Chief Architect

Janney•Philadelphia, PA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Janney is hiring a Chief Architect to lead Enterprise Architecture and the firm’s applied AI and automation efforts. This hands-on, highly visible leadership role sets technical standards and reference patterns, while building and leading a small team of AI engineers focused on important business challenges. The Chief Architect works directly with senior business leaders across wealth management, brokerage, and operations as a trusted advisor, helping shape problems and identify effective technical solutions. The role owns architecture standards, reference architectures, technology patterns, and build-versus-buy guidance; leads architecture reviews and exception governance; and represents architecture in portfolio investment forums. It also sets the roadmap for applied AI and automation, establishes responsible AI and security practices in partnership with the Data and Information Security Office teams, and champions secure, productive AI adoption across the firm. The Chief Architect brings solution architects from across the organization into initiatives as needed, sets technical direction, and ensures enterprise standards are followed. The role also builds relationships with business leaders, develops knowledge of wealth-management workflows and the vendor landscape, and uses enterprise AI tools in day-to-day architecture, research, analysis, and prototyping work. The position requires working three days per week from Janney’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in enterprise or solution architecture leadership, including ownership of governance such as standards, patterns, and decision records.
Deep knowledge of wealth management and wealth technology, including advisory and brokerage workflows, clearing and custody, portfolio construction and performance reporting, and financial planning platforms.
Ability to communicate effectively with business stakeholders and a track record of being sought out by business and product leaders for early advice.
Hands-on comfort with modern AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT, including directing them through design and analysis work and assessing their outputs critically.
Experience leading a governance model measured by adoption rather than approval volume, and comfort acting as an advisor rather than only a gatekeeper.
Experience leading a small, senior team while remaining personally involved in architecture and design work.
Experience leading an applied-AI or automation team, including setting its roadmap and security and control standards.
A track record of leading through influence and getting strong work from people who do not report directly to you.
Work three days per week from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or overhauling a reference architecture and pattern library from a less mature starting point.
Hands-on experience with Jira and Confluence, ideally including migrating a team from Azure DevOps.
Familiarity with the regulatory and supervisory environment for broker-dealers and registered investment advisors, including data retention, entitlements, recordkeeping, and exam readiness.
Experience partnering with a dedicated data office or Chief Data Officer function.
Direct, hands-on experience with enterprise deployments of Claude or ChatGPT.
Broad familiarity with SaaS platforms such as Salesforce or ServiceNow, web engineering, and full-stack engineering.

Responsibilities

Own and publish Janney’s reference architectures, technology standards, and build-versus-buy guidance.
Maintain the architecture pattern library, updating or retiring patterns based on their use, and keep the technology reference model current.
Lead the transition from Azure DevOps to the Atlassian suite, including using Jira and Confluence for architecture decision records, the pattern library, and backlog management.
Review architecture for requests entering the technology portfolio intake process, determine whether requests fit existing patterns or need exceptions, and complete initial triage within five business days and exception reviews within ten business days.
Chair the exception review process and maintain records of decisions to inform future standards.
Represent architecture at the quarterly Portfolio Investment Council and monthly Portfolio Checkpoint, and partner with UX research, the data office, and security architecture during intake.
Build and lead a small team of AI engineers spanning AI Factory and Automation, Workflow Automation, and AI Security.
Set the roadmap for applied AI and automation and apply the same standards and rigor as for other major technology investments.
Own the firm’s approach to AI security and responsible AI use, including data handling, model and agent access, and guardrails for AI tools, in partnership with the Data and Information Security Office teams.
Promote secure and productive AI use across the firm and ensure AI and Automation receives visibility at the Portfolio Investment Council.
Bring solution architects from Advisor Platforms, Client Platforms, Enterprise Platforms, the Data Office, and the Information Security Office onto initiatives according to project needs.
Set technical direction for initiatives, ensure participating architects follow enterprise standards, and feed lessons back into the pattern library.
Engage with business leaders early to understand and shape problems, and build knowledge of advisor and client workflows, brokerage, clearing and custody, portfolio construction, performance reporting, and relevant regulation.
Stay current on wealth-management technology and vendors to inform build-versus-buy discussions.
Use enterprise Claude, including Cowork and Code, enterprise ChatGPT, and potentially Microsoft CoPilot for solution analysis, trade studies, research, prototypes, wireframes, and architecture decision record drafts; review and take ownership of all AI-assisted work.