Principal Architect (Hybrid)

American Family Insurance•Boston, MA

1d•$150,000 - $255,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Shape the Future of Enterprise Architecture at American Family. We're growing our Enterprise Architecture practice and seeking Lead and Principal Enterprise Architects to help define its future. This is a rare opportunity to influence enterprise technology strategy, architecture standards, governance, and key business initiatives while shaping how architecture partners with the business. As a Lead Enterprise Architect, you'll drive strategic alignment for a domain, platform, or value stream. As a Principal Enterprise Architect, you'll shape enterprise-wide strategy, influence senior leaders, and help steer the company's most significant technology decisions. If you're excited about building and evolving a practice, not just maintaining one, we'd love to talk. You will report to the Director, Architecture #LI-hybrid

Requirements

Demonstrated experience providing customer-driven solutions, support, or service.
Demonstrated experience communicating, influencing, and building alignment with stakeholders at all levels, from technical teams to executive leadership.
Demonstrated experience negotiating complex issues, driving consensus, and achieving results through influence and collaboration.
Demonstrated experience leading software engineering practices, solution design, and large-scale technology implementations.
Demonstrated knowledge of enterprise architecture and modern application development methodologies.
Demonstrated knowledge of business strategy, business architecture, and operating models, and their application to technology strategy.
Demonstrated knowledge of enterprise architecture patterns, including service-oriented, web, mobile, integration, messaging, business intelligence, client-server, and legacy architectures.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
Extensive experience in solution and/or enterprise architecture.
Strong business acumen and broad knowledge of applications, data and AI, cloud, integration, infrastructure, and security.
Experience developing and applying enterprise architecture standards, governance practices, and target-state roadmaps.
Experience incorporating AI into architectural processes and deliverables.
Proven ability to influence and align executive stakeholders without direct authority.
Experience communicating updates and resolutions to customers and other partners.
Experience in insurance, financial services, or other highly regulated industries.
Experience working within a federated architecture governance model.
Familiarity with AWS, Azure, GCP, Guidewire, Salesforce FSC, MuleSoft, Apigee, GitLab, Datadog, ServiceNow, Reltio MDM, and Java/Node/Python ecosystems.
Experience operating in a SAFe environment, including PI Planning, Portfolio Kanban, and architectural enablers.
Relevant certifications such as TOGAF, AWS, Azure, GCP, Salesforce, or Guidewire are a plus.

Responsibilities

Align technology to strategy: Translate business goals into target-state architecture and roadmaps aligned to AmFam's Customer-Driven strategy and Technology focus areas — delivery & innovation, AI at scale, and resiliency.
Apply and shape standards: Work within enterprise principles, reference architectures, and standards; identify, socialize, and promote reuse of proven patterns, platforms, and shared services.
Steward the architectural runway: Define enablers and non-functional requirements so delivery teams ship features without excessive rework; support portfolio-level initiative definition to guide in solution planning and implementation.
Advance strategic programs: Provide architecture leadership for the major enterprise technology programs including improving overall technology resiliency, platform consolidation, and AI enablement.
Translate business ↔ technical: Frame technology choices as business outcomes and business goals as technical implications, for both delivery teams and leadership.
Participate in architectural governance: Engage in the Enterprise Architecture Review Board (EARB) and Solution Architecture Review Boards (SARBs); validate that solutions apply established patterns, standards, and resiliency requirements.
Embed risk, security & resilience: Incorporate cybersecurity, privacy, and regulatory requirements into architecture guidance in a highly regulated insurance environment.
Mentor and collaborate: Coach fellow architects and engineers; strengthen the consistency and completeness of architecture deliverables and contribute to communities of practice.
Secure executive-level buy-in: Build alignment and win support for architectural priorities through influence, storytelling, and trusted-advisor relationships with senior leadership.