Temporary, Contractor, Full-time
Application Programming Interface (API), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation, Capacity Management, Choices Operating System, Cloud Computing, Computer Architecture, Computer Skills, Computer Systems, Consulting, Distributed Computing, Fleet Management, Hardware Evaluation, Hewlett-Packard Product Family, Linux Operating System, Microsoft Windows Operating System, Network Administration/Management, Operating Systems, Oracle, PCI, Point of Sale (POS) Hardware, Point of Sale (POS) Systems, Proofreading, Quality System Requirements (QSR), Retail, Risk Management, Systems Scalability, Technical Writing, Trade-Off Analysis, Transaction Processing/Management
Role Overview
We are seeking a hands-on senior consultant to help design and evaluate next-generation POS hardware and edge computing architecture for a large QSR environment. This is an onsite architecture-focused role, not a support or management position.
The focus is on:
- Architecture design and tradeoff analysis
- Future-proofing POS systems (5–10 year horizon)
- Extending hardware lifecycle and reducing OS dependency risks
- Supporting scalable systems capable of evolving with AI-driven workloads
Key Responsibilities
- Evaluate current POS hardware and deployment models
- Design edge-based architectures to:
- Reduce dependency on POS terminal OS end-of-support risks
- Shift POS logic away from terminals where appropriate
- Ensure full offline capability in high-volume environments
- Define workload placement (POS terminal vs edge vs cloud)
- Assess hardware/OS choices for future scalability and AI readiness
- Deliver architecture diagrams, documentation, and tradeoff analysis
Required Experience (Must Have)
POS & QSR Systems
- 5+ years experience with enterprise POS systems in QSR or high-volume retail
- Strong understanding of:
- Transaction processing
- Payments systems
- Peripheral integration
- Offline / degraded network operations
- Experience designing around existing POS systems (not replacing them)
Edge Computing & Architecture
- Hands-on experience with edge computing in distributed environments
- Ability to design store-level compute systems that operate offline
- Experience managing mixed fleets (legacy + modern systems)
POS Hardware
- Experience with enterprise POS hardware such as:
- NCR
- Oracle MICROS
- HP or similar vendors
- Understanding of long hardware lifecycle and refresh constraints
OS & Imaging
- OS imaging and lifecycle management experience
- Windows LTSC in POS environments
- Practical Linux usage for edge/backend systems
Future-Ready Architecture
- Capacity planning for 3–5+ year technology horizons
- Understanding impact of AI, automation, and real-time analytics on infrastructure
- Ability to design systems that scale without frequent hardware replacement
- Focus is infrastructure impact of AI—not AI model development
Nice to Have
- Headless or API-first POS architectures
- Edge containerized workloads
- PCI/payment isolation experience
- Experience writing architecture documents for both technical and executive audiences
Ideal Candidate Summary
A senior individual contributor with deep QSR POS and edge architecture experience who can evaluate hardware, OS, and distributed compute tradeoffs, and design scalable, future-ready POS systems that minimize unnecessary hardware refresh cycles.