Technical Architect

Technical Architect (Scala/Backend)
Description
We’re looking for a hands-on Technical Architect to join our team in Barcelona and play a founding role in shaping the architecture of Sage HCM – our recently acquired HR and payroll platform (formerly Criterion), currently serving customers across North America, the UK, and Canada.
This role is brand new to the product: Sage HCM was built and operated by a highly skilled team without a dedicated architect function. You will be the first person in this role, working directly with the engineering team to introduce architecture discipline, establish patterns, and guide the platform’s continued evolution.
The technology stack is Scala-based. If you have strong experience in Java, Golang, or Rust and a genuine willingness to work in Scala, we encourage you to apply.
Note: This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in our Barcelona office.

First 90 Days
30 Days: Immerse yourself in the Sage HCM platform – its architecture, codebase, and the patterns already in place. Conduct a structured handover with the existing contractor team. Meet your engineering colleagues, key stakeholders, and your line manager. Begin forming a view of the architectural landscape and where the most immediate opportunities for improvement lie.
60 Days: Start introducing architectural rigour: document existing patterns, identify gaps, and propose improvements. Participate actively in technical planning and design reviews. Begin mentoring and coaching junior engineers – helping them understand and apply architectural best practices in their day-to-day work.
90 Days: Own the architectural direction of Sage HCM. Present a clear view of the platform’s architectural roadmap, including scaling strategy, database design, and any areas requiring refactoring or modernisation. Be the go-to technical authority for the product team, and contribute actively to product evolution discussions – including the integration of AI capabilities where relevant.

Key Performance Indicators
Quality, consistency, and scalability of the architectural patterns you introduce and champion.
Tangible improvement in the platform’s performance, reliability, and maintainability.
Effectiveness of your coaching and mentoring – junior engineers growing in technical confidence and quality.
Contribution to product evolution, including AI integration opportunities.
Your ability to balance hands-on technical delivery with strategic architectural thinking.

Skills You’ll Gain
Deep expertise in Scala and the architectural patterns of a large-scale, cloud-native HCM platform.
Experience founding and shaping an architecture function from scratch within an acquired product.
Broad exposure to AI/ML integration in a production SaaS environment.
Leadership experience mentoring and elevating a high-quality backend engineering team.
Cross-functional collaboration at senior level in a global, growing organisation.

Responsabilidades Principales
Snapshot of Your Day-to-Day
You will split your time between hands-on architectural work and coaching the team. On any given day you might be reviewing a proposed data model with a developer, pairing on a complex Scala implementation, leading a design session for a new platform capability, or evaluating how AI tooling could accelerate the team’s delivery. You are not just a designer of diagrams – you will roll up your sleeves, write code when needed, and be deeply embedded in how the product is built.
You will also own the relationship between engineering patterns and product direction, working closely with product management to ensure the architecture supports both current requirements and long-term scalability. Database design and scaling strategy will be a recurring focus given the platform’s growth ambitions.

Qualifications
Scala expertise is ideal; strong experience in Java, Golang, or Rust with a genuine eagerness to work in Scala will also be considered.
2–5 years of experience in a technical architect or equivalent senior engineering role.
Proven ability to define and implement backend architectural patterns at scale.
Strong database knowledge – experience designing and scaling data models for high-volume systems.
Hands-on cloud experience, primarily on AWS; Azure or GCP skills are transferable.
Experience designing for scalability, resilience, and performance in large-scale distributed systems.
A track record of mentoring and coaching engineers and raising the bar on code quality.
Exposure to AI, generative AI, or machine learning integration in production systems is a strong differentiator.
Solid understanding of software development principles, lifecycle, and agile methodologies.
Excellent communication skills in English – able to articulate complex architectural concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Perks & Benefits
Medical and dental insurance: Fully funded medical and dental insurance.
Flexible benefits: Exchange part of your salary for tax savings on meal/transport vouchers, childcare, and training.
Well-being: Free access to the Calm app, 24/7 counselling, and support via Healthy Mind Coaches and Cleo.
Flexible working: "One hour in, one hour out" flexibility, shortened Fridays and summer hours, and the Work Away program (up to 10 weeks/year in 40+ countries).
Annual leave: 23 working days of vacation + 5 paid days for volunteering.
Extended leave: Extra maternity/paternity leave (after one year of service).
Financial support: Life/disability insurance, salary advances, marriage bonus, and discounted stock purchase plan.
Learning and development: Free premium subscription to external learning platforms.

Information & Safety
Product Info: https://hcm.sage.com/
Health and Safety: You are expected to foster a safety culture, follow procedures, report hazards, and participate in training to protect yourself and colleagues.