Principal Architect – Distributed Systems

CVS Health

Distributed Systems Architect defining and evolving the technical architecture for CVS Health’s vulnerability services platform. Leading engineering efforts in distributed systems, big-data platforms, and application architecture.

Posted 4/16/2026full-timeRemote • Arizona • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $144,200 - $288,400 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

ApacheAWSAzureCloudDistributed SystemsGoogle Cloud PlatformJavaJavaScriptKafkaPythonSpark

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Provide technical ownership and architectural leadership for the Vulnerability Services Engine (VSE) platform, including data ingestion, analytics, distributed processing, and application layers
Own the technical specifications, data architecture, and evolution of vulnerability and exposure data products
Design, document, and enforce: System and solution architectures Component and framework selection Implementation and integration standards
Lead distributed systems and big-data design for large-scale telemetry ingestion, processing, and analytics using platforms such as Apache Spark, Databricks, and Apache Kafka.
Define and implement integration strategies for internal CVS Health platforms and external vendor systems across multi-cloud environments (Azure, GCP, AWS)
Provide hands-on engineering leadership through code contributions, design reviews, and deep technical troubleshooting
Establish and lead performance engineering and observability practices, including throughput optimization, scalability testing, and system tuning
Serve as technical lead for vendor evaluations and proofs-of-concept, assessing architectural fit, performance, and scalability
Act as a senior technical advisor to Exposure Management and broader ISTS teams, influencing standards and platform direction through example and implementation

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of experience designing and implementing large-scale distributed systems
5+ years of experience with big-data platforms and high-volume data integration
5+ years of experience building web and service-based applications
Hands-on coding proficiency in at least one of Java, Python, Javascript
5+ years in senior technical leadership roles such as Architect, Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, or equivalent, with demonstrated hands-on ownership
Proven ability to operate in enterprise-scale, mission-critical environments with strong performance and reliability requirements

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical, dental, and vision coverage
paid time off
retirement savings options
wellness programs
comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well-being of colleagues and their families

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

data architecturedistributed systemsbig-data designdata ingestionanalyticsApache SparkDatabricksApache KafkaJavaPython

Soft Skills

technical leadershipproblem-solvingcommunicationinfluencingcollaborationperformance engineeringobservability practicesdesign reviewstroubleshootingmentorship