Chief Architect - End User Technologies

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Chief Architect - End User Technologies

Vanguard is seeking a Chief Architect / Distinguished Engineer to define and drive the future of End User Technology at enterprise scale. This is a rare, high impact individual contributor role for a deeply technical leader who combines hands on engineering credibility with the ability to set multi-year architectural direction, establish durable standards, and lead complex modernization across a heterogeneous end user ecosystem.

You will operate as a technical force multiplier across Workplace Engineering-defining the end user technology "north star," resolving the most complex systemic challenges, and raising the engineering bar through mentorship, architectural rigor, and automation first practices.

Responsibilities:

Enterprise End User Technology Strategy & Roadmap

• Own and evolve the 3-year Workplace technology roadmap spanning endpoints, mobility, virtualization, and productivity/collaboration platforms-ensuring solutions integrate cleanly across domains and deliver measurable outcomes for crew productivity, experience, and risk posture.
• Drive modernization outcomes aligned to Vanguard's strategic initiatives (e.g., Windows 11 adoption, cloud VDI modernization, MDM platform modernization/migration, and Workplace AI / Copilot enablement).

Technical Architecture Leadership

• Define and maintain reference architectures, patterns, and guardrails across the end user technology ecosystem, including:
  Windows endpoints and modern management (e.g., Intune strategy, governance, and operating model) macOS management at scale (e.g., Jamf or equivalent) Mobility platforms and modern mobility strategies (e.g., Workspace ONE and/or next-generation MDM approaches) Virtualization and VDI modernization (cloud-hosted virtual desktops and legacy retirement strategies) Productivity ecosystems (Microsoft 365, plus interoperability with Google where required)
• Lead hands-on proof-of-concepts and deep technical evaluations for emerging capabilities; translate findings into pragmatic standards, adoption plans, and operational models.

Platform Governance, Standards, and Decision Quality

• Establish and run governance that prevents platform drift and enables safe acceleration, including configuration standards and guardrails RBAC/tagging strategy and separation of duties peer review/sign-off processes change control and release validation across the Workplace domain
• Provide architecture review, technical risk identification, and design validation for production changes before they ship.

Technical Escalation & Reliability Leadership

• Serve as the highest-level escalation point for complex, cross-domain end-user technology failures and systemic issues (identity/device compliance edge cases, policy conflicts, virtualization performance, M365 service health/controls, etc.).
• Drive root-cause analysis and ensure outcomes become repeatable engineering improvements (automation, instrumentation, standards)

Engineering Excellence & Automation-First Operating Model

• Set expectations for engineering rigor and durability, including code-driven configuration and infrastructure/policy-as-code patterns where practical CI/CD-enabled workflows where appropriate versioning, automated validation, and observability across endpoint + productivity platforms
• Champion scripting and automation for compliance, reporting, and operational efficiency (Power Shell, Python, Bash-whatever best fits the problem).

Org-Wide Technical Leadership

• Mentor and level-up senior engineers and architects; raise design quality through reviews, coaching, and technical storytelling.
• Act as a primary architecture liaison across partner organizations (security, enterprise architecture, identity/access, and adjacent platform teams), driving alignment and durable, supportable designs.

Primary Technical Domains:

You should be conversant and credible across multiple end user technology domains, including:

• Windows endpoints at enterprise scale: modern management, compliance, security controls, deployment and lifecycle patterns (including coexistence realities where needed)
• macOS enterprise management (Jamf or equivalent) and cross-platform posture
• Mobility / MDM modernization patterns and platform migration realities
• Virtualization / VDI modernization, including cloud strategy and legacy retirement planning
• Microsoft 365 services with policy/security configuration (Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, One Drive) and identity integration (Entra/Azure AD patterns)
• Google ecosystem awareness (integration, coexistence, and impact in end-user environments), as applicable
• Security & compliance-by-design for end-user platforms (policy enforcement, auditability, data protection controls, and governance)

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years in enterprise end user / workplace engineering with demonstrated ownership of large-scale platforms and complex transformations (Windows + macOS + mobility +…