Principal Software & Platform Architect

(Focus: Software Architecture, Platform Engineering, DevOps, Cloud, and Hardware-Integrated Systems)

About DEXA

Dexa is transforming last-mile logistics through safe, scalable autonomous commercial aviation. The company enables restaurants, retailers, and enterprise partners to deliver products faster, fresher, and more efficiently through fully automated airborne delivery solutions. By combining advanced aircraft design, FAA-certified operations, and deep operational expertise, Dexa improves delivery speed, product quality, and customer experience - making autonomous drone delivery a practical, everyday reality.

Position Summary

Responsible for supporting the Chief Technology Officer by bringing DEXA's software platforms, cloud infrastructure, DevOps practices, data flows, and hardware-integrated applications into a coherent, reliable, scalable, and secure technology architecture.

This is a hands-on architecture and technical leadership role focused on software systems, platform engineering, DevOps, and integration with hardware and operations. The Principal Software & Platform Architect will help translate CTO priorities into practical architecture patterns, integration standards, deployment practices, technical designs, and implementation plans.

The ideal candidate is a senior software/platform architect with strong DevOps depth who can guide implementation, evaluate future technology solutions, and ensure DEXA's software ecosystem scales with its autonomous delivery operations. This role is intended to be a senior technical force multiplier for the CTO.

Key Responsibilities

• Software & Platform Architecture: Define and evolve the architecture for DEXA's software platforms, cloud services, APIs, data flows, integrations, internal tools, and operational systems.
• System Coherence & Integration: Bring existing software components into a coherent system architecture with clear boundaries, interfaces, ownership, and standards.
• Hardware/Software Alignment: Align software architecture with drone hardware, sensors, cameras, telemetry, fleet systems, field operations, aviation operations, and other operational technology.
• Cloud, DevOps & Infrastructure: Design and improve cloud environments, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure-as-Code practices, deployment automation, environment management, monitoring, observability, and platform reliability.
• Architecture Standards: Establish practical standards for APIs, data models, event flows, service boundaries, integration patterns, deployment, documentation, monitoring, and operational readiness.
• Technology Roadmap Support: Support the CTO by translating technology priorities into architecture plans, platform recommendations, implementation approaches, and future technology evaluations.
• Technical Reviews & Vendor Evaluation: Lead technical design reviews, proof-of-concepts, vendor assessments, platform evaluations, build-vs-buy analysis, and technology selection recommendations.
• Modernization & Technical Debt: Identify opportunities to reduce technical debt, eliminate duplicated systems, improve integration quality, automate manual processes, and improve system performance and reliability.
• Implementation Support: Stay close enough to implementation to review designs, challenge assumptions, troubleshoot systems, guide delivery, and support production-ready solutions.
• Cross-Team Leadership: Partner with software engineering, hardware, aviation operations, product, IT, security, and leadership teams to translate business and operational needs into implementable technical designs.

Ideal Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field; other degrees may be considered with suitable experience
• 10-15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, platform engineering, DevOps, cloud architecture, systems integration, or technical architecture
• 5+ years in a senior architecture, principal engineer, staff engineer, platform architect, or technical leadership position
• Strong background designing distributed software systems, APIs, cloud services, databases, integrations, internal platforms, and operational systems
• Deep experience with DevOps practices including CI/CD, release automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, environment strategy, deployment automation, monitoring, observability, and reliability practices
• Experience integrating software with hardware, IoT, robotics, industrial systems, transportation systems, sensors, telemetry, cameras, drones, or other physical-world systems
• Strong understanding of cloud architecture, networking concepts, security patterns, identity and access management, data flows, and platform operations
• Proven ability to simplify complex technical problems and turn them into clear architecture, standards, diagrams, documentation, and execution plans
• Strong hands-on technical capability - comfortable reviewing designs, guiding implementation, troubleshooting systems, and supporting production-ready delivery
• Experience working across software, hardware, operations, product, IT, security, and executive stakeholders
• Strong communication and documentation skills - able to partner effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Proven ability to operate with ownership, sound judgment, accountability, and a high degree of technical credibility

High-Value Skills

• Experience in aviation, logistics, autonomous systems, robotics, drones, materials handling, transportation, or other operationally complex environments
• Experience working in regulated, safety-sensitive, or compliance-driven environments
• Experience with edge/cloud coordination, fleet systems, telemetry pipelines, simulation/test environments, or software that interacts with physical operations
• Experience modernizing legacy systems, improving cloud cost efficiency, increasing platform reliability, or automating internal operations
• Experience evaluating AI, machine learning, LLM integrations, automation workflows, or data-driven platforms as part of practical business or engineering systems
• Cloud certifications from AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud are helpful but not required
• Security certifications or architecture certifications are helpful but not required; practical architecture judgment is more important than frameworks

Work Style Expectations

• Must be located within driving distance of Dayton, OH
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, highly collaborative, and execution-focused environment
• Able to support multiple technical priorities simultaneously while maintaining clear documentation, communication, and architectural discipline
• Comfortable operating close to implementation while still thinking architecturally across systems, teams, and future technology needs
• May require occasional travel to operational sites, vendors, or partner locations based on business needs

*Additional compensation in the form of equity is also available for qualified associates.

Pay: $145,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person