Principal AI Architect

Job description

Founded in 1977 as the Senior Care Action Network, SCAN began with a simple but radical idea: that older adults deserve to stay healthy and independent. That belief was championed by a group of community activists we still honor today as the “12 Angry Seniors.” Their mission continues to guide everything we do. Today, SCAN is a nonprofit health organization serving more than 500,000 people across Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington, with over $8 billion in annual revenue. With nearly five decades of experience, we have built a distinctive, values-driven platform dedicated to improving care for older adults. Our work spans Medicare Advantage, fully integrated care models, primary care, care for the most medically and socially complex populations, and next-generation care delivery models. Across all of this, we are united by a shared commitment: combining compassion with discipline, innovation with stewardship, and growth with integrity. At SCAN, we believe scale should strengthen—not dilute—our mission. We are building the future of care for older adults, grounded in purpose, accountability, and respect for the people and communities we serve. The Job Design the foundation that makes intelligent systems scale for our enterprise. The AI & Cloud Architect defines and governs the architecture that powers SCAN’s AI and automation capabilities, from model hosting and vector databases to API orchestration and MCP servers. This role bridges infrastructure and innovation, ensuring that every AI and cloud solution is built on secure, performant, and reusable patterns. The Architect brings a holistic view to enable experimentation while maintaining enterprise standards for reliability, governance, and compliance. You Will: Architectural Design & Strategy Define the end-to-end reference architecture for AI and data/storage systems across Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Services, Azure AI Search, Azure Databricks/Fabric, and Snowflake. Design integration blueprints for RAG workflows, data pipelines, agentic frameworks, and our enterprise GPT solution. Establish standards for model deployment, versioning, prompt management, and telemetry within Azure AI Foundry. Infrastructure & Platform Enablement Build and maintain scalable cloud environments for model training, evaluation, and inference. Oversee vector database design (Azure AI Search or equivalent) and integration with Snowflake/Fabric data hubs. Implement high-availability, cost-optimized compute and storage strategies for AI workloads. Partner with IT Security to ensure alignment with HIPAA, Responsible AI, and internal compliance requirements. Orchestration & Automation Design pipelines and event-driven architectures using Azure Functions, Logic Apps, and API Management. Automate ingestion and evaluation processes for Document Intelligence, AI Search, and other Azure AI Services. Integrate monitoring, audit, and feedback loops to ensure operational transparency and continuous improvement. Governance & Collaboration Lead architecture reviews and guide solution teams to adhere to Responsible AI and data-management standards. Define metadata, lineage, and model registry conventions for consistent tracking and reuse. Collaborate with engineering, analytics, and business teams to align technical designs with strategic outcomes. Serve as a key contributor to the AI Architecture Review Board and cloud optimization initiatives. Innovation & Thought Leadership Evaluate emerging Azure and open-source technologies to extend SCAN’s AI capabilities (e.g., Foundry SDKs, agent frameworks, vector databases, knowledge graphs). Prototype new integration patterns for multi-agent collaboration, knowledge management, and semantic data discovery. Coach engineers on architectural best practices and help shape the long-term technical roadmap. Your Qualifications: Deep Expertise in Azure Ecosystem Proficiency in Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Services (Language, Vision, Speech, Content Understanding), Azure AI Search, Azure ML, Databricks, and Fabric. Familiarity with model registries, MLOps, and deployment frameworks (CI/CD, containers, APIs). Architectural Design & Integration Proven ability to design scalable, secure, and modular cloud architectures for AI and data workloads. Strong understanding of network design, IAM, data governance, and enterprise integration patterns. AI Engineering Foundations Knowledge of LLM architectures, retrieval-augmented generation, embedding pipelines, and evaluation frameworks. Experience enabling RAG and multi-agent applications through Azure AI Foundry and related SDKs. Data & Metadata Strategy Understanding of data modeling, knowledge graphs, and semantic search design. Ability to define data contracts, metadata taxonomies, and lineage tracking for AI solutions. Responsible AI & Compliance Mindset Demonstrated commitment to secure, auditable, and explainable AI design. Familiarity with healthcare data standards (HIPAA, CMS, PHI/PII protection) and SCAN’s Responsible AI framework. Collaboration & Leadership Adept at influencing cross-functional stakeholders and translating architecture into actionable guidance. Comfortable working in a fast-evolving environment balancing experimentation with operational rigor. Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and executive audiences. We seek Rebels who are curious about AI and its power to transform how we operate and serve our members. Actively support the achievement of SCAN’s Vision and Goals. Other duties as assigned. What's in it for you? Base Pay Range: $147,900 to $254,798 annually An annual employee bonus program Robust Wellness Program Generous paid-time-off (PTO) 11 paid holidays per year, 1 floating holiday, birthday off, and 2 volunteer days Excellent 401(k) Retirement Saving Plan with employer match Robust employee recognition program Tuition reimbursement An opportunity to become part of a team that makes a difference to our members and our community every day! We're always looking for talented people to join our team! Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply now! At SCAN we believe that it is our business to improve the state of our world. Each of us has a responsibility to drive Equality in our communities and workplaces. We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects our community through inclusive programs and initiatives such as equal pay, employee resource groups, inclusive benefits, and more. SCAN is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action workplace. Individuals seeking employment will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, age, marital status, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by law. A background check is required. #LI-JB1 #LI-Hybrid Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)