Principal Enterprise Architect

BECU•St. David's, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Is it surprising to hear that a financial institution of 1.5 million members and over $30 billion in managed assets say that success comes from focusing on people, not profits? Our “people helping people” philosophy has guided us since 1935, driving our deep commitment to serving our members, communities, and each other. When you join our team, you become part of a purpose-driven organization where your work makes a real difference. While we’re proud of our history, we’re even more excited about our future. With business and technology transformation on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to be part of BECU. IMPACT YOU’LL MAKE: As a Principal Enterprise Architect, you will define and lead BECU’s enterprise technology strategy, modernizing core banking, payments, and digital platforms through cloud‑native, API‑driven, and AI‑enabled architectures while operating within a highly regulated financial services environment. You will establish enterprise standards and architectural guardrails that ensure security, compliance, resiliency, and data protection, enabling the safe adoption of emerging capabilities such as AI and automation. Partnering with senior business and technology leaders, you will guide the evolution from legacy platforms to modern, scalable platforms and services—leveraging Azure and other enterprise technologies as appropriate—balancing innovation with operational stability to deliver trusted experiences that enhance member value and meet regulatory expectations. To join our dynamic team, we require candidates to be residents of WA, OR, ID, AZ, TX, GA, SC, NC, CA or VA. If you’re located in Washington state and within a reasonable driving distance from Tukwila, we are requesting that you come into our HQ on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For those candidates that live outside the commute distance of TFC and in any of our approved remote work locations, this role will be remote. Remote or onsite, we are committed to ensuring you are fully engaged and included in our collaborative environment. This isn’t just about ticking off tasks on a list. It's about making a significant, positive change in BECU’s journey, where your contributions are valued, and your growth is continually fostered. WHAT YOU’LL GAIN: A highly visible role shaping enterprise‑wide architecture across core banking, payments, and digital platforms The opportunity to influence modernization efforts that balance innovation with reliability in a regulated environment Exposure to high‑impact initiatives that directly affect member trust and experience Strong collaboration with senior technology leaders, architects, and engineering teams The ability to set standards, guide governance, and reduce architectural risk at scale A culture that values thoughtful decision‑making, mentorship, and long‑term technology sustainability

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Information Security, Computer Science or related field, or equivalent work experience required
Minimum of ten years of experience designing and implementing enterprise architectures required
Minimum seven years of experience in a project lead role, either managing or advising large and strategic project teams required
Knowledge of the Microsoft infrastructure and solution stacks operating in on‑premises, cloud, and hybrid hosting environments required
Experience with modern technology service architectural hosting, security, and risk management concerns (e.g., IAM, access control, monitoring, IaaS/PaaS/SaaS, containers) required
Full‑time hours required, with additional hours as necessary

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred
Ability to communicate very technically challenging concepts to a broad audience with strong facilitation and presentation skills preferred
Broad knowledge of technologies and supplier capabilities and experience implementing these into new and existing large infrastructure/systems preferred
Experience working within large organizations, and the ability to develop strong relationships preferred
Certification in LEAN, Agile/Scrum, or ITIL principals with experience implementing one of these practices preferred
Excellent organizational, problem‑solving, strategic thinking and decision‑making, planning, and negotiation skills preferred
Proficient verbal and written skills to effectively communicate and provide customer service preferred
Occasional travel to conferences, training events, and vendor sites preferred
Experience driving AI adoption and applying intelligent automation or AI‑enabled capabilities within enterprise architectures preferred
Experience designing or governing intelligent APIs, including reusable, secure, and scalable API patterns preferred
Experience supporting or modernizing core banking operations and digital platforms in a regulated financial services environment preferred

Responsibilities

Enterprise Architecture Leadership: Provide enterprise‑level architectural oversight across multiple concurrent initiatives, guiding design and integration decisions that align with long‑term business and technology strategy.
Modernization & Platform Evolution: Lead architectural direction for modernizing legacy platforms into cloud‑native, hybrid, and platform‑based architectures, leveraging technologies such as .NET, Azure, containerized services, event‑driven systems, and a mix of data platforms including Cosmos DB, Oracle DB, and other enterprise data stores that support banking, payments, and digital capabilities.
Integration & Governance Standards: Establish, maintain, and champion enterprise architecture standards, patterns, and constraints that reduce fragmentation and promote consistency across core banking, payments, and digital platforms.
Risk Identification & Mitigation: Proactively identify architectural, integration, platform, and data risks, and drive mitigation strategies that protect delivery timelines, security, and operational stability in a regulated environment.
Cross‑Team Influence & Partnership: Partner closely with engineering, architecture, security, vendors, and technology leadership, influencing outcomes without direct authority while maintaining strong alignment across teams.
Architecture Blueprints & Guidance: Develop enterprise and solution‑level blueprints that guide delivery teams and ensure implementations support approved roadmaps and reusable enterprise patterns.
Delivery Enablement: Support delivery momentum by providing timely architectural decisions, reducing reliance on tactical or short‑term solutions, and removing architectural design debt.
Industry & Vendor Insight: Evaluate third‑party platforms, monitor industry trends, and recommend solutions that improve long‑term business value and architectural sustainability.
Mentorship & Thought Leadership: Serve as a mentor and architectural standard‑bearer for other architects and technical partners, elevating architectural maturity across the organization.
Operational Collaboration: Partner with production and support teams to resolve near‑term architectural issues while protecting long‑term enterprise integrity.