Enterprise Architect - Application Architecture

Zions Bancorporation's Enterprise Technology and Operations (ETO) team is transforming what it means to work for a financial institution. With a commitment to technology and innovation, we have been providing our community, clients and colleagues the best experience possible for over 150 years. Help us transform our workforce of the future, today.

We are seeking an Enterprise Architect (Application Architect) to join Zions Bancorporation. As an Architect focused on Application Architecture, you will be responsible for defining and maintaining application architecture patterns, approved application technologies, frameworks and stacks, and guiding the enterprise in use of these - all toward meeting our business and architecture objectives. This role involves overseeing the architecture designs and proposals of many software solutions, ensuring they meet both functional and non-functional requirements, evangelize and govern use of our defined patterns, and guide application teams with the adoption of these patterns.

Further, you will iterate on the patterns adoption processes to maturity, such that engineering experience is amazing, consistent, repeatable and simplified. You will stay informed of modern application approaches, technologies, and industry technology shifts to help steer our patterns, disciplines, practices, and outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

Define and Govern Solution Architecture

• Develop and document application architecture for targeted stakeholder groups to support business and organizational outcomes.
• Translate stakeholder needs into functional and non-functional requirements.
• Ensure architectural designs are clearly documented and reviewed through project and architecture governance process.
• Create and maintain application architecture patterns, guidelines, and approved technology records.

Application Architecture Design

• Gather and analyze application requirements, including purpose, functionality, performance, constraints, and user needs.
• Define application architectures that meet these requirements and collaborate with other architects to align on solution approaches (COTS, SaaS, PaaS, custom).
• Establish high-level application structures, major components, technologies, models, their responsibilities, and interaction models.

Architecture Governance

• Ensure solution architectures align with the enterprise architecture blueprint.
• Review and approve enterprise architecture artifacts, such as reference architectures, patterns, standards, and solution designs.
• Partner with enterprise, data, and infrastructure architects to ensure cohesive end-to-end architecture.
• Participate in evaluating tools, platforms, frameworks, and third-party solutions.
• Contribute to Lean Portfolio Management and Agile Release Trains in the Solution Architect role.

Collaboration and Communication

• Work with the EA team to uphold architecture standards, guidelines, and processes.
• Provide architectural oversight for new or major-change technology proposals.
• Promote awareness of cross-functional architecture activities, patterns, best practices, emerging technologies, and standards.
• Develop and champion roadmaps and multi-year strategies for application modernization and patterns adoption.
• Collaborate with business leaders, product owners, and engineering teams to ensure solution alignment with business goals.

Qualifications:

• Experience in enterprise architecture with a focus on application architecture.
• Expertise in defining application blueprints, modular designs, and integration patterns.
• Hands-on coding experience in mainstream languages and frameworks (e.g., Java, .NET, JavaScript/Type Script, Python, React, Node.js, Angular, Swift).
• Ability to design end-to-end solutions that align with enterprise standards and meet requirements for scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Experience with major cloud services and architecture frameworks.
• Broad knowledge of application technologies, including their strengths, limitations, and appropriate use cases.
• Experience leading major application refactoring or re-platforming efforts (e.g., monolith to microservices, server to containers, on-prem to cloud, VMs to serverless).
• Understanding of distributed systems, containerization, service mesh, and domain decomposition.
• Experience with security-by-design principles (authentication, authorization, OWASP, threat modeling, logging, monitoring, data protection).
• Solid understanding of data modeling, data flows, metadata management, and data governance.
• Breadth of experience across enterprise technology stacks (cloud, distributed, mobile, SaaS, desktop native, integrations, data feeds and messaging pipelines, legacy-to-modern mixes).
• Experience with CI/CD, Git Ops, automated testing, and IaC (e.g., Terraform).
• Ability to make unbiased technology recommendations based on context, not personal preferences.
• Familiarity with TOGAF and similar industry frameworks.
• Understanding of software development methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present…