JIRA Architect

Location: Hybrid – 2–3 days onsite per week San Francisco, CA

Employment Type:Contract – 6 to 12+ Months

Start Date: ASAP

Pay Rate: $100 an hour

Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Jira Architect to lead enterprise-level architecture, administration, and optimization of the Atlassian toolset. This role requires deep expertise in Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Confluence, as well as the ability to design scalable solutions, implement best practices, and support cross-functional teams in a complex, fast-moving environment.

This position is hybrid and ideal for an architect-level professional who excels in both technical execution and strategic planning.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect end-to-end Jira and Atlassian solutions, including workflows, automation, permission schemes, service projects, and integrations.
• Lead discovery, requirements gathering, and design workshops with IT, engineering, and business teams.
• Implement scalable configurations that support enterprise processes, Agile frameworks, incident/problem/change management, and release workflows.
• Optimize system performance, conduct platform audits, and drive enterprise governance and best practices.
• Develop integrations between Jira and other systems using REST APIs, middleware, and automation tools.
• Provide technical leadership, documentation, and mentorship to Jira admins and Agile teams.
• Partner with security and compliance teams to ensure data protection, access controls, and audit readiness.

Required Skills & Experience

• 7–10+ years of Atlassian experience, with at least 4+ years in an architect or senior admin role.
• Expert-level knowledge of Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Confluence, Access, and Automation for Jira
• Strong experience designing Jira architectures for enterprise-scale environments (thousands of users).
• Proficiency with Jira Cloud administration, scripting (Groovy, ScriptRunner), and REST API integrations.
• Experience building workflows that support Agile, DevOps, SDLC, ITIL, and enterprise PMO teams.
• Background with user management, governance frameworks, permission models, and multi-project structures.
• Excellent communication skills; able to translate technical concepts to business leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Atlassian Certifications (ACP-420, ACP-620, ACP-120, ACP-520, etc.)
• Experience with Atlassian Cloud-to-Cloud migrations or cloud-to-data-center transitions.
• Familiarity with tools such as Bitbucket, Opsgenie, Statuspage, Trello, or Jira Align
• Experience working in highly regulated environments (healthcare, financial services, enterprise SaaS).

Why This Role

• High-impact architecture role influencing the entire Atlassian ecosystem
• Long-term contract with strong extension potential
• Hybrid environment with strong visibility across engineering and IT leadership
• Opportunity to define best practices, build governance, and guide platform evolution