Principal Architect - Innovation Lab Architect

Citizens Financial Group•Johnston, RI

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Description 4 Days in the office from any of our locations in Johnston RI, Iselin NJ, Nashville TN. Westwood or Medford MA, or Phoenix AZ and couple other locations Role is not relocation eligible. Innovation Lab Architect / Lead Engineer Overview We are looking for an Innovation Lab Architect / Lead Engineer to design, build, and manage the bank’s innovation lab environments. This includes both vendor‑managed platforms and internal cloud-based labs used for rapid experimentation with new technologies, fintech partners, and emerging solutions. This role helps the bank safely and quickly test new ideas, evaluate vendor capabilities, and accelerate innovation across the organization.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in engineering, architecture, or cloud environments.
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
Hands‑on experience building or managing secure test/innovation environments.
Understanding of data protection, access controls, and enterprise security.
Strong technical communication and ability to work across engineering and business teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with vendor-managed innovation platforms (e.g., NayaOne, 1TX, Digital SandBox).
Background in financial services or exposure to regulated environments.
Knowledge of API integration, sandbox testing, or fintech ecosystems.
Familiarity with rapid prototyping or scripting languages (e.g., Python, Node.js, Shell).

Responsibilities

Lead the architecture, setup, and operation of our innovation labs and sandbox environments.
Work with vendors to integrate and manage external lab environments.
Build secure, well‑governed environments for rapid testing, prototyping, and evaluation of new technologies.
Partner with cybersecurity to ensure experimentation follows data and security standards.
Work with engineering, cloud, data, and product teams to support proof‑of-concepts and pilot programs.
Create reusable frameworks, templates, and onboarding guides to help teams use the labs effectively.
Track lab usage, experiment outcomes, and value delivered to the business.
Stay current on emerging technologies and provide recommendations to leadership.