Chief IT Architect

University of Baltimore

2d • $130,000 - $180,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief IT Architect reports to the Deputy Chief Information Officer and provides leadership, guidance, and support to the university community. Working collaboratively with business units and IT disciplines, the role contributes to exceptional student experiences through technology selection and integration and supports more efficient and effective administrative and business operations. The position interacts with OTS leadership and staff, frontline transactional employees, business unit directors, and managers. It leads IT architecture development, design, and analysis; advises OTS senior management on technology strategy; and monitors industry trends to advocate for forward-looking technology solutions.

This is a hybrid position requiring on-campus work at least one day per week, with the option to telework up to four days per week. Additional on-campus presence may periodically be required during the academic year to support university activities and operational needs.

The role develops technology architecture and strategy, evaluates university IT needs and solutions, reviews technology procurements, oversees IT change management, maintains IT portfolio information and the configuration management database, and collaborates with information security staff on security architecture, policies, audits, and related support.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field.
• At least five years of experience designing information and system architecture.
• Understanding of IT infrastructure and enterprise architectures.
• Knowledge of systems including network design and management and server infrastructure.
• Ability to determine big-picture implications from basic specifications and translate complex requirements into forward-thinking functional architecture.
• Ability to manage simultaneous projects, ensure timely delivery, meet customer requirements, perform cost-benefit analyses, and assess risk.
• Ability to understand and apply legislative, regulatory, policy, and procedural requirements concerning enterprise architecture and security.
• Ability to contribute to project plans, track and document requirements across multiple parties, prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and work on multiple projects concurrently.
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Ability to develop, adopt, and implement technical standards and integrate industry standards.
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrated ability to work with stakeholders with divergent interests to achieve shared goals.
• Ability to work with end users and business and senior management on process changes, training, requirements, issues, and compliance with architecture policies.
• Ability to communicate with all levels of management and personnel, present technical information in accessible terms, and keep management informed of issues and project progress.
• Knowledge and understanding of software engineering principles and programming languages; ability to solve complex IT problems.
• Knowledge of cloud services, technology, and infrastructure; enterprise architecture methodologies such as Zachman and TOGAF; networking protocols and frameworks; routing, switching, and wireless networking; application gateways, firewalls, and intrusion detection and prevention; communications technology; SIEM; security integration, federation, and encryption; identity and lifecycle management; desktop and server operating systems; database management; and enterprise applications including ERP and CRM systems.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in computer science, IT engineering, or a related field or discipline supporting the position’s responsibilities.
• Seven years of experience designing information and system architecture.
• Knowledge of application and integration architectures and enterprise data management paradigms, in addition to network design and management and server infrastructure.
• Advanced understanding of IT infrastructure and enterprise architectures.
• Experience with higher education IT systems.
• Familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a framework for developing technology solutions that meet university requirements and the needs of students, faculty, and staff.
• Organize and lead OTS staff skill-development and educational sessions on emerging technologies.
• Design secure technology solutions using industry standards and best practices; monitor trends, evaluate and recommend products and technologies, document architecture, and assess technical concerns and suggestions.
• Participate as an expert in UBalt and USM workgroups on cloud services, system architecture, and technology solution strategies.
• Coordinate the review, design, and implementation of solutions that meet customer needs and expectations.
• Review proposed technology purchases and advise on compliance with UBalt standards, methodologies, and applicable requirements.
• Document university needs, define system requirements and specifications, assess architectural alternatives, and recommend solutions.
• Work with university stakeholders, vendors, senior technical staff, USM peers, and other higher education institutions to obtain requirements, best practices, and technology trends.
• Analyze proposed systems and integrations, evaluate hardware and software, suggest integration methods, communicate requirements to development teams, and provide technical leadership to implementation teams.
• Perform pre-procurement reviews of software and subscriptions for appropriate use, alignment with UBalt frameworks and methodologies, and compatibility with USM and institutional IT security and architecture policies and standards.
• Establish and oversee IT change management; organize and lead the university’s IT Change Control Board; ensure change requests follow approved procedures and are recorded accurately.
• Review proposed technology changes for compliance with architectural standards and policies and assess their impact on the university community; facilitate discussions and mentor team members on change management protocols.
• Maintain a configuration management database (CMDB) and inventory of IT resources to support data-driven decisions.
• Participate in project management through initial technical reviews, serve on technology project teams, and provide analysis and reporting relevant to projects, initiatives, and compliance.
• Validate CMDB accuracy with OTS managers twice per year against Office of Procurement records and maintain accurate documentation of the current IT environment.
• Collaborate with information security staff to develop, document, and implement security architecture and policy supporting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and systems.
• Incorporate security architecture into enterprise architecture planning and design; review USM security policies for architectural impact and advise staff on security issues.
• Provide backup support for information security tasks and support audit requirements and processes as necessary.

Benefits

• Health, life, prescription, and dental plans.
• Tuition remission benefits.
• Paid leave, including 22 days of annual leave, 15 days of sick leave, 3 days of personal leave, and 14–15 holidays.
• Retirement plans with employer contributions.

What This Job Offers

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