IT Software Architect, SaaS Enablement and Governance

The role

The IT Software Architect will shape enterprise software, SaaS, data integration, and agent-enabled architecture. This hands-on role involves guiding software decisions, reducing unmanaged sprawl, and building reusable enterprise foundations through governance and enablement.

What you will do

• Own target architecture for enterprise software, SaaS, integrations, APIs, and agent-enabled business systems.
• Drive deprecation and consolidate targets for enterprise software.
• Build lightweight governance patterns to guide software and integration decisions.
• Create architecture standards for identity, access, data movement, API usage, and vendor integration.
• Partner with Security to address SSO, SCIM, MFA, and data residency.
• Partner with Procurement and Finance to evaluate renewals and build-versus-buy decisions.
• Partner with application verticals to evaluate agentic business workflows.
• Review proposed SaaS and internally built tools for risk, integration quality, and long-term fit.
• Develop reusable architecture blueprints for common capabilities.
• Drive software catalog maturity by connecting tool inventory, ownership, and risk posture.

Required qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise architecture, business systems architecture, IT architecture, SaaS governance, integration architecture, or a related technical leadership role.
• Strong understanding of SaaS operating models, software lifecycle management, software asset management, and vendor/platform governance.
• Experience designing integrations across systems.
• Experience in large scale SaaS such as CRM, ERP and Marketplace platforms.
• Practical knowledge of identity and access patterns including SSO, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, RBAC/ABAC, privileged admin models, service accounts, OAuth apps, and token governance.
• Ability to evaluate software from multiple angles including business value, security posture, cost, and vendor strategy.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Ability to write architecture decision records, governance standards, system diagrams, and business cases.

Nice to have

• Experience scaling IT or business systems from startup-stage tooling into mature enterprise architecture.
• Experience with software rationalization, SaaS enablement and deprecation, vendor consolidation, or enterprise license optimization.
• Experience with architecting systems in a high-growth environment.
• Experience building governance for internally developed tools, low-code/no-code platforms, agents, or employee-built automation.
• Experience working closely with Security, GRC, Legal, Procurement, and Finance on cross-functional risk and control programs.

About the company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The company is scaling from an emerging, high-velocity startup into a mature enterprise operating model.