Job Description
Executive Director, Application Architecture Salary: Open + Bonus Location: Chicago, IL or Dallas, TX Hybrid: 3 days onsite, 2 days remote Qualifications Bachelor s degree Demonstrated experience defining and enforcing application architecture standards at organizational scale across complex, multi-system portfolios Deep hands-on background in application architecture APIs, integration patterns, distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and microservices Experience with both legacy/brownfield modernization and greenfield cloud-native development Strong working knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, and quality gate enforcement as architecture concerns Ability to lead through influence as well as authority building alignment across Engineering, Security, QA, and Governance without losing the ability to make hard calls Excellent communication skills able to represent architecture decisions to executive leadership and translate strategy into actionable standards for development teams Hands-on experience with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures on AWS or equivalent Experience with scaled agile frameworks (SAFe) in large enterprise delivery programs Familiarity with AI-assisted development practices and their implications for architecture and standards Responsibilities Lead, develop, and set direction for a team of application architects, each retaining individual domain focus across clearing, risk, data, APIs, and integrations Establish and enforce architecture standards across applications, integration patterns, API design, tech stack selection, and software design patterns Enforce design patterns and architectural guardrails across teams delivering on both legacy and greenfield systems Establish non-functional requirements standards: performance, scalability, fault tolerance, observability as first-class architecture concerns Coordinate with Platform Architecture to ensure application designs reflect infrastructure reality and operational constraints Serve as the primary architecture partner to Engineering, Product, Financial Risk Management, and Quantitative Risk Management Collaborate with Security, QA, and Governance/Risk to ensure architectural decisions satisfy regulatory requirements including Regulation SCI and CPMI-IOSCO principles Conduct architecture and design reviews with enough rigor to catch problems before they reach production Manage and develop a team