Principal Enterprise Architect

About this role

At Deckers Brands, Together, Every Step is a promise kept that every employee can bring their authentic self, is valued and supported, as a whole person, at work and beyond. Together, Every Step is how we continue to deliver exceptional business results, experience an amazing place to work, and have a positive impact on the communities and world around us.
Job Title: Principal Enterprise Architect

Reports to: Sr. Director, Enterprise Architecture
Location: US (Remote)

Interested applicants must reside in one of the following approved states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin
The Role
As Principal Enterprise Architect, AI and DTC Technology, you will shape the architecture powering Deckers’ consumer-facing platforms and build the foundations for practical, governed, and measurable AI across our business. You’ll work across brands, regions, and technology teams to define a composable DTC architecture and a shared AI platform, balancing enterprise-wide standards with the flexibility needed for innovation. Your vision and technical leadership will empower the business, manage risk, and support operational excellence.
We celebrate diversity--of your background, your experiences and your unique identity. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and equitable workplace where all of our employees can Come as They Are. We believe that when we bring our different perspectives to work, we are truly Better Together.
Your Impact

• Develop and articulate a clear, enterprise-wide architectural vision for DTC commerce and AI, aligning with Deckers' business goals and focusing on consumer experience, agility, scalability, and innovation.

• Define and enforce architecture governance policies and standards across all brands and regions, including an AI review process for use-case approval, risk, and production readiness.

• Create and maintain a multiyear DTC and AI architecture roadmap with clear milestones, dependencies, risks, and ownership.

• Own the target architecture for the DTC landscape, ensuring seamless cross-platform functionality and data flow across ecommerce, OMS, inventory orchestration, payments, CDP, loyalty, content management, search and personalization, marketplaces, and fulfillment.

• Champion MACH principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) to create a flexible and composable commerce architecture.

• Drive modernization of legacy commerce and integration systems to modern, cloud-based, API-driven architectures.

• Define the enterprise AI reference architecture and shared AI platform, covering model access, orchestration, RAG, vector and feature stores, prompt and agent management, evaluation, guardrails, cost controls, and observability.

• Establish responsible-AI controls, including use-case approval, bias and safety evaluation, human oversight, privacy, data residency, model risk management, and regulatory compliance.

• Define API-first and event-driven integration patterns across commerce platforms, marketplaces, payment providers, 3PLs, marketing technology, and customer service tools.

• Oversee data architecture and governance for DTC and AI, ensuring data is trusted, discoverable, secure, and compliant.

• Collaborate with executive leadership and senior stakeholders to prioritize architectural initiatives that deliver strategic impact and operational efficiency.

• Lead and mentor architects, engineers, and AI practitioners, fostering a collaborative environment that emphasizes innovation, excellence, and best practices.

• Define and track key performance indicators for DTC architecture and AI initiatives, reporting progress to senior management and monitoring emerging technologies and industry trends.

Who You Are

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent applicable industry experience; Master’s degree is a plus.

• 8+ years of experience in enterprise or solution architecture within retail, fashion, or consumer goods, with deep expertise in DTC ecommerce, order management, customer data, and integration.

• 3+ years of hands-on experience architecting AI and machine learning solutions, including generative AI and large language model applications delivered into production.

• Proven track record of implementing MACH and composable commerce architecture, with experience in microservices, API integration, cloud-native environments, and iPaaS platforms such as Boomi.

• Experience managing large-scale transformation projects, including commerce platform modernization and AI adoption programs.

• Experience supporting global products aligned with varying regional strategies, working with both technical and global business stakeholders.

• Experience evaluating AI and commerce vendors and platforms for capability fit, total cost of ownership, lock-in, security, and roadmap risk.

• Familiarity with the retail or fashion industry and a solid understanding of the consumer journey from discovery through purchase, fulfillment, and service.

• Extensive knowledge of multi-cloud computing (AWS is a must) with a strong understanding of scalability, security, and cloud architecture best practices.

• Strong understanding of AI and ML architecture, including LLMs, RAG, agents, vector databases, model evaluation, MLOps and LLMOps, guardrails, and responsible-AI practices.

• Proficiency across the DTC technology stack, including major ecommerce platforms, OMS, CDP, loyalty, personalization, and payment platforms.

• Strong background in data architecture, data governance, and large-scale data processing.

• Proficiency in enterprise integration and interoperability, with a working understanding of Oracle EBS, PLM, PIM, and other large-scale enterprise systems.

• Ability to produce clear reference architectures, decision records, and solution blueprints.

• Strategic vision and leadership skills, with the…