Senior Solutions Architect II

Overview

Instacart’s Enterprise Solutions – Connected Stores team is building the next generation of in-store experiences, bridging physical retail with digital capabilities through cutting-edge hardware, software, and AI. We partner with enterprise retailers to deliver seamless, high-scale integrations that power magical shopping experiences for millions of customers and thousands of stores.

As a Senior Solution Architect, you will own end-to-end technical design and solutioning for our enterprise retail partners, serving as the primary technical liaison across Instacart Product and Engineering while collaborating closely with partner technology and business stakeholders. You’ll work on first-of-a-kind challenges in the in-store physical AI space, translating business needs into scalable architectures that launch successfully and stand the test of time. This role is remote within Canada and joins a highly collaborative team of six technical experts focused on impact, quality, and execution.

 

About the Job

• Own end-to-end solution architecture from discovery through launch, including requirements, systems design, integration strategy, and production readiness for enterprise retail partners.
• Design and document robust integration patterns across RESTful APIs, webhooks, and middleware, ensuring performance, reliability, security, and observability.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison to partner engineering teams while driving alignment with Instacart Product, Engineering, Design, Security, and Technical Program Management.
• Create high-quality technical artifacts—including sequence diagrams, data models, interface contracts, and runbooks—and lead design reviews to achieve stakeholder sign-off.
• Prototype and script proofs of concept, data validations, and tooling using SQL and a scripting language to accelerate delivery and de-risk integrations.
• Develop reusable templates, accelerators, and documentation that scale Connected Stores implementations across multiple enterprise partners.
• Troubleshoot complex integration issues across systems, perform root cause analyses, and implement preventative guardrails that improve operational excellence.
• Provide thought leadership on retail technology domains such as POS, inventory, pricing/promo, identity/loyalty, payments, and in-store physical AI devices.

 

About You

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience as a solutions architect or software engineer delivering complex system integrations for enterprise customers.
• 4+ years designing and implementing RESTful APIs and event-driven integrations at scale, including authentication/authorization and error handling strategies.
• Proficiency in SQL and at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, JavaScript, or Bash) for automation, data validation, and debugging.
• Hands-on experience with integration technologies such as API gateways, webhooks, message queues/streaming, and middleware.
• Proven track record taking solutions from design through launch, including test planning, cutover, and post-launch support in production environments.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and lead cross-functional discovery/design sessions with external clients.
• Experience partnering with Technical Program/Project Managers to build delivery plans, milestones, and risk mitigation strategies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in client-facing or consulting roles working with enterprise retailers or large-scale technology partners.
• Background with retail systems and data flows: POS, inventory, catalog, pricing/promotions, order management, loyalty/identity, and payments.
• Familiarity with in-store physical AI, computer vision devices, connected carts, kiosks, or retail IoT ecosystems.
• Knowledge of public cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern delivery practices (containers, CI/CD, infrastructure as code).
• Expertise with API design and debugging tools and standards (OpenAPI/Swagger, Postman, cURL) and observability stacks (logging, metrics, tracing).
• Experience with integration platforms and gateways (e.g., Apigee, Kong, AWS API Gateway, MuleSoft) and event streaming (e.g., Kafka, Pub/Sub).
• Understanding of security and compliance for integrations, including OAuth 2.0, JWT, data encryption, and best practices for handling PII/PCI.
• Ability to produce clear architecture artifacts (sequence/state diagrams, ERDs) using tools like Lucidchart or draw.io.

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