Sr. Staff Enterprise Architect

As a Senior Staff Enterprise Architect, you will play a key role in establishing and maturing AppFolio's integration and architecture capabilities within Business Systems. Acting as a strategic advisor and technical leader, you will guide the design and evolution of secure, scalable solutions that support AppFolio's growth and long-term objectives.

You will translate business priorities into pragmatic architectural decisions by assessing current-state capabilities, defining target-state approaches, and establishing the standards and patterns that enable teams to deliver with consistency and confidence.

Your work will span enterprise applications, system integrations, and emerging AI-enabled workflows, partnering closely with stakeholders across Business Systems, Engineering, Data, Security, and the business.

You will also serve as the primary authority for Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) architectural reviews, ensuring proposed technology investments are evaluated through sound architectural governance and risk assessment. Through influence, collaboration, and trusted relationships, you will help move AppFolio from tribal knowledge to trusted infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Integration Architecture & Strategy

• Assess current-state integrations, dependencies, and architectural patterns across the enterprise application landscape.
• Define target-state architectures and pragmatic transition roadmaps for enterprise applications and integrations.
• Establish and maintain architecture principles, reference architectures, and design patterns that promote scalability and consistency.
• Design scalable, secure, resilient integration solutions that support evolving business needs.
• Define integration guidance across APIs, events, batch processing, orchestration, and automation capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to simplify architectures, reduce technical debt, and improve maintainability.

Architecture Governance & TPRM

• Serve as the primary architect for Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) architecture reviews.
• Evaluate proposed technology initiatives for alignment with enterprise standards, security requirements, and architectural principles.
• Develop lightweight governance processes that enable speed while maintaining appropriate controls.
• Document architecture decisions through Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) and related artifacts.
• Participate in Architecture Review Board activities and represent Business Systems architecture perspectives.

Integration & Platform Leadership

• Define standards and decision frameworks across AppFolio's integration platforms, including MuleSoft, AWS, Workato, and emerging technologies.
• Recommend appropriate integration patterns based on business requirements and non-functional needs.
• Promote modern integration practices including API-first design, event-driven architectures, serverless capabilities, and reusable services.
• Partner with engineering teams to improve observability, reliability, and supportability of integrations.
• Provide guidance on platform selection and architectural tradeoffs.

AI Enablement & Emerging Technologies

• Partner with cross-functional teams to assess and prioritize AI-enabled use cases within Business Systems.
• Advise teams on architectural considerations related to AI capabilities, including data readiness, integration patterns, and operational considerations.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend practical applications aligned to business objectives.
• Support the transition of AI initiatives from experimentation to production readiness in alignment with evolving governance practices.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence

• Facilitate architecture discovery and strategy sessions with technical and business stakeholders.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for diverse audiences.
• Build trusted partnerships across Business Systems, Engineering, Security, Data, Product, and business teams.
• Establish the artifacts, operating rhythms, and decision frameworks necessary to mature the Enterprise Architecture capability within Business Systems.
• Influence technology direction through evidence-based recommendations and collaborative decision-making.
• Mentor team members and elevate architectural thinking across the organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, integration architecture, enterprise applications, or related technical leadership roles, including experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing architectural direction across multiple teams.
• 8+ years designing and delivering enterprise integration solutions within complex environments.
• Experience developing architecture standards, integration patterns, and technical guidance across multiple platforms.
• Experience architecting or supporting AI-enabled capabilities, with an understanding of the architectural considerations associated with large language models, agentic workflows, and enterprise data integration.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise integration technologies such as MuleSoft, AWS, Workato, Boomi, or similar platforms.
• Experience facilitating architecture reviews and evaluating proposed solutions against established principles.
• Strong understanding of API-led connectivity, event-driven architecture, and modern integration approaches.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing decisions without direct authority.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguity and drive outcomes independently.

Preferred

• Experience building or maturing architecture practices within high-growth SaaS organizations.
• Familiarity with architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, Zachman, or similar approaches applied pragmatically.
• Exposure to data architecture concepts including data governance, lineage, and modern data platform patterns.
• Experience participating in Architecture Review Boards or governance forums.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices, observability concepts, and infrastructure-as-code principles.
• Experience working with globally distributed teams.

Location

Find out more about our locations by visiting our site.

Compensation & Benefits

The compensation we reasonably expect to pay for this role is 167,200-209,000 base pay. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate's skills, education, experience, and internal equity.

Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.

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About AppFolio

AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com.

Why AppFolio

Grow | We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.

Learn | We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We're cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best-in-class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.

Impact | We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.

Connect | We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.

Paddle as One.

Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers

Statement of Equal Opportunity

At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture.

That's why we're a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you're always welcome at AppFolio.

Skills

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Application Programming Interface (API), Architectural Analysis, Architectural Services, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation, Business Architecture, Business Growth, Business Solutions, Business Support, Community Support, Cross-Functional, DevOps, Emerging Technology, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Enterprise Applications, Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Data Integration, Enterprise Protection, Establish Priorities, Functional Analysis, Information/Data Security (InfoSec), Investment Analysis, Knowledge Base, Leadership, Mentoring, Modeling Languages, Multiplatform/Cross-Platform, People Management, Real Estate, Reliability Engineering, Risk Analysis, Risk Management, Software Engineering, Software as a Service (SaaS), Standards Development, System Architecture, System Integration (SI), Systems Engineering, TOGAF - The Open Group Architecture Framework, Team Player, Technical Leadership, Technical Strategy, Use Cases, Zachman Framework

About the Company

AppFolio Inc