.
• Lead architectural design decisions across multiple development teams to ensure scalable, secure, and maintainable system solutions.
• Establish integration patterns, API strategies, and interoperability approaches that support enterprise data exchange and mission workflows.
• Ensure system designs meet nonfunctional requirements including performance, availability, scalability, and reliability.
• Guide engineering teams in implementing cloud-native architectures (primarily Azure, with AWS familiarity a plus) using modern development and microservices-based approaches.
• Align architecture and system designs with Federal security and compliance requirements, including ATO processes and associated controls.
• Conduct architecture reviews, technical governance activities, and design evaluations to ensure alignment with enterprise standards.
• Identify modernization opportunities and lead initiatives to reduce technical debt while improving system maintainability and performance.
• Mentor engineers and technical leads, promoting architecture best practices and continuous technical improvement across teams.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, systems engineering, or solution architecture roles.
• At least 5 years of experience serving as a lead architect or senior technical architect guiding enterprise system architecture decisions.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance; must reside in and be authorized to work in the United States.

What We Would Like You To Bring With You

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Architecture or cloud certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect, AWS Solutions Architect, or TOGAF.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing enterprise-level architectures supporting complex systems and integrations.
• Experience designing solutions within cloud environments (Azure preferred; AWS familiarity a plus).
• Experience aligning system architecture with Federal security requirements and supporting compliance frameworks such as ATO processes.
• Experience supporting Federal agencies, particularly land management or environmental mission organizations.
• Experience designing microservices-based architectures and enterprise integration frameworks.
• Familiarity with geospatial systems, environmental data platforms, or mission-support applications used in land management or wildfire operations.
• Experience leading modernization initiatives involving Legacy system transformation to cloud-native architectures.

Professional Skills

• Strong technical leadership and architectural decision-making capabilities across complex system environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical architecture concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to lead cross-team technical collaboration and guide engineering teams through complex design decisions.
• Ability to balance mission needs, technical constraints, and long-term architectural sustainability in fast-paced Agile delivery environments.

$131,256.00 - $223,134.00 (Nationwide Remote Office, US99) Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal-opportunity employer. We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Reasonable Accommodations