Director, Enterprise Architecture

Donaldson•Bloomington, MN

2d•$180,080 - $225,100•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Enterprise Architecture will lead Donaldson’s enterprise architecture function and a team of highly technical architects in the IT organization. This hands-on leader will set architectural direction for a global manufacturing enterprise across cloud, infrastructure, applications, data, integration, security, and operational technology, and will personally address complex technical challenges. The role engages early with business and technology leaders to shape solutions before design and delivery, and establishes reference architectures, patterns, and standards to make delivery faster, more consistent, and repeatable. Success is measured by delivered outcomes. The position is based in Bloomington, Minnesota, and requires a hybrid schedule. Travel is up to 15%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least 12 years of progressive technology experience, including at least 5 years in enterprise or solution architecture and at least 5 years leading architects or senior technical teams.
Deep, hands-on technical expertise across multiple domains, such as cloud and hybrid infrastructure, application and integration architecture, data platforms, identity, and security.
A record of architecting and delivering large-scale technology transformations, such as cloud migration, ERP modernization, or platform consolidation, in a complex global enterprise.
Experience creating reference architectures, standards, and reusable patterns that measurably improved delivery speed, quality, and consistency.
Exceptional communication and coaching skills, including explaining technical designs to engineers, trade-offs and business value to executives, and developing future architects.
Must be currently and legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future immigration sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Architecture leadership experience in global manufacturing, industrial technology, or a Fortune 500 enterprise.
Expertise in at least one major public cloud, preferably Microsoft Azure, and hybrid architectures, including landing zones, infrastructure as code, containers, and Kubernetes.
Strong integration and data architecture experience, including APIs, event-driven architecture, integration platforms, master data, and modern data platforms such as Snowflake, Databricks, or Microsoft Fabric.
Experience with ERP and manufacturing system landscapes such as SAP, Oracle, MES, and PLM, and IT/OT integration in plant environments.
Experience designing architectures and governance for AI and generative AI, including platform, data, security, and responsible-AI considerations.
Familiarity with architecture frameworks and practices such as TOGAF, C4 modeling, and architecture decision records, applied pragmatically.
Hands-on experience as a software, cloud, or infrastructure engineer, including DevOps, platform engineering, CI/CD, and observability.
Security architecture knowledge, including Zero Trust, identity and access management, network segmentation, and secure-by-design practices.
Relevant certifications such as TOGAF, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, or Google Professional Cloud Architect.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and inspire enterprise, solution, domain, and data architects who serve as technical experts and escalation points for complex problems.
Engage early in business planning, demand intake, and portfolio prioritization to shape requirements, options, and architectures before projects begin.
Work directly with delivery teams on critical initiatives, major incidents, and complex design challenges to diagnose root causes and develop durable solutions.
Define and maintain enterprise target-state architecture and multi-year roadmaps across business, application, data, integration, infrastructure, cloud, security, and OT domains, aligned with business strategy.
Create and maintain reusable reference architectures, design patterns, blueprints, and paved-road templates, including for cloud landing zones, integration and APIs, identity, data platforms, and AI.
Establish lightweight, value-adding architecture governance through principles, standards, decision records, and design reviews.
Reduce technical debt and simplify technology through portfolio rationalization, lifecycle management, and clear build, buy, reuse, and retire decisions.
Architect foundations for enterprise AI, data and analytics, automation, and modern integration, including the platform, security, and responsible-AI patterns needed to scale safely.
Partner with cybersecurity, infrastructure, applications, data, digital, and manufacturing leaders to embed secure-by-design, Zero Trust, resilience, and IT/OT convergence principles into solutions.
Evaluate emerging technologies and vendors through hands-on proofs of concept; recommend approaches that balance innovation, cost, risk, and value; and measure enterprise architecture through outcome-based metrics.