AVP, Enterprise Architect, IT Foundation Platforms

Sun Life • Waterloo, ON

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Global Enterprise Architecture team is dedicated to providing the services and technology our global business partners need to continue to innovate for our clients and help them achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Through innovation and collaboration, we're striving to continually find new and better ways to bring value to Sun Life globally. The successful candidate for this role brings motivation, creativity, proven leadership, and expertise executing on enterprise technology solutions. Reporting to the Global Chief Architect, this role provides leadership, facilitation, analysis, and design required for the development of Sun Life’s IT foundations architecture. You will create architectural deliverables that guide the evolution of enterprise technology platforms and infrastructure to enable business strategy and outcomes through sound technical decisions.

Requirements

• Deep technology knowledge and experience across enterprise infrastructure, cloud, platforms, and DevOps.
• Financial services industry experience—gained through large, complex initiatives—is strongly preferred.
• Built a career in IT focused on infrastructure, cloud platforms, and modern engineering practices.
• Strong knowledge of the use of Gen AI, AI, Agentic Workflow in core systems
• Architecture roadmapping skills, frameworks, patterns, and models
• Knowledge of technology industry vendors, solutions, and emerging trends
• Knowledge of enterprise technology solutions within insurance, banking, or asset management
• Ability to quickly understand and align with business strategies
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage VP and C-level stakeholders
• Adapting communication style for technical and non-technical audiences
• Navigating complex, matrixed organizations and clearly articulating future-state architecture
• Applying technology trends and emerging capabilities to enable new business and operating models
• Operational knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and core cloud services
• Working knowledge of Agile and DevOps tooling and practices
• Balancing long-term strategic direction with near-term delivery needs
• Influencing adoption of technology strategy across shared services teams
• Collaborating with IT and business leaders to drive innovative, enterprise-wide solutions
• Leading and developing high-performing technical teams
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, IT Management, or a related field
• Minimum 15 years of IT infrastructure and technology leadership experience
• Background in enterprise architecture, infrastructure operations, cloud platforms, or application delivery
• Strong understanding of enterprise technology risk, decision-making, and trade-offs
• Proven ability to operate in high-pressure, high-visibility environments
• Extensive experience with infrastructure systems, cloud platforms (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), networking, virtualization, disaster recovery, business continuity, and infrastructure monitoring
• Strong collaboration skills and a track record of trusted partnerships with business leaders
• High personal integrity, excellent interpersonal skills, and executive-level communication capability
• Experience with vendor management and contract negotiations

Nice To Haves

• Bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only as the position includes managing both French and English-speaking staff (Quebec and outside Quebec) and providing daily support to the team.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of technical architects supporting Enterprise Infrastructure and Core IT strategy toward a clear and aligned vision.
• Create a clear vision and associated roadmaps for infrastructure, cloud, and platform technologies, and align both teams and executives to that vision.
• Lead analysis of the current technology environment to identify critical gaps and deficiencies and recommend improvements informed by industry trends and best practices.
• Partner with solution, data, API, and application architects to align infrastructure and platform strategies with business-driven solution architecture.
• Define high-level migration and modernization plans to address gaps between current and future state, recognizing the rapid pace of change across cloud platforms, DevOps tooling, and Agile delivery ecosystems.
• Drive innovation by leveraging new technologies and architectural approaches to modernize, extend, and evolve the existing technology environment.
• Act as an internal and external advocate and thought leader for Cloud, Network, infrastructure, and platform enablement portfolios.
• Lead the research, evaluation, and selection of hardware, software, and platform standards, including assessing organizational and operating-model impacts.
• Develop and maintain a strategic technology roadmap that integrates business strategy, technology trends, and an understanding of the financial services industry.
• Lead architectural governance through internal review forums and stage-gating committees to ensure alignment with enterprise technology roadmaps.
• Identify solution options for major initiatives and partner closely with Infrastructure and Platform leaders to select optimal approaches.
• Unify business and IT strategies through enterprise architecture development and service delivery, leading the communication and adoption of architecture across the organization.

Benefits

• Pension, stock and savings programs to help build and enhance your future financial security
• Work and professional development that is united by our Purpose: to help Clients and Employees achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives
• A friendly, collaborative and inclusive culture
• Competitive salary and bonus structure influenced by market range data
• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive