Lead Full Stack Software Engineer II

Description and Requirements
The Lead Architect is responsible for driving solution architecture, technology strategy, and design governance for.NET full stack-based enterprise applications and data platforms on Azure.
This role focuses on architectural leadership and technical guidance, ensuring that solutions built across front-end, back-end, integration, and data layers are scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise standards and business objectives.
The role emphasizes:

• Architectural decision-making and full stack design oversight
• Technology evaluation across .NET and Azure ecosystems
• Technical leadership across engineering teams

Hands-on involvement is primarily for proof of concepts, architecture validation, prototyping, and resolving complex technical challenges.
Key Responsibilities
1. Architecture & Solution Design

• Lead the design and review of end-to-end architecture for .NET full stack solutions, including UI, APIs, integration layers, and data platforms
• Define high-level architecture (HLDs), solution blueprints, and design patterns aligned to microservices and API-first principles
• Establish architecture standards for front-end (Angular/React) and back-end (.NET Core, APIs) layers
• Ensure alignment to enterprise architecture principles, domain roadmaps, and cloud-native design strategies
• Drive key architecture considerations around scalability, performance, security, and resilience

2. Technical Leadership & Governance

• Provide technical leadership across full stack engineering teams, guiding front-end, API, and backend design decisions
• Conduct architecture and design reviews to ensure consistency, quality, and adherence to standards
• Promote reusable full stack patterns, API design standards, and microservices best practices
• Contribute to architecture governance forums and planning cycles (PI, design reviews, etc.)

3. Technology Evaluation & Advisory

• Evaluate and recommend technologies across the.NET ecosystem, Azure services, and integration frameworks
• Drive decisions on front-end frameworks (Angular/React), API strategy, and backend architecture (.NET Core/microservices)
• Assess trade-offs across performance, scalability, maintainability, and cost
• Stay current with emerging trends in cloud-native development, full stack architecture, and integration patterns

4. Engineering Oversight (Full Stack Advisory)

• Guide teams on:
  • Full stack design patterns (UI + API + backend integration)
  • Microservices and API-first architecture (REST, event-driven design)
  • Azure cloud-native architectures (AKS, serverless, messaging/integration patterns)
  • Data integration and analytics enablement (Databricks ecosystem)
• Provide design clarifications and technical direction during delivery phases
• Participate in targeted hands-on contributions (POCs, troubleshooting, architecture validation)

5. Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner with product owners and business stakeholders to translate business requirements into full stack architecture solutions
• Communicate architecture decisions, trade-offs, and technology strategy to both technical and business audiences
• Ensure alignment between business priorities, engineering delivery, and architecture direction

6. Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and mitigate architecture and technology risks across full stack implementations
• Drive improvements in engineering practices, architecture maturity, and design standards
• Support PI planning, solution demos, and inspect & adapt cycles

Skills & Competencies
Core (Must Have)

• Strong experience in solution architecture / technical leadership roles
• Deep understanding of.NET full stack architecture (C#, ASP.NET Core, APIs, front-end integration)
• Expertise in application design, system integration, and microservices architecture
• Strong knowledge of Azure cloud services and cloud-native patterns
• Proven ability to guide full stack teams and influence architecture decisions
• Strong communication and stakeholder management capabilities

Supporting (Nice to Have)

• Experience with:
  • Front-end frameworks (Angular / React)
  • Azure services (AKS, Functions, API Management, Service Bus)
  • Data platforms (Azure Databricks, Spark, Data Lakes)
  • DevSecOps and CI/CD practices
• Hands-on experience is beneficial but not required across all layers

Certifications (Preferred)

• Azure Solutions Architect
• Azure Data Engineer

About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies" and Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
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