Principal Architect – Distribution Center Operations & Platforms

About the OpportunityA leading enterprise organization is seeking a Principal Architect to own the architecture, technology strategy, and evolution of its large-scale, highly automated distribution center network supporting more than 100,000 daily customer shipments.This role is responsible for defining the end-to-end architecture of distribution center operations, including warehouse management, warehouse execution, material handling automation, robotics, yard management, and the broader technology ecosystem that enables efficient fulfillment.The ideal candidate brings deep distribution center operations expertise, extensive experience with enterprise warehouse management platforms such as Manhattan Associates, Blue Yonder, SAP EWM, or comparable solutions, and the architectural judgment to determine how systems, processes, and technologies should work together.This is a platform-agnostic architecture leadership role. The Principal Architect will independently evaluate technology options, establish architectural direction, and own the decisions that determine where capabilities reside, how systems integrate, and how the distribution center technology landscape evolves.The successful candidate will serve as the architecture authority for the distribution center domain, driving decisions that improve throughput, operational efficiency, storage density, scalability, resiliency, and real-time visibility across the distribution center network.Location: Chicago or RemoteTravel: Up to 15% within North AmericaRole OverviewThe Principal Architect serves as the accountable architecture leader for distribution center operations and platforms.This individual owns the distribution center domain architecture and technology roadmap across receiving, yard management, inventory, storage, put-away, picking, packing, shipping, and automated material handling.The role requires the ability to operate beyond individual platforms and define how warehouse management systems, warehouse execution systems, warehouse control systems, transportation systems, automation platforms, and custom-built services collectively support distribution center operations.The Principal Architect has direct ownership of architectural decisions, including:Determining the appropriate WMS platform and technology capabilities to support business requirements.Establishing where functionality should reside across WMS, WES, WCS, automation platforms, and custom applications.Defining integration patterns, system boundaries, and domain ownership.Making final architecture decisions within the distribution center domain.Establishing the future-state architecture and multi-year transformation roadmap.Ensuring architectural decisions align with enterprise standards while meeting distribution center operational requirements.The successful candidate is a decisive architecture leader who can balance business outcomes, operational realities, technology capabilities, and long-term enterprise strategy.Key ResponsibilitiesDistribution Center Architecture & Technology StrategyOwn the end-to-end solution architecture for distribution center operations, including warehouse management, warehouse execution, material handling automation, robotics, yard management, and supporting platforms.Define and maintain the future-state architecture and technology roadmap for distribution center operations across the enterprise.Establish architectural direction across warehouse management platforms, including Manhattan Associates, Blue Yonder, SAP EWM, and other relevant WMS solutions.Independently evaluate technology platforms, capabilities, and architectural approaches, making decisions that align with business objectives and long-term technology strategy.Define system boundaries, capability ownership, and the appropriate placement of functionality across WMS, WES, WCS, and automation systems.Own architectural decisions involving platform selection, modernization, integration, scalability, and operational capabilities.Develop transition architectures and implementation roadmaps that support phased transformation across a multi-site distribution center network.Ensure architecture decisions account for operational continuity, implementation complexity, cost, scalability, and long-term maintainability.Warehouse Management & Automation ArchitectureDefine how warehouse management platforms integrate with warehouse execution systems, warehouse control systems, material handling equipment, robotics, conveyance, ASRS, and other automated technologies.Establish architectural patterns for coordinating human labor and automated material handling processes within complex distribution center environments.Own the architecture for information flow between warehouse management, execution, control, and automation layers.Evaluate the appropriate use of WMS-native capabilities versus external execution platforms, automation orchestration systems, and custom-built solutions.Ensure architecture supports high-volume distribution operations, real-time execution, inventory accuracy, throughput optimization, and operational visibility.Partner with OT and automation architects to establish clear responsibilities and integration boundaries between IT platforms and operational technology.Drive architectural decisions that improve warehouse performance, storage utilization, order fulfillment, and operational resiliency.Architectural Decision Ownership & Technical LeadershipServe as the accountable architecture decision-maker for distribution center domain solutions.Own architectural decisions from requirements through implementation, ensuring decisions are clearly documented, communicated, and executed.Lead architecture discussions and resolve competing technical approaches, platform preferences, and stakeholder priorities.Establish architecture principles, patterns, standards, and guardrails for distribution center technology solutions.Evaluate architectural trade-offs involving performance, scalability, reliability, security, complexity, cost, and business value.Make final architecture decisions within the delegated domain authority, escalating only enterprise-level decisions that exceed the role's authority.Provide technical leadership and mentorship to solution architects, engineering teams, business analysts, and delivery teams.Hold delivery teams accountable for alignment with approved architecture and ensure deviations are appropriately reviewed and resolved.Integration, Data & Modern ArchitectureOwn the integration architecture between WMS platforms and surrounding systems, including WES, WCS, TMS, YMS, fulfillment planning, ERP, analytics, and automation platforms.Define API-based, event-driven, and asynchronous integration patterns that support operational execution and real-time visibility.Establish architectural standards for system interoperability, data ownership, information flow, and domain-aligned data products.Determine appropriate synchronous and asynchronous integration patterns based on operational latency, throughput, reliability, and business requirements.Ensure architecture supports data consistency, traceability, observability, and operational resiliency.Promote domain-driven design principles to establish clear domain boundaries and ownership across the distribution center ecosystem.Ensure solutions meet enterprise requirements for security, scalability, availability, performance, and maintainability.Business Partnership & Executive CommunicationPartner with Distribution Operations, Supply Chain leadership, product management, engineering, and enterprise architecture to translate business objectives into technology strategy.Lead requirements and architecture workshops to establish business capabilities, operational requirements, and architectural direction.Communicate architectural decisions, trade-offs, and investment considerations to technical teams and executive stakeholders, including CIO and Supply Chain leadership.Collaborate with OT, network, infrastructure, and security architects to ensure cohesive end-to-end solutions.Work with product and portfolio leaders to align architectural roadmaps with business priorities, transformation initiatives, and delivery timelines.Influence operational and technology stakeholders through clear architectural judgment, accountability, and a strong understanding of distribution center operations.Required QualificationsExtensive experience in solution architecture, enterprise architecture, or technical architecture supporting complex distribution center or warehouse operations.Deep experience with one or more major warehouse management platforms, such as Manhattan Associates, Blue Yonder, or comparable enterprise WMS solutions.Strong understanding of distribution center operations, including receiving, inventory management, put-away, picking, packing, shipping, and fulfillment execution.Proven experience architecting solutions within large-scale, highly automated distribution centers or complex warehouse environments.Demonstrated ownership of architectural decisions, including the ability to independently establish technical direction, evaluate alternatives, and make final architecture decisions.Experience defining end-to-end architecture across WMS, WES, WCS, automation systems, robotics, and supporting enterprise applications.Strong understanding of IT/OT integration and the interaction between warehouse management platforms and material handling automation.Practical experience with API-based integration, event-driven architecture, distributed systems, and asynchronous processing.Ability to evaluate technology platforms and determine appropriate capability placement across enterprise applications and custom solutions.Experience developing architecture roadmaps, transition architectures, and modernization strategies for complex technology environments.Strong understanding of architectural principles related to scalability, resiliency, security, performance, and operational stability.Proven ability to lead architecture discussions, influence stakeholders, and communicate complex technical decisions to business and executive audiences.Experience mentoring architects, engineers, and technical delivery teams.Preferred QualificationsExperience with SAP EWM, particularly within SAP S/4HANA environments.Experience working within an SAP-centric enterprise technology landscape and integrating WMS platforms with SAP ERP and supply chain applications.Experience with Manhattan Associates WMS, including Manhattan Active WM, or Blue Yonder WMS.Experience with warehouse execution systems, warehouse control systems, and automation orchestration platforms.Experience supporting large-scale distribution center automation, including conveyance, ASRS, robotics, and goods-to-person technologies.Experience leading multi-site WMS transformations, platform migrations, or warehouse modernization programs.Experience with phased implementations, operational readiness, cutover planning, and distribution center deployment strategies.Familiarity with domain-driven design, domain-aligned data products, and modern integration architecture.Understanding of industrial networking, OT security, and infrastructure considerations in automated distribution center environments.Experience working within enterprise architecture governance while maintaining clear ownership of domain-level architecture decisions.What Success Looks LikeEstablishes clear architectural ownership and direction for the distribution center technology ecosystem.Defines a scalable, platform-agnostic architecture that supports current and future distribution center operations.Makes decisive technology and architecture choices that balance operational performance, business value, and long-term sustainability.Establishes clear boundaries and integration patterns across WMS, WES, WCS, automation, and enterprise platforms.Drives consistency and modernization across a multi-site distribution center network.Enables improved throughput, inventory accuracy, storage utilization, operational visibility, and system resiliency.Provides architecture leadership that accelerates delivery while reducing complexity, technical debt, and unnecessary platform dependencies.