AI Enterprise Architect (Hybrid)

Securian Financial • Saint Paul, MN

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The AI Enterprise Architect is a senior technical leader within Securian Financial’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AI CoE). The role shapes enterprise AI architecture strategy and drives adoption of scalable, secure, and reusable AI solutions. It establishes and leads AI architecture patterns, standards, and governance practices aligned with long-term technology strategy and evolving business needs.

As a trusted architectural advisor, the role guides architectural decisions, evaluates emerging AI technologies, and helps teams maximize existing platforms and capabilities. The architect partners closely with Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Data and Analytics (eDNA), technology leaders, and delivery teams to provide consultation, influence strategic decisions, and accelerate AI adoption. Success requires deep technical expertise, collaboration and communication skills, leadership through influence, and the ability to bring clarity and direction to an evolving AI landscape.

The position has a hybrid working arrangement and requires working in the office at least three days per week. Associates within a commutable distance of 90 minutes are expected to work from the offices three days each week, with flexibility for business and personal schedules.

Requirements

• Extensive, progressive experience architecting and designing enterprise solutions using AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics technologies, with experience operating at a principal or lead-architect level.
• Demonstrated experience establishing or running an architecture pattern, standards, or governance practice, including authoring, reviewing, approving, and publishing reusable patterns or reference architectures.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, including experience mentoring and coaching solution architects, delivery teams, and enterprise leadership roles.
• Experience leading through influence, driving architectural strategy, and promoting adoption of standards and patterns across multiple teams while balancing enterprise consistency with pragmatic, negotiated deviations.
• Deep understanding of common architecture and integration patterns and their application in modern AI and data ecosystems.
• Experience with cloud services and AI-related cloud capabilities, such as model hosting, vector databases, event streaming, agentic platforms, and generative AI platforms.
• Strong experience evaluating technical capabilities, assessing platform fit, and recommending solutions and buy-versus-build approaches aligned with enterprise strategy.
• Broad knowledge of business, application, data, technology, and security architecture domains, with the ability to partner effectively with Enterprise Architecture.
• Ability to translate ambiguous business needs into clear architectural options, patterns, and decisions, and guide senior technical and business partners toward alignment.
• Curiosity, adaptability, and willingness to continuously research and learn about emerging AI technologies.
• Experience working in agile environments and on cross-functional product teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with AWS; AWS is preferred.
• Background in financial services or another regulated industry.
• Preferred skills: AI Architecture, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Architecture Development, Coaching, Communication, Mentorship, Results Delivery, and Results-Oriented.

Responsibilities

• Establish, evolve, and drive the enterprise target-state AI platform architecture and design, providing senior architectural direction for patterns and reference architectures.
• Define, document, and own a library of reusable AI solution and architecture patterns and assets, including processes to author, review, approve, publish, version, and retire them.
• Serve as the enterprise approval authority for AI patterns by reviewing proposed patterns, adjudicating deviations, and determining whether designs align with target-state AI architecture.
• Ensure approved patterns are applied and enforced during architecture reviews, coaching delivery teams to cite patterns, identify deviations, and focus discussions on those deviations.
• Define, maintain, and promote AI development and deployment standards, guardrails, and blueprint patterns for scalable, adaptable solutions.
• Lead solution design and validation consultation for AI delivery teams as they design, integrate, and deploy use cases using approved patterns and platforms.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture to co-own AI platform architecture and design and align AI patterns with enterprise architecture principles, templates, and long-term technology strategy.
• Work with Enterprise Architecture to incorporate AI patterns into established architecture review venues and maintain alignment with enterprise purpose, vision, and guiding principles, including reuse of existing tools.
• Advise on AI platform and tool evaluation, supporting assessments of platform fit, scalability, and architectural impact.
• Contribute architectural perspective to buy-versus-build decisions, weighing reuse and extensibility against new development or third-party procurement.
• Embed responsible, ethical, and well-governed AI practices into patterns and standards and promote trustworthy AI development and use.
• Define architecture and metadata standards for the AI solution inventory and connect patterns to a clear registry of enterprise AI assets.
• Research and assess emerging AI technologies for maturity, enterprise applicability, and architectural fit, translating promising capabilities into candidate patterns.
• Support intake and prioritization of AI opportunities from an architectural perspective, helping shape use cases and their mapping to reusable patterns.
• Provide architectural leadership across AI delivery and scaling, helping move solutions from experimentation to production on reusable foundations.
• Contribute to the AI platform and pattern roadmap, sequencing shared capability development to reduce redundancy and accelerate delivery.

Benefits

• Paid time off, with additional PTO based on length of service.
• Flexible leave programs, including parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military leave.
• Nine company-paid holidays.
• Company-funded pension plan.
• 401(k) retirement plan with a company contribution tied to company performance, up to 10% of eligible earnings and a target of 5%.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for associates and eligible family members from the first day of employment.
• Paid volunteer time, company-sponsored volunteer events, and a dollar-for-dollar matching gift program.
• Associate Resource Groups for connection and workplace relationships.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed