What Does This Plano Principal Solutions Architect Job Offer?
Published on: Nov 6, 2026
Job ID 14382299. Actively recruiting. Recruited by Frontline Source Group.
An established technology and government contracting company in Plano, Texas, is hiring a Principal Solutions Architect and Technical Lead on a direct hire basis, with a $175,000 to $215,000 base salary plus potential quarterly incentives. Frontline Source Group is leading the search, and direct hire placements carry its 5-Year Placement Warranty.
TL;DR: Direct hire, on site in Plano, TX. About 40 percent of the job is hands-on engineering and the rest is architecture, customer demos, roadmaps, and mentoring engineers. You will design distributed systems, microservices, and APIs, and help bring AI and machine learning into the company's software platforms. Strong hands-on architecture experience, Kubernetes, containers, Linux, and customer-facing presentation skills are required; C#/.NET, Python, messaging platforms, and government customer experience are a plus. You must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship. Apply at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference Job ID 14382299.
What does this Plano principal solutions architect job involve?
This is a technical leadership role for someone who still likes to write and review code. You will own the architecture of sophisticated software solutions from the first customer conversation through deployment, and you will be the person engineers turn to when a design decision gets hard. The company builds software platforms and AI solutions for projects in artificial intelligence, telecommunications, national security, and advanced software systems, and its product development division is growing.
Architecture and solution design
- Design and architect complex software solutions built on distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and integrated technology platforms
- Translate customer requirements and operational challenges into scalable, secure, and practical technical solutions
- Set technical roadmaps, development priorities, and implementation strategies
- Review engineering deliverables for performance, security, reliability, and scalability
Hands-on engineering
- Stay active in software development, code reviews, debugging, and complex problem solving
- Build and oversee prototypes, proofs of concept, and technical demonstrations
- Support the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and intelligent automation into software platforms
- Take part in Agile development, technical planning, and delivery oversight
Customer engagement
- Lead customer discovery meetings, technical workshops, presentations, and product demonstrations
- Explain sophisticated technical concepts clearly to engineers and nontechnical executives alike
- Work closely with executive leadership on product strategy, customer solutions, and new technical opportunities
Technical leadership and mentoring
- Guide engineers through architecture decisions, system integration, development, testing, and deployment
- Mentor software engineers and set technical direction, without formal direct reports at the start
How does the 40 percent hands-on split work in practice?
The employer describes the job as roughly 40 percent hands-on technical work. The other 60 percent covers architecture, planning, customer engagement, engineering oversight, and mentorship. In practice, that means a week might include a customer workshop, a design review for a new integration, a stretch of writing or reviewing production code, and time helping an engineer work through a deployment problem. If you have moved into pure architecture and no longer touch code, this is probably not the right fit. If you are a senior engineer who is ready to own architecture and talk to customers, it may be exactly the next step.
The role starts as an individual technical lead. You will mentor and direct engineers without formal direct reports at first, which gives you room to build influence through technical credibility before taking on people management.
What qualifications does the employer want?
Required background
- Significant hands-on software engineering experience, with a record of designing and delivering complex software systems
- Strong expertise in software architecture, distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and system integration
- Experience with Kubernetes, containers, Linux environments, and modern deployment practices
- Recent hands-on development, with the ability to review production code, troubleshoot issues, and guide engineering teams
- Experience presenting technical solutions to customers and leading technical discussions or demonstrations
- Experience building prototypes, proofs of concept, or technical demonstrations
- Strong technical leadership, mentoring, communication, and presentation skills
- Comfort in a fast-moving environment where technical priorities change
- Ability to work on site in Plano, Texas
- Authorization to work in the United States without employer visa sponsorship
Preferred qualifications
- Hands-on development with C#/.NET and Python
- Kafka, NATS, RabbitMQ, or comparable messaging technologies
- PostgreSQL or similar databases
- DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and observability
- Integrating AI and machine learning, large language models, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), or intelligent agents into software platforms
- Digital twins, modeling and simulation, reinforcement learning, or autonomous systems
- A background in telecommunications, defense, cybersecurity, mission systems, or advanced technology development
- Experience with government customers or complex enterprise technology environments
What does this principal solutions architect job pay?
The base salary is $175,000 to $215,000 a year, depending on experience and qualifications. The employer also offers potential quarterly performance-based incentives, with the structure set with the selected candidate around agreed performance objectives.
For context, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports May 2025 national median pay of $135,980 for software developers, $134,050 for computer network architects, $140,300 for computer and information research scientists, and $175,140 for computer and information systems managers. The bottom of this role's range sits right at the median for technology managers, and the top runs well above it, which fits a principal-level job that blends senior engineering with architecture ownership and customer leadership.
Demand for this kind of talent is strong. BLS projects 10 percent growth for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers from 2025 to 2035, with about 106,100 openings a year, and 8 percent growth for computer network architects over the same period. Computer systems design and related services is the largest employer of software developers, at 29 percent of jobs.
Does this job require a security clearance?
The job description does not list a security clearance as a requirement. The company does work that touches national security and government contracting, and experience with government customers is listed as a plus. You must be authorized to work in the United States without employer visa sponsorship. If clearance requirements come up for a specific project, your Frontline recruiter will walk you through what the employer needs.
Where is the job located, and is it remote?
The job is on site in Plano, Texas. It is not remote or hybrid, because the role leads customer workshops and demos, works directly with executive leadership, and mentors engineers day to day. Candidates from Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Richardson, Carrollton, and the rest of Collin and Denton counties are a natural fit for the commute. The company's name and exact address are shared with qualified candidates once fit and interest are confirmed.
Who is recruiting for this principal solutions architect job?
This search is led by Cassidy Jacobs, Senior Executive Staffing Specialist at Frontline Source Group, who brings more than 10 years of talent acquisition and business development experience and recruits across information technology, engineering, and other professional disciplines. Frontline's Plano office at 5700 Granite Parkway, Suite 200, Plano, TX 75024, serves Collin County and North Dallas and is used for scheduled meetings. All interviews are set by appointment only and we do not allow walk-ins at any location. Everything starts online: candidates apply at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html, and employers request talent at frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html.
How does the hiring process work through Frontline Source Group?
- Apply online at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference Job ID 14382299.
- Your first-round interview is with Lexi Reed, Frontline's AI recruiter, who gathers your background, availability, and pay expectations.
- A Frontline recruiter reviews every candidate after that interview and calls those who meet the requirements to talk through your architecture work, the systems you have built, your stack, and your customer-facing experience.
- Qualified candidates may complete skills testing before being presented to the employer.
- Frontline prepares you before the client interview; see frontlinesourcegroup.com/interview-instructions.html for what to expect.
How do you know this job posting is legitimate?
Frontline Source Group recruiters only email from the frtline.com domain and never use Gmail or other free email accounts. Frontline never charges candidates a fee and never asks for money, bank details, or equipment purchases. If a message using the Frontline name does not look right, review frontlinesourcegroup.com/scam-alert.html or email legal@frtline.com to verify the recruiter.
Why do technology professionals work with Frontline Source Group?
Frontline Source Group is a nationwide staffing and executive search firm founded in Dallas in 2004, with 32 plus offices, 5,619 plus completed placements, a 98.94% executive placement retention rate, and a 5.0 star Trustpilot rating across 683 plus verified reviews, along with a 5.0 rating on G2 from validated reviewers. The firm is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms #148 (2026), a 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, a ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, an Inc. 5000 honoree, an Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency, and a member of the American Staffing Association (ASA). See the full list at frontlinesourcegroup.com/staffing-awards.html.
Direct hire placements are backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day guarantee that is standard in staffing. Frontline's technology and IT staffing, IT executive search, and AI staffing teams place software architects, engineering leaders, and AI talent across Dallas-Fort Worth and nationwide. People. Process. Service.
How do you apply for the Plano principal solutions architect job?
Apply at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference Job ID 14382299. Lead your resume with the systems you have architected and shipped, how much hands-on code you still write, the stack you work in (especially C#/.NET, Python, Kubernetes, and messaging platforms), any AI or machine learning integration work, and examples of customer demos or technical workshops you have led. Technology companies that need architects, engineering leaders, or AI talent can request it at frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html or review fees and engagement models at frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html. See more of Frontline's work on the recent placements page.
Frequently Asked Questions: Plano Principal Solutions Architect Job
Is this Plano principal solutions architect job remote or on site?
It is on site in Plano, Texas. There is no remote or hybrid option, because the role leads customer workshops and demos, works directly with executive leadership, and mentors engineers day to day.
What is the salary for this principal solutions architect job?
The base salary is $175,000 to $215,000 a year, depending on experience and qualifications, plus potential quarterly performance-based incentives. For comparison, BLS reports a May 2025 national median of $135,980 for software developers and $175,140 for computer and information systems managers.
Is this a direct hire or contract position?
It is a direct hire, full-time position with the employer. Direct hire placements made by Frontline Source Group are backed by the 5-Year Placement Warranty, 20 times longer than the 90-day guarantee that is standard in staffing.
How much of this job is hands-on coding?
About 40 percent of the job is hands-on technical work, including development, code reviews, debugging, and prototypes. The other 60 percent covers architecture, planning, customer engagement, engineering oversight, and mentorship.
What programming languages and technologies does the employer prefer?
Kubernetes, containers, and Linux are required. Preferred skills include C#/.NET and Python, Kafka, NATS, or RabbitMQ messaging, PostgreSQL, DevSecOps and CI/CD, and experience integrating AI and machine learning, large language models, or RAG into software platforms.
Does this job require a security clearance?
The job description does not list a security clearance as a requirement. The company does work that touches national security and government contracting, and experience with government customers is a plus.
Will I manage people in this role?
Not at first. You will mentor software engineers and set technical direction without formal direct reports initially, leading through architecture decisions, code reviews, and guidance on integration, testing, and deployment.
Does the employer sponsor work visas for this job?
No. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without employer visa sponsorship.
Do I need AI or machine learning experience for this job?
It is preferred, not required. The role supports integrating AI, machine learning, and intelligent automation into software platforms, so experience with large language models, RAG, intelligent agents, digital twins, or reinforcement learning will stand out.
Who is recruiting for this job at Frontline Source Group?
The search is led by Cassidy Jacobs, Senior Executive Staffing Specialist at Frontline Source Group, through the firm's Plano office at 5700 Granite Parkway, Suite 200, Plano, TX 75024. All interviews are set by appointment only and we do not allow walk-ins at any location.
How do I apply for this job?
Apply at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html and reference Job ID 14382299. Your first-round interview is with Lexi Reed, Frontline's AI recruiter, and a Frontline recruiter then reviews every candidate and calls those who meet the requirements.
Does Frontline Source Group charge candidates a fee?
No. Frontline Source Group never charges candidates a fee and never asks for money, bank details, or equipment purchases. Recruiters only email from the frtline.com domain; report anything suspicious at frontlinesourcegroup.com/scam-alert.html.
