SW Architect - Data Operations

Belong. Believe. Be You. Belden.

Propel your career surrounded by a diverse team of innovative, goal-oriented individuals who are pursuing the next generation of connectivity solutions. At Belden, you'll participate in work that will challenge you and position you to excel. You'll collaborate with colleagues from around the world, gaining exposure to a broad base of expertise and perspectives.

Together, we'll continue on a journey of innovation, creating a connected world and paving the way for automation. Join us and let's build the future.

Job Summary

We are seeking a visionary Software Architect to lead the design and evolution of our Industrial IoT (IIoT) platform, with a focus on Operational Technology (OT) data applications, Agentic AI, and Data Lake functions. This individual will technically lead a team of 10 high-performing engineers, guiding architecture, innovation, and execution across complex industrial data ecosystems.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise, architectural vision, and leadership acumen to drive scalable, secure, and intelligent IIoT solutions. This is a hands-on innovation leadership role that defines technical strategy, ensures architectural coherence, and fosters collaboration across data, AI, and product teams.

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & Technical Strategy

• Define and own the end-to-end architecture for the IIoT platform - spanning edge, cloud, data ingestion, data lakes, and AI layers.
• Develop frameworks for real-time OT data acquisition, stream processing, and AI/ML-driven analytics.
• Architect scalable systems leveraging event-driven, microservices, and serverless paradigms.
• Drive integration between industrial data sources (SCADA, PLCs, DCS) and cloud data platforms.
• Lead AI/Agentic system design, including autonomous workflows, multi-agent coordination, and decision-making pipelines.
• Ensure robust data governance, security, and compliance with industrial and enterprise standards (e.g., IEC, ISA95, NIST).

Innovation & Product Leadership

• Champion innovation initiatives across the IIoT and AI domains, identifying new opportunities for automation, optimization, and intelligence.
• Collaborate with product and data science teams to translate business use cases into technical blueprints.
• Evaluate emerging technologies (LLMs, digital twins, streaming analytics, time-series DBs) and drive proof-of-concept implementations.
• Guide the development of reference architectures and best practices for internal and external stakeholders.

Team Leadership & Governance

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 10 software engineers across backend, data, and AI disciplines.
• Establish technical governance, coding standards, architectural reviews, and design documentation practices.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with enterprise architects, cybersecurity, and DevOps to align platform evolution with organizational goals.

Required Skills & Experience:

Technical Expertise

• 10+ years of experience in software architecture, with at least 3+ years in IIoT, industrial data, or OT/IT integration.
• Deep understanding of IIoT protocols (MQTT, OPC-UA, Modbus, DDS, etc.) and industrial data models.
• Strong background in cloud-native architecture (AWS/Azure/GCP) and data lake technologies (Databricks, Snowflake, Delta Lake, etc.).
• Expertise in data engineering (streaming, ingestion, ETL, pipelines - Kafka, Flink, Spark).
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, or similar for agentic AI).
• Proficiency in Python, Go, Java, or Node.js, and familiarity with DevOps and CI/CD practices (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform).
• Knowledge of cybersecurity, edge computing, and industrial connectivity principles.

Leadership & Behavioral Attributes:

• Strategic thinker - able to balance short-term delivery with long-term architectural vision.
• Innovative mindset - passionate about exploring new paradigms like Agentic AI, digital twins, and self-healing systems.
• Excellent communicator - able to articulate complex technical concepts to executives and engineers alike.
• Collaborative leader - fosters cross-functional alignment across data science, product, and operations.
• Mentorship orientation - inspires technical growth and autonomy in team members.
• Outcome-focused - drives measurable impact through technology choices and execution excellence.

Soft Skills

• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills for executive and technical audiences.
• Empathy and emotional intelligence to nurture diverse, high-performing teams.
• Pragmatic decision-making under ambiguity, with strong business acumen.
• Passion for technology, mentorship, and long-term technical stewardship.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience in industrial automation, manufacturing, energy, or smart infrastructure domains.
• Prior experience architecting AI-driven industrial applications or autonomous agent systems.
• Certifications in Cloud Architecture (AWS/Azure/GCP) or Data Engineering are a plus.

Applicants can expect a base compensation range of $173,100 - $210,000 plus benefits and additional incentives based on the level of the role. This is the reasonable estimate that Belden believes it might pay for this job based on applicable circumstances at the time of posting. Belden may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range as permitted by law, and commensurate with the applicant's experience, qualifications, and geographical location.

Belden also offers hybrid and remote work practices where feasible and provides employees with benefits that could include health/dental/vision, long term/short term disability, life insurance, HSA/FSA, matching retirement plans, paid vacation, parental leave, employee stock purchase plan, paid leave for volunteer work in your community, training opportunities, professional talent management and succession planning, corporate health well-being initiatives and a work culture which includes commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and sustainability!

Let's Write the Next 100 Years Together.

Join a global community striving to improve connectivity and security. The work we're doing puts our people on the front lines of impacting lives and shaping the future. Propel your story of innovation by helping Belden write the next chapter in ours. Shape your future at Belden.

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These statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work involved for this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of this job.