Solutions Architect (US, Eastern Time)

Lateral stands for technology excellence. We’re a profitable, award-winning design and technology company with over 20 years of experience launching bold ventures and transforming businesses. A globally distributed team of 200+ experts united by a shared purpose: the continuous pursuit of quality. Our clients come to us for results, quality and craft - and stay because we keep raising the bar. We Do Things Differently at Lateral Our mission is simple: design and build great products.

What sets us apart isn’t just the talent of our team - it’s the way we work:

• We Have A Bias For Action & Results.
• We are doers - we spot the gaps, connect the dots, anticipate what’s around the corner and take action. We move fast, stay focused, and let the results - not the effort - speak for themselves.
• We Work On Time, On Budget, On Quality
• Discipline is our edge - a commitment we make to each other, to our clients, and to the standards we hold ourselves to.

We Care Deeply.

• We care about our work and about each other. Care Is A Competitive Advantage.
• Every detail matters. Every design, every line of code, every decision. Thoughtful by default.
• We Do Things Right - Because It’s the Right Thing to Do
• Right over easy. Integrity isn’t up for negotiation. We hold the bar high even when no one’s watching. We take pride in doing great work the right way - not the easy way.

We Keep Improving

• The best teams keep improving and we’re never done learning.
• We iterate. We reflect on what’s working and what’s not. Feedback fuels us, we receive it openly, and adapt quickly. Progress over perfection.
• We’re Obsessed With Agility, Not The Agile Manifesto
• We don’t chase dogma or rituals - we chase momentum. We adapt processes to fit problems, not the other way around.

We Take Ownership Everyone leads something here. You will have room to run with ideas, and the trust to execute. That trust is built on how you show up: thinking things through, sweating the details, and following through.

What You'll Do As a Solutions Architect at Lateral, your role is to connect business ambition with the technology needed to deliver it. You will shape solutions, guide technical direction, and partner directly with clients, while supporting our delivery teams with clarity, structure, and sound architectural judgment.

You will:

• Lead solution definition for key initiatives: architecture, technical approach, integration strategy, cloud alignment, and delivery feasibility.
• Work directly with client executives and product leaders to translate business needs into scalable, modern architectures across AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to turn architectural direction into actionable plans, balancing quality, velocity, and pragmatic tradeoffs.
• Conduct architecture assessments, review existing systems, and define modernization, migration, or greenfield approaches.
• Develop solution proposals, SOWs, estimates, and architectural documentation for pre-sales and delivery.
• Represent Lateral in early conversations with hyperscalers. As part of a strategic initiative, you’ll help build partner relationships with AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Support delivery teams through ongoing architectural decisions, technical guidance, and risk identification.
• Champion clarity and quality: ensuring our solutions are maintainable, well-structured, secure, and aligned with long-term business value.
• What We’re Looking For
• We’re looking for a seasoned architect with a consulting mindset, someone who is equally strong in technical depth, stakeholder communication, and problem framing.

You must bring:

7+ years of experience in technical leadership roles such as Solutions Architect, Senior Architect, Principal Consultant, or similar. A background in consulting or services environments

• Deep expertise in designing systems on AWS, Azure, or GCP architecture patterns, compute, storage, API design, integration strategies, observability, and deployment models.
• Strong ability to lead discovery conversations, clarify requirements, and translate business needs into technical direction.
• Experience shaping architecture for complex systems, SaaS products, integrations, distributed systems, and modern cloud applications.
• Excellent communication skills: you can explain tradeoffs, options, and decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong consultancy instincts: pre-sales exposure, client advisory work, and solution packaging are second nature to you.
• A preference for modern software engineering (cloud-native, serverless, event-driven, container-based, or hybrid approaches).
• Comfort working in ambiguity, shaping clarity, and bringing structure to complex technical and business problems.
• Why You’ll Love Working Here
• Real Impact: You’ll work on meaningful products that make a measurable difference - from healthcare and commerce to sustainability and next-gen tech.

Remote-First, Office Friendly: Work from wherever you’re most productive - whether that’s your home, a co-working space, or one of our offices. We’re a remote-first company, but if you’re near an office, you’re welcome to drop in, collaborate in person, or work onsite regularly.

We prioritize async collaboration, respect your time zone, and focus on outcomes over hours.

An Outstanding Team: Talented, kind, and hard-working people who care deeply about their craft - and about each other. No egos. No politics. Just professionals doing their best work.

Growth: You’ll be supported in growing your craft, exploring new paths, and stepping into greater responsibility - at your own pace

A Culture of Excellence: We care deeply about doing the right thing - for our clients, our team, and ourselves. No burnout. No crunch. Just high-quality work, delivered sustainably.

Variety & Stability: We’re profitable, independent, and over a decade strong. Yet every project brings a fresh challenge. You’ll never be bored here. This Role Might Not Be for You

We want to respect your time by being clear about what this role isn’t. You should skip this opportunity if:

• You prefer well defined structure. If you gravitate towards a clear hierarchy, well defined roles and swim lanes, you may find our self-managed style challenging.
• Distributed work isn’t your thing. If you find async communication, design documentation and being proactive without a manager nearby difficult, our setup won’t suit you.

Feedback doesn't excite you. We’re obsessed with quality and believe in continuous improvement. That means we give feedback that’s sometimes nitpicky. If refining the work until it’s excellent feels over the top, you are likely going to find working here frustrating.

Change makes you uncomfortable. We’re scaling and maturing. That means not everything is perfect yet. Priorities shift. Processes evolve. If ambiguity is uncomfortable, this may feel bumpy.

However, If this sounds like fuel, we’d love to talk!

How to apply and what to expect in the interview process Our hiring process is structured as a sequence of steps. Moving forward is based on how well the previous step goes. This helps us stay focused, fair, and respectful of everyone’s time.

We will always:

Let you know clearly what the next step is Share updates and feedback wherever possible Invite questions if anything feels unclear

• Not everyone progresses through every stage. That doesn’t mean you’re not great at what you do. Sometimes it’s about timing, team fit, or simply what we’re looking for at the moment.
• Step 1: Express Your Interest
• If this sounds like your kind of team and you’re ready to bring your craft to Lateral, we want to hear from you.

Please send us:

Your resume A short note about what excites you about this role Links to your work: GitHub/ Code snippets, portfolio, architecture /design docs, blog posts, or anything that shows us how you think and build

Please don’t include anything sensitive or proprietary. If you’re sharing team projects, let us know what your specific contributions were. We review every application with care. If there’s a fit, we’ll reach out to schedule next steps. Step 2: Talent Partner Conversation Purpose: A structured discussion with our People Experience team to delve into your career trajectory, motivations, and alignment with Lateral's values.

What to Expect:

• In-depth questions about your past experiences and decision-making processes.
• Exploration of your career goals and how they align with the role.
• Discussion about our company culture, availability, compensation and other logistics
• Motivators and demotivators.
• Your life outside coding.

Preparation Tips:

• Reflect on your career journey and pivotal moments.
• Be ready to discuss challenges you've overcome and lessons learned.
• Familiarize yourself with the Job Description, Lateral's mission and values.
• Step 3: Technical interview
• Purpose: Assess your technical proficiency and problem-solving abilities.
• Format: A collaborative session with our engineering team, focusing on real-world scenarios relevant to the role.

What to Expect:

• Problem-solving exercises/questions that mirror tasks you'd encounter in the position.
• Discussions around your approach, reasoning, and solutions.

Preparation Tips:

• Practice articulating your thought process clearly and concisely.
• Be prepared to discuss in depth past projects and the technologies used.
• Step 4: Take Home Assignment
• Purpose: Provide a practical demonstration of your skills through a task resembling real work at Lateral.
• Format: A paid take-home assignment or a live session, depending on the role.

What to Expect:

• Tasks designed to reflect actual challenges faced in the position.
• An opportunity to showcase your problem-solving and technical skills.

Preparation Tips:

• Set aside uninterrupted time to focus.
• Explain your decisions and assumptions.
• Step 5: Operational interview
• Purpose: Understand your approach to prioritizing, collaborating, shipping, and iterating.

What to expect:

• How you prioritize and break down work.
• How you collaborate across disciplines.
• How you handle blockers, feedback, and iteration.

Preparation Tips:

• Pick 1-2 meaningful projects you led or heavily contributed to.
• Walk through your process: what worked, what didn’t, what you’d do differently.
• Think about how you manage time, scope, and changing requirements.
• Step 6: Reference Checks

Purpose: We believe references are about understanding, not just validation. We do not look for perfection, but to understand patterns, strengths, and context. We use them to learn how to support you best.

• What to Expect: we’ll ask you for 2–3 people who’ve worked closely with you. These are often: former managers, senior peers or collaborators, mentors or people you've mentored.
• What we ask: We focus on how you’ve grown, where you shine, how you like to be led, and what support sets you up for success. We want practical advice for making this a great fit for you.

Yes, we do backchannels too: We do this when we feel we need more context. We will check with you if there are folks we should avoid reaching out due to confidentiality or other reasons. And here’s our commitment: if anything surprising or unclear comes up in a backchannel, we’ll bring it directly to you. We believe in “no stories without you in the room.” You’ll always get the chance to share your side, context, or clarification. Step 7: Offer

• What Happens: If selected, you'll receive a comprehensive offer detailing compensation, and other pertinent information.
• Our hiring process is designed to be thorough yet respectful, ensuring a mutual fit. We encourage candidates to engage actively, ask questions, and view this as a two-way exploration.
• Join us and let’s build something extraordinary.