Architect IV - Solutions

JOB SUMMARY

Provides enterprise-level leadership, strategy, analysis, and technical direction for the design and evolution of complex solution architectures. Translates business strategy and future-state capabilities into scalable, secure, resilient, and integrated technology solutions across systems, processes, information, shared infrastructure, and application services. Serves as a senior architectural authority for high-impact initiatives, establishes standards and roadmaps, guides investment decisions, and influences leaders and delivery teams to achieve targeted business outcomes.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Partner with senior business and technology leaders to translate enterprise strategy, business capabilities, and operating-model priorities into actionable solution architecture roadmaps.
• Lead the architecture of highly complex, cross-functional solutions spanning multiple applications, platforms, data domains, integrations, infrastructure services, and third-party technologies.
• Establish target-state architectures and transition plans that balance business value, technical feasibility, security, resilience, scalability, cost, and speed to market.
• Serve as the architectural authority for strategic programs, resolving design conflicts, evaluating tradeoffs, and driving decisions across multiple teams and initiatives.
• Guide and influence application, data, integration, infrastructure, security, and cloud architecture decisions to ensure cohesive end-to-end solutions.
• Assess the current solution portfolio to identify technical debt, lifecycle risk, capability gaps, duplication, and misalignment with business requirements.
• Define and govern enterprise architecture principles, standards, reusable patterns, reference architectures, and decision frameworks.
• Lead architecture review and assurance activities to confirm solution quality, compliance, traceability, and alignment with the future-state architecture vision.
• Own and maintain strategic roadmaps for the evolution and rationalization of the enterprise application and technology portfolio.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, vendor capabilities, market trends, and industry practices, and recommend adoption approaches based on measurable business value and risk.
• Lead the evaluation and selection of strategic software products, platforms, services, and standard configurations.
• Advise programs and projects on architecture, sequencing, dependencies, constraints, risks, and required changes to business or technology plans.
• Identify the organizational, operational, financial, data, security, and change-management impacts of proposed solution architectures.
• Develop business cases, architecture options, and executive-level recommendations that clearly communicate costs, benefits, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Create and maintain complete architecture artifacts, including models, diagrams, standards, technology decisions, roadmaps, and implementation guidance.
• Partner with the PMO and delivery leaders to ensure execution plans, milestones, and solution outcomes remain aligned with approved architecture.
• Mentor architects and senior technical professionals, promote consistent architecture practices, and strengthen architecture capability across the organization.
• Facilitate executive and technical forums, presenting complex concepts in clear business language and building alignment among diverse stakeholders.

  MANAGEMENT & SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILTIES

• Typically reports to Management. Direct supervisor job title(s) typically include: Director of Enterprise Architecture
• Job is NOT directly responsible for managing other employees (e.g., hiring/termination and/or pay decisions, performance management), but provides functional leadership, technical direction, and mentoring to architects and delivery teams.

  JOB QUALIFICATIONS: Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, systems analysis, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience. Advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience across multiple IT solution-development disciplines, with substantial experience leading architecture for complex, enterprise-scale initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience designing integrated solutions across diverse technologies, platforms, processing environments, data domains, security models, and delivery methods.
• Advanced knowledge of strategic and emerging technology trends and the ability to determine when and how technologies can support evolving business capabilities and operating models.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, facilitate complex decisions, communicate architecture strategy to technical and non-technical audiences, and build alignment without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of agile and product delivery methods, including the ability to guide teams on architecture opportunities, dependencies, risks, and technical debt.
• Experience developing technology roadmaps, architecture standards, governance practices, and executive-level recommendations for major technology investments.

  JOB QUALIFICATIONS: Essential Skills, Abilities and Example Behavior(s)

• BE ANALYTICAL: Able to effectively gather all relevant information; Able to identify key issues; Able to qualitatively and / or quantitatively process data; Able to identify relationships, draw logical conclusions and interpret results for use in decision-making
• DEMONSTRATE SOUND JUDGMENT: Able to make appropriate decisions and has the vision to understand their impact; Able to use factual information to develop logical assumptions; Able to examine alternatives and consider resources, constraints and risks before committing to action
• ADAPT: Able to maintain effectiveness by changing personal behavior and work routines / habits in response to new circumstances and requirements
• COLLABORATE: Able to act as part of a larger team outside of the immediate department or group; Able to understand the importance of working with peers in other areas or management to reach "best practice" solutions for the organization; Able to inform and seek information to anticipate and consider the impact of decisions or actions on the overall organization
• AVID LEARNER: Able to accurately assess own strengths and development needs and strive to improve those areas identified as needing development; staying abreast of core components of enterprise technical architecture and emerging technology trends; continuous attention to integrating technology within the business to evolve business capabilities.
• ACT WITH INTEGRITY: Able to demonstrate uncompromising adherence to ethical principles; Able to demonstrate honesty in all actions; Able to admit and correct mistakes promptly; Able to assume full responsibility and accountability for own actions
• SOLVE PROBLEMS: Able to apply both rational and creative processes and approaches to identify root causes of problems and solutions
• THINK STRATEGICALLY: Able to connect enterprise strategy, business capabilities, and technology direction; Able to anticipate long-term trends and consequences; Able to create and communicate a compelling future-state vision; Able to make decisions based on long-term company goals and enterprise-wide impact
• LISTEN: Able to actively listen and convey understanding of the comments and questions of others; Able to understand the situations, viewpoints and feelings of others before expressing own view
• DELIVER QUALITY RESULTS: Able to deliver top quality service to all customers (internal and external); Able to ensure all details are covered and adhere to company policies; Able to strive to do things right the first time; Able to meet agreed-upon commitments or advises customer when deadlines are jeopardized; Able to define high standards for quality and evaluate products, services, and own performance against those standards
• EDUCATE AND INFLUENCE: Able to communicate complex architecture concepts to executives, business partners, and technical teams; Able to build alignment, mentor others, and produce effective architecture standards, decision records, guiding principles, and implementation guidance.
• ADVANCED COMPUTER USER: Able to exploit required software applications to produce correspondence, reports, presentations, electronic communication, and complex spreadsheets including   
• formulas and macros and/or databases. Able to operate general office equipment including company telephone system

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