Enterprise Architect – ST

SwitchThink Solutions•Phoenix, AZ

16d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Enterprise Architect leads the design of enterprise-scale solutions across complex business ecosystems, particularly business applications, integrations, data flows, and supporting technology capabilities. The role partners with business and technology leaders to understand strategic objectives, simplify complex environments, and translate business needs into current-state assessments, target-state architectures, standards, and roadmaps. As a trusted technical advisor and hands-on architecture leader, this position provides technical direction for large, multi-year, multi-domain initiatives. It is accountable for architecture from discovery and planning through detailed design, working with engineers and delivery teams to build solutions and transition them to operations. The Enterprise Architect also establishes architecture governance, reference architectures, technology standards, roadmaps, lifecycle direction, and exception-management practices to support secure, resilient, scalable, and maintainable outcomes. The position is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and is hybrid. SwitchThink Solutions supports Desert Financial Credit Union and more than 175 external credit unions. Its offerings include the Correlation Keystone Platform, managed services, cloud hosting, disaster recovery, business intelligence, and AI.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, application architecture, integration architecture, or related enterprise technology roles.
5+ years leading architecture for large enterprise or transformation initiatives spanning multiple business capabilities, applications, integrations, technology domains, and delivery teams.
5+ years working as a trusted technical advisor to business and technology executives, including facilitating discovery, navigating ambiguity, influencing across organizational boundaries, and explaining complex architectural tradeoffs in business terms.
Broad architecture expertise across business capabilities, enterprise applications, integrations, APIs, data flows, cloud and infrastructure services, security, identity, and operational dependencies.
Ability to assess complex current-state ecosystems and produce conceptual, logical, and solution architecture designs.
Strong command of integration patterns, interoperability, platform boundaries, nonfunctional requirements, and technology lifecycle planning.
Ability to connect business capability maps, process needs, data movement, and technology components into cohesive target-state architectures.
Structured discovery skills to convert ambiguous business strategies, processes, and requirements into actionable architectural direction.
Executive-level communication skills to explain options, dependencies, value, cost, and risk clearly.
Ability to facilitate architecture workshops, design reviews, and decision forums involving business leaders, architects, engineers, vendors, and operations.
Ability to lead through influence and provide technical direction for large, multi-year, multi-domain initiatives.
Ability to develop and apply architecture principles, reference architectures, standards, roadmaps, technology lifecycle positions, and exception processes.
Ability to evaluate architectural decisions against security, regulatory, privacy, resilience, capacity, supportability, and data-governance requirements.
Ability to document decisions, assumptions, dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, and technical debt.
Accountability for architecture from discovery and planning through detailed design, implementation guidance, validation, and transition to operations.
Ability to collaborate with engineers and delivery teams to turn architectural intent into buildable designs and production-ready solutions.
Ability to create reusable patterns, architecture artifacts, decision records, operational documentation, and support-transition requirements.
Advanced proficiency with enterprise architecture methods and modeling techniques, including capability, application, integration, information-flow, deployment, and transition-state views.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree, such as a master's in a technical discipline or an MBA.
1+ years of experience in financial services, banking, credit unions, or another regulated enterprise environment.
Prior experience developing enterprise architecture roadmaps, reference architectures, technology standards, and governance practices within a complex enterprise or consulting environment.
Experience with architecture repositories or modeling tools.
TOGAF certification or a comparable enterprise architecture framework credential.
Current cloud or solution architecture certification from a major enterprise technology provider.

Responsibilities

Partner with business and technology leaders to connect enterprise priorities, business capabilities, operating processes, and constraints to current-state assessments, target-state architectures, sequenced roadmaps, and technology investment priorities.
Identify opportunities to simplify the application portfolio, reduce duplication and technical debt, and improve enterprise value.
Lead planning and development of secure, scalable, and resilient architectures spanning business capabilities, applications, integrations, APIs, enterprise data and information flows, cloud and infrastructure services, security, identity, and operational dependencies.
Address data ownership, quality, lineage, interoperability, retention, and appropriate use in enterprise designs.
Define and maintain enterprise architecture principles, standards, reference architectures, integration patterns, technology roadmaps, lifecycle positions, and exception-management practices.
Establish architecture decision rights, engagement expectations, and reusable practices for consistent decisions across architecture and delivery teams.
Serve as technical leader and architecture decision owner for large, multi-year, multi-domain initiatives, aligning stakeholders around coherent designs, measurable business outcomes, and architecture success criteria.
Evaluate enterprise technologies, platforms, vendor solutions, sourcing approaches, and modernization options for strategic fit, interoperability, total cost of ownership, risk, supportability, vendor viability, and long-term business value.
Facilitate architecture governance and design reviews; document decisions, dependencies, risks, and exceptions; and ensure alignment with enterprise standards and regulatory, security, resilience, and data-governance requirements.
Coach architects and engineers, share reusable practices, and promote consistent architecture methods across teams.
Work with engineers and delivery teams to refine and build approved designs, validate architectural intent during implementation, and support transition to operations with appropriate documentation, support models, and lifecycle ownership.