Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This Lead Software Architect role sits at the intersection of SaaS platform engineering and cloud-native security, a segment where architectural decisions directly affect reliability and trust. The remit spans core runtime components and broader platform capabilities, reflecting the realities of modern SaaS delivery: distributed systems, high-volume data paths, and production-grade observability. The inclusion of both cloud and on‑prem environments also signals work that must generalize across varied customer deployments, a common constraint in enterprise SaaS.
From a SaaS career perspective, the position builds durable leverage in system design under real operational pressure—scalability, data modeling, and service boundaries that hold up over time. It also offers sustained exposure to the mechanics of platform evolution: translating product needs into technical direction, setting standards that multiple teams can adopt, and validating choices through hands-on implementation rather than slideware. That combination is highly portable across SaaS companies with complex infrastructure and data surfaces.
This is best suited to a senior individual contributor who prefers influence through architecture, reviews, and targeted coding, without people-management scope. It fits someone comfortable navigating ambiguity across backend, data, and platform concerns, and who enjoys mentoring via technical clarity and pragmatic decision-making in production-oriented SaaS systems.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Lead Software Architect
- Engineering
- Ramat-Gan, Israel
- P1
- Full-time
Description
Aqua is a leader in cloud-native security, protecting critical workloads across the full application lifecycle - from development to production. Our runtime technologies operate at scale in complex, distributed environments and are trusted by leading enterprises worldwide.
We are looking for a Lead Software Architect (Individual Contributor) to join our Runtime Technology Group. This role is ideal for a highly experienced engineer who wants to remain hands-on while leading through architecture, technical decision-making, and collaboration - without people management responsibilities.
What you’ll do:
- Own and drive the architectural design of core runtime and SaaS platform components, with a strong focus on scalability, reliability, and data design.
- Translate high-level product and business requirements into clear, production-ready system designs for cloud and on-prem environments.
- Lead technical direction through design reviews, architectural discussions, and hands-on implementation.
- Define and promote architectural standards, patterns, and engineering best practices across teams.
- Work closely with backend, data, platform, and product engineers to design and build robust, data-driven systems.
- Design and optimize data models, storage strategies, and pipelines for high-volume, real-time, and analytical workloads.
- Remain hands-on by implementing strategic components, building PoCs, and supporting complex engineering efforts.
- Evaluate and introduce technologies that improve performance, scalability, security, and observability.
- Act as a technical mentor and trusted advisor, influencing teams through expertise rather than authority.
- Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure architectural decisions align with product goals and long-term strategy.
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience designing and building large-scale, distributed systems.
- Proven experience in a senior IC, technical lead, or architect role
- 5+ years of hands-on experience with Linux systems programming (agents, low-level components, OS internals).
- Strong understanding of microservices architectures, modern SaaS platforms, and data pipelines.
- Solid experience with cloud-native technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, and public cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure).
- Ability to lead technical initiatives across multiple teams through influence, collaboration, and clear communication.
- Excellent design, documentation, and communication skills.
- A pragmatic, hands-on mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
- BSc in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience (advanced degree or military tech unit background - a plus).
- Experience working in an Agile R&D environment - an advantage.
Why join Aqua?
- Work on core runtime security technology that operates at scale in real-world, production environments.
- Take on meaningful architectural ownership with visible impact on the product and customers.
- Collaborate with strong, experienced engineers who value depth, clarity, and execution.
- Stay hands-on while shaping long-term technical foundations.
