Chief Architect

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC•Philadelphia, PA

10d•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, visible leadership role sets the technical standards and reference patterns for how Janney builds technology and builds and leads a small team of AI engineers focused on important business challenges. The Chief Architect partners early with senior leaders in wealth management, brokerage, and operations, serving as a trusted technical advisor and bringing sound judgment—including AI-powered capabilities—to complex problems. The role owns Janney’s reference architectures, technology standards, build-vs-buy guidance, architecture pattern library, and technology reference model. It leads architecture reviews and exception governance for portfolio intake, represents architecture in portfolio governance forums, and partners with UX research, the data office, and security architecture. The Chief Architect also leads the transition from Azure DevOps to Jira and Confluence for architecture decision records, pattern management, and backlog management. The position establishes the roadmap and security controls for applied AI and automation, including responsible AI use, data handling, and model and agent access. It assembles Solution Architects from across the organization for individual initiatives, sets their technical direction, and feeds lessons back into enterprise standards. The role requires regular, hands-on use of enterprise AI tools, with accountability for reviewing and owning all resulting work. The position requires working three days per week from Janney’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

Requirements

At least 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.
A 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 evaluating their outputs critically.
Experience leading a governance model measured by adoption rather than approval volume, with an advisory rather than gatekeeping approach.
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 or control standards.
A track record of leading through influence and achieving strong work from people who do not report directly to you.
Ability to identify improvements and gain organizational buy-in, collaborate cross-functionally, manage multiple high-touch projects with precision, and take initiative and ownership.
Ability to work three days per week from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or substantially 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, sufficient to identify the expertise needed for an initiative.

Responsibilities

Own and publish reference architectures, technology standards, and build-vs-buy guidance.
Maintain the architecture pattern library, updating or retiring patterns as needed, and keep the technology reference model accurate and current.
Lead the migration from Azure DevOps to Jira and Confluence for architecture decision records, the pattern library, and backlog management.
Review every request entering the technology portfolio intake process and determine whether it follows an existing pattern, requires an exception, or can use an existing solution; meet the stated triage and exception-review service levels.
Chair the architecture exception review process and maintain decision records that 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 & Automation, Workflow Automation, and AI Security to address high-priority business problems.
Set the applied AI and automation roadmap and apply the rigor used for other major technology investments.
Own the approach to AI security and responsible AI use, including data handling, model and agent access, and safeguards for new 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 initiatives receive appropriate portfolio visibility.
Bring Solution Architects from Advisor Platforms, Client Platforms, Enterprise Platforms, the Data Office, and the Information Security Office into initiatives according to their expertise; set technical direction and uphold enterprise standards.
Incorporate lessons from initiatives into the architecture pattern library.
Engage with business leaders early and develop knowledge of advisor and client workflows, brokerage, clearing and custody, portfolio construction and performance reporting, and applicable regulatory considerations.
Stay informed about wealth management technology and vendors to support build-vs-buy decisions.
Use enterprise Claude, including Cowork and Code, enterprise ChatGPT, and potentially Microsoft Copilot for design options, trade studies, research, prototypes, wireframes, and architecture decision record drafts; review and take responsibility for the outputs.
Identify opportunities for improvement, build organizational support for change, collaborate across the organization, and manage multiple projects with attention to detail and ownership.