Pearson Professional Assessments (PPA)

VTS Platform Architect (Solution Architect) - 

Summary

The VTS Platform Architect – Solution Architect role at PPA is a strategic, platform-level position for the end‑to‑end architectural integrity, evolution, and strategic alignment of the VUE Testing Systems (VTS) platform. This role serves as the architectural anchor for a highly complex, multi‑capability platform that underpins clients, candidates and internal uses experiences and integrates with numerous internal and external Pearson systems.

Operating at a platform scale, the role ensures that architectural decisions align to Pearson’s enterprise standards, the VTS target‑state vision, AI-first mindset, and driving the technical roadmap, while enabling multiple functional teams to deliver at scale and speed. 

Responsibilities

Platform & Solution Architecture

• Define, own, and evolve the end‑to‑end architecture for the VTS platform across domains, services, data, and integrations.
• Translate business strategy, platform goals, and client commitments into scalable, resilient architectural designs.
• Establish and maintain architectural standards, reference architectures, and guardrails for VTS teams. 
• Ensure alignment with Pearson enterprise architecture principles and shared platform strategies. 

Architectural Governance & Decision Making

• Act as the primary architectural authority for VTS, guiding and reviewing significant design decisions.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate architectural risks, systemic dependencies, and technical debt.
• Ensure non‑functional requirements (security, reliability, performance, cost efficiency, compliance) are designed into solutions. 

Strategic Roadmapping

• Partner with the Platform Leader to define and maintain a unified architectural roadmap aligned to VTS modernization and long‑term platform strategy.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and architectural patterns and assess their applicability to VTS.
• Balance immediate needs with long-term platform sustainability and advocate for system health.

Collaboration & Influence

• Work closely with product, engineering, security, infrastructure, and business stakeholders.
• Provide architectural guidance to engineers and architects across teams influencing their direction. 

Qualifications

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field 
• Deep experience defining and governing platform‑level architectures in complex, multi‑domain enterprise environments.
• Strong hands-on experience in cloud‑native architectures, including public cloud and infrastructure automation at platform scale.
• Demonstrated leadership in target‑state architecture and technical roadmapping, aligned to enterprise standards and business strategy.
• Proven experience modernizing legacy technology stacks with a pragmatic, phased approach, balancing near‑term delivery needs with a clear long‑term architectural vision.
• Brings a strong AI‑first mindset, actively guiding large platform teams toward thoughtful AI adoption and embedding AI thinking into products/services and engineering practices.

Preferred:

• Experience defining and evolving enterprise reference architectures that enable consistency, reuse, and scalable adoption across platforms and teams. 
• Relevant architecture certifications (e.g., TOGAF, AWS/Azure Architect, SAFe Architect) or equivalent experience operating as a senior architect within Pearson’s expert track. 
• Experience supporting high‑availability, high‑volume, mission‑critical platforms, including scheduling, content delivery, or secure assessment systems. 
• Working knowledge of AI/ML concepts, agentic AI patterns, and modern data platforms, with the ability to evaluate applicability and alignment at platform scale. 
• Experience establishing and governing technology standards, architectural guardrails, and platform strategy and enabling teams to deliver at speed. 

Pearson Skills and Competencies for Solution Architect:

• Adaptability: Respond productively to change by adjusting plans, goals, and priorities in dynamic situations.

• Artificial Intelligence: Apply machine capabilities like pattern recognition, content generation, and automation to streamline work and support decision-making.

• Learning to Learn: Use strategies to develop learning efficiency and enhance learning experiences for deeper, more effective learning.

• Information Security: Protect digital and non-digital information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, destruction, or theft.

• Innovation: Apply technology strategy and innovation practices to develop differentiated solutions that meet evolving customer needs.

• Technical Acumen: Understand, analyze, and interpret complex data about the design, operation, and enhancement of products, systems, or services.

• Business Acumen: Demonstrate keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with business situations to achieve positive outcomes.

• Collaboration: Influence and coordinate across individuals and teams to align on shared goals and ensure seamless execution of cross-functional initiatives.

• Problem Solving: Identify challenges, evaluate options, and create innovative, practical solutions that deliver value for the customer and the business.

• API Management: Create and publish APIs, enforce usage policies, control access, nurture the subscriber community, and analyze usage statistics.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate effectively with leaders, individuals, or teams to ensure alignment and successful implementation of decisions.

• Cloud Computing: Enable on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power.

• Machine Learning: Apply algorithms that improve automatically through experience and by the use of data.

Applications will be accepted through 3/23/2026. This window may be extended depending on business needs. 

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:   

The full-time salary range is between $150,000 - $185,000. 

This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.