Sr. Staff Solutions Architect – HCM (R6255)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Shield AI is seeking a senior Solutions Architect – Human Capital Management (HCM) to serve as the functional and technical authority across Shield AI’s dual HCM landscape: UKG and Oracle Fusion HCM. Oracle Fusion HCM is being implemented for Time and Labor (OTL) and Absence Management, while the remainder of core HCM — recruiting, onboarding, core HR, talent, and workforce lifecycle — runs on UKG. This role owns the architecture, configuration, and continuous improvement of both platforms and the data/process seams between them.

This is a hands-on, business-facing, and cross-functional role. Payroll and Time Management are owned by Finance; the remaining HCM functions are owned by People Experience (PX). The Solutions Architect – HCM is expected to bridge these two organizations, translating each group’s requirements into a single, coherent HCM systems strategy rather than two disconnected roadmaps — and to be the go-to resource for any HCM process change that touches either platform.

For medium-complexity projects, this person configures Oracle Fusion HCM (OTL, Absence Management) and partners directly with UKG administrators/the UKG platform team to implement changes. For large, complex initiatives spanning both platforms, this person leads solution design and partners with Shield AI’s implementation partner to deliver, while remaining the accountable architect and the unifying voice across Finance and PX.

What you'll do:

Cross-Platform Strategy & Business Partnership

• Designs and delivers technical solutions, creates detailed solution designs, specific integration points, and selects appropriate tools and frameworks. Collaboration with developers and engineers to implement solutions, conducts technical reviews and resolves design challenges.

• Documents architectures, provides technical guidance during development, and ensures solutions adhere to performance, security, and interoperability requirements. Prototypes new approaches and evaluates emerging technologies for project suitability.

• Serve as the primary systems point of contact and trusted advisor for both Finance (Payroll, Time Management) and People Experience (core HR, talent, recruiting, workforce lifecycle) on HCM process design and system capability questions.

• Define and maintain a unified HCM systems strategy and target-state architecture spanning UKG and Oracle Fusion HCM, ensuring Finance and PX are working from one coherent roadmap rather than parallel, conflicting plans.

• Act as the lead advocate for both business partner groups in all HCM-related discussions, ensuring Finance’s payroll/time requirements and PX’s workforce/talent requirements are each represented in solution design.

• Become the go-to resource for any proposed HCM process change, evaluating impact, feasibility, and fit across both platforms before implementation — including which system of record should own a given data element or process step.

• Facilitate alignment between Finance and PX when priorities, timelines, or system ownership questions conflict, acting as the neutral, technically credible tie-breaker.

Hands-On Configuration & Delivery

• Directly configure Oracle Fusion HCM for Time and Labor (OTL) and Absence Management — time entry rules, accrual plans, approval workflows, and eligibility/validation rules — for medium-sized projects, enhancements, and break/fix work.

• Partner closely with UKG administrators and the UKG platform/support team to scope, configure, and validate changes to core HR, recruiting, onboarding, and talent processes in UKG.

• Author functional design documents, configuration workbooks, test scripts, and process/procedure documentation covering both platforms and their integration points.

• For large or highly complex initiatives, define solution architecture and requirements across both platforms, then partner closely with the implementation partner to execute — remaining accountable for solution quality, business fit, and knowledge transfer.

• Participate in and help lead workshops, fit-gap sessions, and design reviews with Finance, PX, and implementation partner teams.

Platform Ownership & Boundary Management

• Own the functional architecture of the UKG-to-Oracle Fusion HCM boundary, ensuring a clean, well-documented system-of-record model: UKG for core HR/talent/workforce lifecycle, Oracle Fusion HCM for OTL and Absence Management, and Finance-owned Payroll and Time Management processes downstream.

• Maintain the master data and employee lifecycle data flow across UKG, Oracle Fusion HCM, and Payroll, avoiding duplicate data ownership, conflicting employee records, or process gaps across systems.

• Track the Oracle Fusion HCM implementation roadmap (OTL and Absence Management) and ensure it remains architecturally aligned with UKG’s core HR data model and Finance’s payroll processing calendar.

• Advise Finance and PX leadership on long-term platform strategy questions, including future scope changes to what runs on UKG versus Oracle Fusion HCM.

Integrations

• Design and help implement integrations between UKG, Oracle Fusion HCM (OTL, Absence Management), and Payroll/Time Management systems owned by Finance.

• Define integration requirements, data mappings, and error-handling/reconciliation approaches in partnership with technical/integration teams, with particular attention to time and absence data feeding payroll processing.

• Evaluate integration patterns (API, middleware, file-based) and recommend approaches appropriate to data volume, payroll-calendar timing, and criticality.

• Support testing, cutover, and hypercare activities for integration-related changes, including payroll-cycle-sensitive releases.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain configuration standards, documentation, and change control discipline across both the UKG and Oracle Fusion HCM environments.

• Identify opportunities for process simplification, automation, and improved data quality across the employee lifecycle, time/absence, and payroll handoff processes.

• Stay current on both UKG and Oracle Fusion HCM release cycles, and assess/recommend adoption of new features relevant to OTL, Absence Management, and core HR.

• Mentor junior functional/technical resources and contribute to a growing internal ERP/HCM center of excellence.

Required Qualifications:

• 12+ years of progressive experience in enterprise HCM systems, with hands-on configuration experience in both UKG and Oracle Fusion HCM (or a comparable combination such as Oracle HCM and Workday/ADP).

• Deep, hands-on experience configuring Oracle Fusion Time and Labor (OTL) and Absence Management.

• Strong working knowledge of UKG core HR, talent, and workforce functionality, sufficient to partner credibly with UKG administrators without needing to be the primary UKG configurator.

• Experience across multiple full-lifecycle HCM implementations, including at least one multi-platform or system-consolidation/migration effort.

• Working knowledge of payroll and time management processes and how they consume data from HCM systems, even though Payroll/Time Management is owned by Finance.

• Demonstrated experience acting as a functional/solution architect — able to design solutions independently, not just execute configuration tasks handed down by others.

• Proven ability to bridge two business organizations (e.g., Finance and HR/People functions) with distinct priorities into one coherent systems strategy.

• Experience partnering with or managing systems integrators/implementation partners on complex delivery efforts.

• Strong business partnering and stakeholder management skills; comfortable being the primary escalation point for HCM process questions from both Finance and PX.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience producing functional design documents, process documentation, and executive-level updates.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior consulting background (Big 4, Oracle or UKG implementation partner, or boutique HCM systems firm) strongly preferred.

• Direct experience with a UKG-to-Oracle Fusion HCM (or similar dual-platform) coexistence model, including system-of-record decisions and boundary management.

• Experience in aerospace, defense, or other regulated/complex organizations with multi-entity or multi-cloud (e.g., ITAR/CUI) workforce data considerations.

• Familiarity with Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) or similar middleware/integration platforms.

• Oracle Fusion certifications in Time and Labor or Absence Management; UKG certifications a plus.

• Experience operating in environments with export control, ITAR/CUI, or other regulated data-handling requirements affecting workforce data.

AI & Agentic Automation Capabilities

Shield AI is investing in Agentic AI to accelerate and automate HCM operations across both platforms. This role is expected to actively identify, design, and help implement AI-driven automation across time, absence, and core HR processes — not simply consume AI tools built by others.

• Identify high-value candidates for Agentic AI automation within HCM — e.g., time entry exception handling, absence request triage, onboarding task orchestration, and policy/eligibility question answering for employees and managers.

• Design and configure AI agent workflows using Oracle’s embedded AI/ML and agentic capabilities (e.g., Oracle Fusion AI agents, OCI Generative AI) and UKG’s AI-enabled workforce management features as they become available.

• Partner with IT/data teams to define prompts, guardrails, data inputs, and approval/exception paths for AI agents acting on employee time, absence, or HR data, ensuring appropriate human-in-the-loop controls and data privacy safeguards.

• Evaluate and pilot third-party or custom Agentic AI tools (e.g., for workforce analytics, attrition/absence pattern detection, or HR service-desk automation) and assess fit against the target architecture.

• Use AI-assisted tools for day-to-day solution work — requirements analysis, test script generation, configuration documentation, and data mapping — to increase delivery speed and quality.

• Bring or build fluency in prompt engineering and AI workflow design; prior hands-on experience with generative AI or agentic AI platforms (Oracle AI Agent Studio, OCI Generative AI, Microsoft Copilot Studio, UiPath/Automation Anywhere agentic features, or similar) is a strong plus.

• Champion responsible AI adoption — data privacy, auditability, and change management — when introducing agentic workflows into sensitive employee-data environments.

Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.