Principal Architect, Security & Performance

The Principal Architect, Security & Performance serves as a technical authority and individual contributor across the Dealer Tire Consumer eCommerce Group (CEG), spanning both the Dealer Tire and SimpleTire platforms. This role is primarily focused on designing a bulletproof security posture to satisfy strict OEM contractual data obligations, architecting resilient cloud environments, and driving code-level application performance and database stability that adhere to established enterprise standards.

As a Principal Architect, Security & Performance, your essential job functions will include the following:

• Partner with the broader enterprise Dealer Tire security teams to continuously monitor, evaluate, and harden the collective security posture across all consumer-facing digital applications.
• Serve as the principal subject matter expert (SME) for all cloud installations, consumer data privacy safeguards, PII protection, and PCI compliance requirements and provide high-level technical blueprinting and structural signoffs for annual SOC 2 and PCI security lifecycles.
• Review complex pull requests, infrastructure scripts, and third-party vendor integrations to ensure alignment with master architecture guidelines.
• Identify, prototype, and champion the introduction of cutting-edge tech stacks, edge-computing practices, and optimization methods that drive organizational value.
• Function as an elite advisory consultant to the SRE, Core Systems, and DevOps management layers as needed for Infrastructure.

Security Architecture

• Design, deploy, and maintain advanced edge security configurations within Akamai, directly owning the architecture for Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule sets, Bot Management defense strategies, and comprehensive DDoS/DoS mitigation layers.
• Proactively analyze edge security logs and threat intelligence to build real-time protective policies against credential stuffing, malicious scraping, API abuse, and application-layer exploits across all digital touchpoints.
• In coordination with the Enterprise Security team, Architect and enforce security protocols for the isolated Dealer Tire and SimpleTire AWS environments to fulfill data privacy mandates with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
• Implement a thorough Security Management process to keep the CEG environments secure from potential harm.

Application Performance & Database Optimization

• Take full technical ownership of cross-platform application speed, server response times, and database query optimization.
• Partner closely with engineering teams to refactor, tune, and optimize applications and data functions to eliminate systemic application bottlenecks.
• Leverage next-generation enterprise AI orchestration tools (such as Claude Code) to rapidly accelerate technical designs, generate documentation, and perform high-level code architecture reviews.
• Act as an architectural bridge between the application development layer and the underlying systems layer to champion holistic performance excellence.

Other Duties as assigned, * Continuous viewing from and inputting data to a computer screen

• Talking through the computer for meetings and one-to-one conversations
• Sitting for long periods of time
• This role functions asynchronously to a standard 9-5 working schedule and may require work to be performed during early mornings, evenings and weekends (off-hours).
• Continuous viewing of a computer monitor and data entry.
• Travel required (<10%)

Drug Policy

Dealer Tire is a drug-free environment. All applicants being considered for employment must pass a pre-employment drug screening before beginning work.

Do you have experience in Production systems?, Do you have a Bachelor's degree?, * Bachelor's degree in information technology or related field.

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Information Technology and business environments.
• At least 5 years' operating directly in production cybersecurity architecture, backend software engineering, or cloud infrastructure roles.
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) designation is preferred.
• Proven expertise in high-availability e-commerce environments.
• Strong background in information security practices and compliance.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative approach, * Cloud & Networking Expertise: Deep hands-on experience in architectural design within Amazon Web Services (AWS) and advanced Content Delivery Networks, specifically focusing on enterprise Akamai/Cloudflare implementations including WAF tuning, Bot Manager engineering, and DDoS threat-shield deployment.
• Performance Engineering: Proven capability to read, write, and optimize application components utilizing modern frameworks and languages (e.g., PHP, Python, React, Next.js).
• Data Systems: Advanced familiarity with optimizing high-volume relational databases (Aurora AWS, MySQL, PostgreSQL) and search optimization clusters (Elasticsearch).
• Systems Intelligence: Ability to synthesize complex application code logic with underlying cloud network configurations to diagnose and resolve performance issues quickly.
• Security Advocacy: A proactive mindset focused on shifting security left, actively leveraging edge computing safeguards (WAF, Bot Management, and DoS countermeasures) to balance fast-paced e-commerce agility with rigorous corporate and OEM data privacy compliance standards.
• Adaptability and Continuous Improvement: Comfortable in a fast-paced, evolving environment; champions innovation and process improvements to enhance performance and security.

Pulled from the full job description

• Health insurance
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Profit sharing, Why Dealer Tire: An amazing opportunity to join a growing organization, built on the efforts of hard working, innovative, and team-oriented people. The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and geographic location. The total compensation package may also include commission, bonus or profit sharing. We offer a competitive & comprehensive benefit package including: paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and 401k match (50% on the dollar up to 7% of employee contribution). For more information on our benefit offerings, please visit our Dealer Tire Family of Companies Benefits Highlights Booklet.

We're Dealer Tire, a family-owned, international distributor of tires and parts established in 1918 in Cleveland, OH. We're laser focused on helping the world's largest and most trusted auto manufacturers grow their tire business-in fact, we've sold more than 60 million tires to date. We're a thriving company, and we're looking for driven individuals to join our team. That's where you come in!