Principal Architect – Enterprise Architecture (Consumer Banking, AI & Cloud)

Truist•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

This role reports to the Division Head of Enterprise Architecture (EA) aligned to Consumer & Small Business Banking (CSBB) and is responsible for enterprise architecture leadership, strategy, and governance across Consumer Banking portfolios such as Retail & Digital Channels, Deposits, Consumer Lending, Payments, Servicing, and Consumer Data & Analytics. The Principal Architect has primary accountability for defining and executing an AI first, cloud first enterprise architecture strategy for Consumer Banking, including development of current state and future state architectures and a sequenced roadmap to modernize the consumer technology ecosystem. This includes consumer-facing channels (branch, digital, call center), core consumer platforms, data and analytics, integration, and shared services—while ensuring strong alignment with regulatory, risk, resiliency, and customer experience expectations. The role focuses on business capabilities and platform architecture enterprise wide within Consumer Banking, leads development and enforcement of architectural standards, and provides architectural direction and governance for complex, cross domain initiatives. The Principal Architect partners closely with consumer business leaders, technology teams, risk, security, and data organizations to drive modernization, innovation, and AI enablement aligned to Truist’s Consumer Banking strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business or IT, or equivalent education and related training
Twenty (20) years of architecture/design/delivery experience which includes fifteen (15) years of enterprise architecture experience or twenty years of solution architecture experience in technology and security, and ten years of banking/financial business domain
Comprehensive experience with various architectural domains such as application, data, infrastructure, security, and integration
Strong analytical and broad architectural skills
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Strong negotiation/facilitation skills
Significant knowledge of current and emerging architecture principles, methodologies, and tools
Experience as negotiator with vendors for relevant products and services
Demonstrated competency in strategic thinking with ability to differentiate feasible from academic solutions
Demonstrated thought-leadership skills with the ability to translate high-level business planning information into application needs/solutions
Demonstrated proficiency in basic computer applications, such as Microsoft Office software products
Ability to travel, occasionally overnight

Nice To Haves

Experience defining and executing AI strategies within Consumer Banking, including applied use of machine learning and generative AI to improve customer experience, servicing efficiency, fraud prevention, or decisioning.
Hands on experience architecting or governing cloud first or hybrid cloud consumer platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP), including large scale application and data migrations.
Experience designing AI platforms and patterns (e.g., RAG, data/feature platforms, model lifecycle management, AI governance) in regulated consumer banking environments.
Strong familiarity with consumer data architectures, analytics platforms, and event or API driven integration models.
Experience partnering effectively with risk, compliance, privacy, and information security teams to embed controls and auditability into consumer architecture designs
Ten (10) years of Consumer Banking domain experience.

Responsibilities

Top-down enterprise design with focus on business model, digital transformation and innovation i.e. collaborate with business owners, technology leaders and risk partners to draft the tech strategy, reflecting the corporate objectives/strategy
IT Landscape design in the context of business capabilities of the organization supporting enterprise objective, cost and risk reduction.
Lead cross cutting enterprise solution design that span across multiple CIOs and domains
Set strategic direction for the assigned major business division in alignment with the Business Strategy and Technology standards and provide thought leadership in the development of an enterprise strategic IT plan.
Maintain a high level of awareness and understanding of existing and emerging technologies, as well as industry and bank issues, to effectively match them.
End to end accountability to review and approve design solutions that best meet the business needs of the enterprise, with a primary focus on innovation.
Lead or "jump start" initiatives deemed critical to IT Services and Truist's success
Provide thought leadership in new technology innovation, incubation, introduction, and implementation critical to Truist's technology and business strategy roadmaps and ongoing success.