Technical Architect (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Join us and do work that matters: use your skills to improve how your government serves the public! Pluribus Digital partners with our government customers to design, develop, and deliver useful and impactful digital products. We are a hands-on digital services consultancy – part technologists, part change agents, and all heart. We employ modern best practices in all that we do as we work to solve problems in public health, financial industry regulation, granting citizenship and asylum, and identity and access management.

We are seeking an experienced Technical Architect to lead a high-impact program within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In this role, you will oversee a large, multi-team effort focused on the operation, maintenance, and modernization of an automated data collection system supporting Medicare Fee-for-Service payment programs. You will manage a program of 20–30 cross-functional team members, drive execution across interconnected projects, and serve as a visible, trusted partner to federal stakeholders.

CMS requires the operation and maintenance of a system that can collect, synthesize, and manage large volumes of data across three Medicare Fee-for-Service payment areas: clinical laboratory data, Part B drug information, and survey data from ambulance providers. Known as the Fee for Service Data Collection System (FFSDCS), this platform is critical to CMS’s ability to administer and modernize national healthcare payment programs.

If you are motivated by meaningful work, complex data challenges, and the opportunity to influence large-scale healthcare delivery at the national level, this role offers both immediate impact and long-term growth.

What You Will Do

• Define and drive technical strategy and system architecture for multi-team modernization efforts aligned with contract Statements of Work (SOWs).
• Design and oversee end-to-end cloud-native, microservices-based solutions using technologies such as Java Spring Boot, React, Python, Kubernetes, Terraform, and other cloud and open-source tools.
• Lead the architecture and ongoing evolution of CMS’s FFSDCS platform, ensuring reliable collection and processing of:
• Clinical laboratory data
• Medicare Part B drug information
• Ambulance provider survey data
• Ensure all technical solutions align with CMS SDLC methodologies, CMS IT infrastructure frameworks, CMS Technical Reference Model (TRM), and applicable federal standards.
• Ensure compliance with federal security, accessibility, and quality standards, including NIST, FISMA, and Section 508.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership, including code reviews, architecture reviews, and technical decision-making.
• Lead legacy system modernization efforts, including decomposing monolithic systems, implementing APIs, and migrating to scalable cloud-native architectures.
• Guide implementation of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and DevSecOps practices, consistent with modern delivery and 12-Factor App principles.
• Operate effectively in multi-platform, multi-tool environments, ensuring system reliability and maintainability.
• Apply in-depth experience with healthcare information management systems, particularly within CMS environments.
• Address technical challenges associated with processing healthcare and provider records, including data integrity, security, and compliance.
• Ensure all technical work performed under the contract meets CMS quality standards and system development principles.
• Plan, conduct, direct, and supervise technical work across engineering teams.
• Mentor engineers in high-quality code, sound architectural practices, and modern engineering approaches.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive engineering culture focused on learning and continuous improvement.
• Support onboarding, technical growth, and cross-team knowledge sharing.

What You Will Bring

• Active or recent Public Trust clearance
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• 8+ years of software engineering or technical leadership experience, including leading or supervising teams
• Hands-on experience with:
• Java / J2EE platforms and Spring Boot
• Cloud-native architectures and microservices
• API design and electronic file interfacing
• Databases (including large-scale or distributed databases such as HBase or similar)
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or similar), containerization, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code
• Experience working in federal environments, including CMS, and delivering work aligned with SOW requirements
• Strong understanding of CMS SDLC methodologies, infrastructure frameworks, and federal technical standards
• Excellent communication skills and ability to engage effectively with government stakeholders

Bonus Points

• Hands-on experience with CMS fee-for-service data (Part B, Part E, or similar programs).
• Prior involvement in federal development contracts involving large data ingestion, modernization, or analytical platforms.
• Ability to operate effectively in a rapidly evolving environment with shifting priorities and emerging CMS data needs.
• Strong client-facing presence with the ability to build trust, resolve issues, and advocate for program needs.
• Experience guiding teams through multi-month onboarding, staffing transitions, or program ramp-up phases.

This position is associated with an upcoming contract pursuit and is not tied to an active opening at this time. We are proactively identifying and engaging qualified candidates in anticipation of future work. Employment offers will be contingent upon contract award and funding.

Why Pluribus May Be a Fit for You

We are purpose driven. We support missions and products that serve the public good, and where our focused capabilities positively impact those mission outcomes. We bring a consultative approach to partner with our government customers and help them succeed as change makers.

Pluribus is a calm company. We are knowledge workers. People do their best work when they are not rushed by artificial urgency or drained by a culture of face time and workaholism. By having confidence in our people, we can get more done at better quality. When real crunch time comes, we are not already stretched to the limit.

As a woman owned and led company, diversity, equity, and inclusion is woven into all aspects of the organization. We are stronger because of the variety of skills and personal backgrounds of our team. We hold ourselves accountable with annual reporting on diversity statistics.

Compensation: Pluribus Digital offers a competitive salary that is determined at the time of offer. The range for this role ranges from $175,000 to $210,000 depending on experience. Salary is augmented with the opportunity to earn annual bonus and a robust benefits package. Details on benefits can be found here: https://pluribusdigital.com/content/join/benefits.