Chief Architect

Job description

We're looking for a Cheif Architect to own the architectural direction of the Nexthink Platform. This is a hands-on, high-influence role, reporting directly to the CTO, and responsible for setting the vision, driving technical decisions, and shaping how AI, cloud, and data architecture come together across the product. You'll lead a team of six senior architects based across Europe and work closely with Engineering, Product, and Executive leadership to define how Nexthink's platform evolves. Your technical depth, clear communication, and ability to earn trust across a strong, opinionated engineering organization will ensure success. If you're the kind of architect who wants to be close to the work, have a clear point of view, and wants to build something that truly matters, this is the role for you. What you will do: Define and drive Nexthink's architecture roadmap, setting direction across scale, resilience, AI integration, and platform evolution Be a hands-on contributor: own specific architectural domains personally and drive them through to production Work closely with Product and Engineering leadership to align architecture decisions with the product roadmap and business objectives Build a coherent, high-performing architecture team from a strong group of senior individual contributors, creating shared practices, architectural forums, and a culture of technical excellence Communicate architectural vision clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, including the CEO and CPO Evaluate emerging technologies, especially AI and machine learning infrastructure, and make principled decisions about what belongs in the platform and when Serve as a technical authority across the organization, advising engineering teams on design decisions, patterns, and trade-offs Experience & Background 10+ years of hands-on software architecture experience in product-based engineering environments A proven track record of designing and delivering large-scale, high-performance, cloud-native platforms to production Deep expertise in cloud-native architecture, including microservices, distributed systems and high-volume data pipelines. AWS, Azure, or GCP experience is desirable, but we care about depth of thinking more than the specific cloud technology Meaningful exposure to AI and Machine Learning in the last two years, whether through building, integrating or actively shaping architectural direction Background in high-growth SaaS or product companies with a strong understanding of what it means to ship, scale, and iterate under real constraints Experience at Director, Senior Director, or VP level, or as a Staff/Principal Architect with equivalent scope How You Work You're fluent in both technical and business language, able to go deep on architecture in one conversation and discuss business impact in the next A leader who influences through credibility rather than authority, earning trust by engaging in the details and communicating clearly Comfortable with ambiguity and transformation, recognizing that Nexthink is evolving, and this role helps defines where it lands Naturally hands-on, enjoying working through the hardest architectural problems and not only delegating them Intentional about building strong relationships with your team, your peers in engineering and product, and with senior leadership This role is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. We're looking for someone who is either already local or genuinely committed to relocating. Nexthink provides relocation support and has a strong presence in the Lausanne region. We've welcomed people from Zurich, across Switzerland, and from broader Europe, and we are happy to have that conversation openly. We are the pioneers and trailblazers of a global IT Market Category (DEX) that is shaping the future of how the world works, giving our customers’ IT Teams total digital visibility across their enterprise. Our innovative solutions integrate real-time analytics, automation, and employee feedback across all endpoints. This enables our IT teams to solve complex technical challenges, create ever more productive workplaces, and deliver happy, satisfied employees in the digital workplace. With over 1000 employees across 5 continents, Nexthink operates as One Team, connecting, collaborating and innovating to continuously grow. We call our employees ‘Nexthinkers’ and our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is second to none. We currently have over 75 nationalities working with us, from all cultures and backgrounds, speaking many different languages. If you are looking for a change and like a nice atmosphere, lots of challenges, and having fun while working, this is a great opportunity for you! Check what we offer: 💼 Permanent Contract and a competitive compensation package. 📍 Beautiful office, conveniently located next to the Prilly-Malley train station 🏡 Hybrid work model balancing office and remote work, with a structured approach for new hires to foster connections and onboarding. 🏖️ Flexible Hours and unlimited vacation (employees have unlimited paid time off on top of the 25 days of holidays we offer) plus 3 company-paid volunteer days. 🤸 Free access to a fitness centre inside the building. 🚞 Reimbursement of the half-fare travel card for public transport. 🧑‍🏫 Reimbursement up to 50% of the cost of French classes. 🍉 Fresh fruit, cookies, and soft drinks as well. 🤝 Regular company and team events like Voluntary Days, Pizza talks, Team Building activities, hosting Meetups at the office and more! 📣 Bonuses for referring successful hires after three months of continuous employment. 🚚 We offer a relocation package to people who are coming from another country. Nexthink is the leader in digital employee experience (DEX) management software. The company provides IT leaders with unprecedented insight allowing them to see, diagnose and fix issues at scale impacting employees anywhere, with any application or network, before employees notice the issue. As the first solution to allow IT to progress from reactive problem solving to proactive optimization, Nexthink enables its more than 1,300 customers to provide better digital experiences to more than 25 million employees. Dual headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland and Boston, Massachusetts, Nexthink has 9 offices worldwide. With over 20 years of product innovation, we're now in the most exciting chapter of our journey: becoming an AI-native company. The architecture decisions being made right now will define Nexthink's next decade. That's where you come in.