Senior Solutions Architect (Sioux Falls, SD Preferred. Other Major Operating Areas within Montana & South Dakota Service Territories will be considered)

Senior Solutions Architect

Work Location: Sioux Falls, SD Preferred. Other Major Operating Areas within Montana & South Dakota Service Territories will be considered

Pay range: $140,000 to $160,000 per year

Employment Status: Regular Full-time

External candidates apply at northwesternenergy.com

Internal candidates apply through iConnect.

About this position:

NorthWestern Energy is seeking a highly skilled and experienced IT Solutions Architect to design, implement, and manage innovative IT solutions that align with our business objectives. The ideal candidate will be responsible for assessing the current IT environment, recommending strategic improvements, and ensuring the seamless integration of new technologies. This role requires a deep understanding of IT infrastructure, software development, and enterprise architecture.

The Solution Architect understands the concepts of business goals, objectives and business outcomes, business capabilities, value-streams and business processes and their importance in solution architecture. The solutions architect provides the necessary leadership, analysis and design tasks related to support the development of technology solutions to ensure that solutions meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards.

This role creates deliverables for managing the organization's portfolio of "to be" and "as is" solutions - including systems (applications, processes, information and technology), shared infrastructure services, and shared application services and components to enable and drive targeted business outcomes.

The solutions architect must demonstrate effective leadership, inspire trust, execute strategies, and foster a productive culture.

We offer great benefits:

NorthWestern Energy is a fully regulated electric and natural gas utility serving Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. We employ over 1,500 amazing people and serve 775,300 customers who are our neighbors in our communities. We are a top employer and offer competitive benefits, including:

• 401K with company match up to 4% and non-elective contribution up to 7%
• Healthcare and wellbeing programs, including dental and vision for you, your spouse and dependents, Health Savings Account (HSA), healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account (FSA)
• Employee Assistance Programs (Offering up to six free counseling sessions, per person, per issue, per year for employees, spouses and dependents to include financial heath)
• Life Insurance (Company pays basic employee policy; spouse, dependent insurance also available)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Competitive pay (Scheduled performance-based wage increases and annual incentive opportunities.)
• Paid company endorsed volunteer opportunities
• Paid parental leave
• Paid bereavement leave
• Paid training opportunities
• Paid time off starting on your first day, plus 11 paid holidays

Benefits may vary by position or as negotiated as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

About this job:

• Demonstrates leadership consistent with NorthWestern Energy's code, values, policies, processes, and controls
• Develop and design scalable, high-performance IT solutions that meet business requirements and integrate with existing systems
• Provides technical oversight for complex integrations and modernization initiatives
• Develops enterprise-wide architectural standards and governance frameworks. Creates and maintain detailed architecture documentation, including diagrams, specifications, and standards
• Work closely with Enterprise Architecture and other cross-functional teams and roles, including software developers, application and system administrators, business analysts, and project managers, to ensure cohesive and efficient IT solutions
• Stay up to date with emerging technologies, evaluate their potential impact, and recommend their adoption when beneficial
• Ensures technology roadmaps align with strategic business objectives and technology trends