Director, Enterprise Architecture

Overview

We seek a visionary leader capable of defining and executing a robust enterprise architecture (EA) strategy. The ideal candidate must clearly articulate what enterprise architecture is in practical terms and demonstrate how it directly supports business goals and strategy. You will be responsible for defining the architectural roadmaps and ensuring project solutions align with the strategic vision, collaborating closely with our product owners and business and IT leaders.

Furthermore, you must possess the ability to guide an organization’s strategy and apply strategic architectural thinking to deliver measurable business results.

Application Rationalization and Optimization

• Conduct an initial audit of the existing application portfolio to identify redundancies, underutilized systems, and opportunities for consolidation. Develop processes to evaluate on an ongoing basis in partnership with business line product owners.
• Develop and present business cases for application retirement or replacement, targeting a 10-15% reduction in application count within the next 18 months.
• Define clear functional and non-functional requirements and checklists for new or enhanced applications, ensuring alignment with overall enterprise architecture.

Technology Standards and Governance

• Establish and maintain a clear set of technology standards and guidelines for software development, infrastructure, and data management.
• Implement a formal architecture review process for all new projects and major system enhancements, ensuring adherence to established standards and architectural principles.
• Develop and track key metrics (e.g., compliance rates, technical debt reduction) to measure the effectiveness of architectural governance.

Solution Architecture and Design Leadership

• Lead the design and architecture of 2-3 critical business initiatives annually, providing hands-on guidance to development teams and ensuring robust, scalable, and secure solutions.
• Create detailed solution architecture documents, including data flow diagrams, integration patterns, and deployment models for key projects.
• Mentor and guide junior architects and technical leads, fostering a culture of architectural excellence and best practices.

Cloud Strategy and Implementation

• Partner and incorporate the organizations cloud strategy, including a roadmap for migrating on-premise applications to cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).

Data Architecture and Management

• Define and govern the organizations data architecture, including data models, data integration patterns, and data quality standards.
• Collaborate with data engineering teams to design and implement robust data pipelines and data warehousing solutions.
• Develop strategies for data governance, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations and internal policies.

Security Architecture Integration

• Work closely with the security team to embed security best practices into all architectural designs and development processes.
• Ensure all architectural decisions align with the organizations overall security posture and compliance requirements.

Innovation and Emerging Technologies

• Research and evaluate emerging technologies relevant to the organizations business objectives, providing recommendations for adoption or experimentation.
• Lead proof-of-concept projects for new technologies, demonstrating their potential value and feasibility.
• Foster a culture of innovation by encouraging exploration of new tools and approaches within the IT department.

The role requires both strong communication skills as well as analytical skills to ensure that businesses have the right tools for success. Skills include:

• Ability to define which issues need to be addressed, and the variables that may affect their resolution. Plus the ability to come up with solutions that effectively address business and IT issues through technical analysis, troubleshooting, research, evaluation, and communication.
• Discussing with stakeholders and getting agreement on the problem and solution. This requires both strong verbal and written communication skills to settle conflicts.
• Lead Architecture Review Board (ARB) effectively…