Systems architects design, configure, operate and perform maintenance on the networking and computer systems that allow company infrastructures to function. They design and implement short and long-term strategic goals for management and maintenance of systems and software and lend their expertise and architectural assistance to other IT personnel including software teams, systems analysts, and engineers. Systems architects create and monitor the implementation of end-to-end integrated systems and review new and existing system designs to make recommendations for altering or improving the systems, and negotiate and administer vendor and consultant contracts.
Systems architects consult with department heads and end-users to further infrastructure development and develop and execute test plans to check the technical performance of infrastructure and report findings and recommendations for improvement. They also develop policies for standardizing systems and manage IT staffing. Systems architects need a bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering or information systems or related fields and eight to 10 years of related work experience.