Principal IT Architect (Operational Technology)

Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow A position at Xcel Energy could be just what youre looking for.

Position Summary

The OT Subject Matter Expert (SME) serves as a deep technical and functional authority for Xcel Energys missioncritical OT platforms specifically Electric Distribution Electric Transmission and Gas Distribution and Transmission. The role provides architectural continuity operational insight and crossteam coordination across design integration access cybersecurity and operational readiness activities.

This role acts as a bridge between architecture operations cybersecurity identity network/firewall and vendor teams ensuring OT systems are designed integrated and operated in a manner that meets reliability regulatory and security requirements.

Essential Responsibilities

OT System Expertise & Ownership

• Provide deep subject matter expertise for ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION and Gas Transmission and Distribution environments across production nonproduction and regulated domains.
• Serve as a consultative trusted advisor during system upgrades integration failures and production incidents affecting OT reliability or compliance.
• Maintain institutional knowledge of environment segmentation (CIP vs nonCIP prod vs nonprod) and how those boundaries impact design and operations.
• Set defend and operationalize a Clear OT Strategy that enables safe reliable grid operations while modernizing the technology stack under strict regulatory and cybersecurity constraints.
• The principal architect is required to develop platform roadmaps not isolated projects.

• A Principal Architect ensures:

• OT data platforms evolve coherently.
• Capabilities are reused not duplicated.
• Technical debt is retired deliberately not deferred indefinitely.
• Projects deliver outcomes; platforms deliver longterm operational stability and cost control.
  
  Architecture & Design Collaboration
  
• Participate in and influence architecture and design discussions.
• Author Operational Technology standards that serve as the building blocks for OT project implementation.
• Ensure design decisions account for operational supportability and longterm maintainability not just project delivery.
  
  Integration & SCADA Interfaces
  
• Provide thought leadership and possess expertise of SCADA integrations including:
  • ICCP integrations between ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION and ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION
  • Realtime data flows between various OT platforms
    
• Validate that integration designs support realtime performance data integrity and operational resiliency.
  
  Identity Access & Cybersecurity Coordination
  
• Act as a key OT SME in complex identity and access management (IAM) scenarios involving:
  • User access provisioning for various OT Applications.
  • Certificatebased authentication.
  • Crossdomain trust and firewall constraints.
    
• Consult with IAM Network/Firewall Cybersecurity and Vendor teams to drive design solution where OT and IT boundaries intersect.
• Partner across architecture operations cybersecurity and IAM to define clear ownership for OT security integration issues that fall between teams.
  
  Observability
  
• Incorporate observability standards into OT platforms ensuring alerting and reporting designs are in place and validated prior to golive.
  
  CrossTeam Collaboration & Communication
  
• Engage regularly in Teams-based coordination with OT peers architects and operations leaders to clarify ambiguities (e.g. jump host usage environment access patterns).
• Translate highly technical OT concepts into clear actionable guidance for leadership and nonOT stakeholders.
• Encourage alignment across historically siloed teams by establishing shared understanding and common technical language.
  
  Minimum Requirements
  
• Bachelors degree in Technology Science Business or related field or 4 years of experience equivalent to the position.
• Ten years of related functional experience.
• Excellent communication skills effective with varying organizational levels and skill sets.
• Excellent Relationship Management and collaboration skills with a track record of working as one team cross-organizationally to drive innovation and business results.
• Strong architecture acumen across multiple domains including network infrastructure software hosting models applications data mobile platforms and security.
• Strong knowledge of core aspects of enterprise architecture (Software Hardware Network Integration Data hosting models platform types etc.).
• In-depth expertise in at least two areas of: Architecture competency such as SOA TOGAF BPM Data Analytics standards & governance or enterprise architecture frameworks.
• Expertise on future technology trends within area of expertise.
• Expertise in architectural review and technology lifecycle management disciplines.
• Experience in a leading role in project delivery & solutions architecture.
• Experience successfully owning and driving strategic roadmap planning and simplifying technology eco-systems.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience with Schneider Electric ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION GE EMS/ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION or equivalent platforms.

• Prior involvement in major OT upgrades or modernization initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability to define defend and operationalize an enterpriselevel OT architecture strategy aligned to utility reliability regulatory and cybersecurity constraints.

• Proven experience developing platformbased roadmaps (not projectcentric solutions) across OT domains such as ADMS EMS/DEMS SCADA DERMS OMS and OT data platforms.

• Experience providing architectural leadership for realtime integrations (e.g. SCADA ICCP telemetry control flows) with an emphasis on performance resilience and determinism.

• Architecture Design Authority

• SecurityInformed Architecture Thinking

• Track record of raising the architectural maturity of teams through coaching standards development and design critique.

As a leading combination electricity and natural gas energy company Xcel Energy offers a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity and 1.9 million natural gas customers across eight Western and Midwestern states. At Xcel Energy we strive to be the preferred and trusted provider of the energy our customers need. If youre ready to be a part of something big we invite you to join our team.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability or status as a protected veteran.

Individuals with a disability who need an accommodation to apply please contact us at .

Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end suspend or amend any of its plans at any time in whole or in part.

In any materials you submit you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

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