Principal Platform Architect

Date: Apr 23, 2026

Location: Chicago, IL, US, 60607

Company: McDonald's Corporation

Company Description: 

McDonald’s growth strategy, Accelerating the Arches, encompasses all aspects of our business as the leading global omni-channel restaurant brand. As the consumer landscape shifts we are using our competitive advantages to further strengthen our brand. One of our core growth strategies is to Double Down on the 3Ds (Delivery, Digital and Drive Thru). McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so 65M+ customers a day will experience a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive thrus, through McDelivery, dine-in or takeaway.  

McDonald’s Global Technology is here to power tomorrow’s feel-good moments.   

That’s why you’ll find us at the forefront of transformative technology, exploring new and innovative ways to serve our millions of customers and spread happiness one delicious Hot Fudge Sundae-dipped fry at a time. Using AI, robotics and emerging tech, we’re digitizing the Golden Arches. Combine that with our unparalleled global scale, and we’re reshaping all areas of the business, industry and every community that is home to a McDonald’s restaurant. We face complex tech challenges every day. But that’s where our diverse and talented teams come in. They’re made up of the best and brightest from all over the globe, and they thrive in the space where feel-good meets fast-paced.   

Check out the McDonald’s  Global Technology Technical Blog to learn how technology and our global team are directly enabling the Accelerating the Arches strategy.  

Department Overview

As a Principal Platform Engineer in Global Technology, you are a trusted partner and strategic leader who helps craft the future of McDonald’s technology. You’ll define solutions to complex business and technical challenges, influencing multiple teams across critical cloud platforms. You will be responsible for defining and leading the enterprise cloud strategy, architecture standards, and governance framework. This role serves as a technical visionary and strategic advisor, driving cloud adoption. Modernization, scalability, security and cost optimization across the organization. The Principal Platform Architect partners with Engineering, Security, DevOps and Business leaders to design resilient, secure and high performing cloud solutions aligned with enterprise objectives. Join McDonald’s and be part of a team that’s reimagining technology to create exceptional customer experiences at a global scale!

Duties

Cloud Strategy & Architecture Leadership

• Define and maintain the enterprise cloud architecture roadmap.
• Establish cloud architecture standards, reference architectures, and design patterns.
• Lead cloud transformation and modernization initiatives (re-platforming, re-architecting, cloud-native adoption).
• Evaluate emerging cloud technologies and recommend adoption strategies.

Solution Design & Implementation

• Design scalable, secure, highly available cloud solutions (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).
• Architect hybrid and multi-cloud environments (e.g., GCP, AWS and Azure)
• Lead containerization and microservices architecture initiatives (e.g., Kubernetes, GKE, EKS)
• Ensure integration with enterprise systems and third-party services.

 Security, Compliance & Governance

• Define cloud security architecture and implement best practices.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and data protection requirements.
• Establish governance models for cloud cost management, access control, and risk mitigation.
• Partner with cybersecurity teams on threat modeling and incident response planning.

 DevOps & Automation

• Promote Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices.
• Design CI/CD pipelines and automation frameworks.
• Optimize cloud performance, reliability, and cost efficiency.

 Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a technical advisor to executive leadership.

• Mentor senior engineers and architects.

• Collaborate with product, data, and engineering teams to align cloud architecture with business goals.

• Lead architecture review boards and provide decision-making guidance.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field. Ongoing learning to stay ahead of technological trends.
• 10+ years of experience in IT Architecture, with 5+ years focused on cloud architecture
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale cloud transformations.
• Deep understanding of networking, distributed systems, security, and cloud-native design.
• Experience leading enterprise-scale solutions in a large organization with multiple business units.

Technical Expertise:

• Strong expertise in AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Experience with containerization, microservices, serverless architecture.
• Knowledge of DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with data architecture and integration patterns.
• Cloud certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert) preferred.

Leadership & Collaboration:

• Ability to influence partners and align teams around technical strategies.
• Strategic thinking and enterprise mindset
• Strong communication and executive presence
• Decision-making and problem-solving skills
• Influencing without authority
• Risk management and governance expertise
• A teammate who thrives in collaborative environments and fosters innovation.
• Proven track record to break down silos and create alignment across technical and business teams.

Compensation

Bonus Eligible: YES

Long - Term Incentive: YES

Benefits Eligible: YES

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $195,371.00 - $244,214.00 per year
 
The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.

Nearest Major Market: Chicago