Principal Architect, CMS

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

Carter’s, Inc. seeks an experienced?CMS Architect?with a deep background in modern web and app development to lead and deliver solutions across our?digital?landscape. With a focus on?Contentful CMS, this leader will drive strategic architecture, development processes, and delivery excellence in support of Carter’s large-scale retail business. 
 

The ideal candidate has a proven history of designing and delivering?headless CMS implementations, leading major?React-based web applications, and leveraging?serverless infrastructure?with modern web tooling. This hands-on technical role emphasizes?code quality,?architectural excellence, and?best practices?digital applications, ensuring seamless customer experiences and high-performance content delivery. 
 

Key Responsibilities 

Contentful Implementation and Development Delivery (50%) 

• Define the?CI/CD strategy?for seamless integration and deployment processes tailored to?headless CMS applications. 
• Partner with development teams to engineer deployment pipelines meeting high-quality standards while supporting?agile development cycles. 
• Develop and implement?headless CMS solutions?for Carter’s website and app, leveraging?Contentful, static site generators, and?server-side rendering practices. 
• Conduct?code reviews?and advise on proper patterns and best practices to ensure?scalability?and?performance optimization. 
• Provide oversight and direct participation to resolve challenging technical issues, assisting engineers with?pair programming?to meet delivery deadlines. 
• Establish and enforce?security?and?performance standards?for development delivery. 
   

Strategic CMS Architecture (25%) 

• Serve as a leading voice in?architectural decisions, focusing on?headless CMS?capabilities, scalability, and adaptability. 
• Establish and evolve technical direction, including selection of tools and frameworks for?enterprise integrations?with digital platforms. 
• Design innovative solutions for?content workflows, ensuring alignment with Carter’s retail technology ecosystem. 

• Advocate for cutting-edge technologies and processes to strengthen Carter’s content strategy and digital competitiveness

Production Support and Maintenance Leadership (25%) 

• Deliver consistent, high-quality production support with?365/24/7 service levels, particularly during periods of high eCommerce activity. 
• Lead?root cause analysis?for production issues, ensuring rapid identification and resolution of system problems. 
• Define and implement processes for?incident response, on-call schedules, and production operations support. 
• Continuously improve?maintenance procedures?to enhance system stability, scalability, and performance. 
   

Supervisory/ Leadership Expectations 

• Mentor team members in adopting?industry best practices?for?Contentful CMS?development and modern?web architecture. 
• Foster collaboration and growth through?pair programming, direct guidance, and technical education. 
• Communicate complex technical solutions clearly to?non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment across development, functional, and leadership teams. 

We’d Love to hear from you if: (Requirements section) 

Required Qualifications: 

• Architectural Expertise:?Strong architectural and design skills with a demonstrated ability to analyze, communicate, and drive decisions effectively within complex systems. 
• Software Development Knowledge:?In-depth understanding of?SDLC,?Agile methodology, and compliance frameworks like?PCI Compliance. 
• Professional Engineering Practices:?Expertise in best practices spanning the full?software development lifecycle, including?coding standards,?code reviews,?source control management,?build processes,?testing, and?operations. 
• Soft Skills:?Confident, self-assured professional capable of working under pressure with tight deadlines-offers a willingness to learn, a proactive attitude, and motivation to grow within the role. 

Preferred Skills and Experience: 

• Educational Background:?Bachelor’s degree in?Computer Science,?Engineering, or equivalent experience. 
• Web Technology Experience:?10+ years of experience in web technologies, progressively taking on responsibilities in design, architecture, and delivery. 
• Leadership in Delivery:?8+ years of experience as a delivery lead, actively involved in coding while delegating and mentoring team members. 
• Development Experience:?Hands-on experience with?multi-tier web development,?mobile apps for Apple and Android, and customization of?Content Management Solutions?(preferably?headless CMS platforms?like?Contentful). 

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.