Senior Manager, IT Application Solution Management

Applied Materials • Santa Clara, CA

13d

About The Position

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world. We are seeking a senior technology leader responsible for building, guiding, and scaling a high‑performing team of Functional Solution Architects who deliver innovative, cost‑effective, and scalable enterprise solutions. This leadership role goes beyond individual architecture execution its core mission is to drive architectural vision, develop talent, enforce standards, and ensure functional and cross‑domain alignment across major programs. This leader will collaborate extensively with business partners, product and engineering leaders, and cross‑functional teams to ensure architectural consistency, strategic alignment, and long-term scalability across the organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in enterprise systems, functional or solution architecture, or large‑scale systems design.
• 3–5+ years in a leadership role managing architects or technical design teams.
• Demonstrated success delivering large‑scale enterprise or multi‑system solutions.
• Deep understanding of cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices, and enterprise integration.
• Strong background in Agile delivery and DevOps‑aligned practices.
• Deep expertise in architectural design patterns (SOA, microservices, event‑driven, cloud-native).
• Strong understanding of cross‑application functional design and enterprise integration frameworks.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills for explaining complex architectures to senior stakeholders.
• Highly developed problem‑solving, negotiation, and conflict‑resolution abilities.
• Ability to balance multiple complex priorities while ensuring high‑quality architectural outcomes.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree is preferred.
• Experience in MES, MCS, ERP, or semiconductor‑related systems is a strong plus.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure automation.
• Familiarity with ITIL or enterprise service management frameworks.
• Architecture certifications (TOGAF, AWS, Azure, etc.) are highly desirable.
• Inspirational leadership with the ability to elevate both people and architecture maturity.
• Ability to influence across diverse stakeholder groups, including business, engineering, and executive leadership.
• Strong customer orientation and business‑value mindset.
• Demonstrated ability to drive clarity, alignment, and delivery excellence across complex programs.

Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Management Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Functional Solution Architects, ensuring clarity of roles, high performance, technical depth, and continuous professional growth. Establish architecture governance practices, reusable frameworks, and functional architectural standards adopted across programs. Provide coaching, feedback, goal‑setting, and succession planning to build long-term architectural capability within the organization.
• Architecture Strategy & Oversight Define and own the overarching functional architecture vision and ensure architects’ work aligns with enterprise strategy and business outcomes. Review and approve high‑level functional architecture, solution designs, integration patterns, and cross‑application data flows. Ensure all solution blueprints created by the team are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise principles.
• Cross‑Functional Influence & Stakeholder Management Serve as the primary functional architecture representative in discussions with business units, program leadership, PMO, engineering, and product teams. Champion functional alignment across domains and proactively influence decisions affecting process design, system behavior, and cross‑application interactions. Facilitate and oversee design workshops, functional requirements alignment, and cross‑team architectural sign‑offs.
• Technical Leadership & Governance Guide the team through complex architectural decision‑making, enforcing standards, best practices, and architectural integrity across programs. Oversee technical reviews across team deliverables, ensuring compliance with performance, security, and regulatory expectations. Drive the identification and mitigation of architectural risks across multiple projects and portfolios.
• Program & Delivery Support Ensure architects provide required support across discovery, design, development, testing, and rollout phases of enterprise initiatives. Serve as a senior escalation point for architecture‑related challenges, conflicts, or design decisions. Align team capacity and assignment strategy to program priorities, ensuring the right architectural support at the right time.
• Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement Continuously evaluate existing systems and architectures to identify improvement opportunities and reduce functional or technical debt. Establish and promote reusable functional patterns, reference models, and standardized documentation. Monitor industry trends and emerging technologies to evolve the organization’s architecture practices.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees