Sr Middleware Portfolio Architect

American Electric Power•Columbus, OH

About The Position

This role owns the enterprise integration platform portfolio view—helping leadership make informed decisions about where to invest, maintain, restrict, or retire platforms over time. The Sr. Middleware Portfolio Architect is a senior‑most technical leadership role within the Middleware organization, responsible for shaping, governing, and evolving the enterprise integration platform portfolio in partnership with Enterprise Architecture (EA). This role requires broad, hands‑on architectural depth across middleware, data movement, and modern platform capabilities, combined with the ability to influence roadmap decisions as business priorities, security demands, and technology landscapes evolve. The focus of this role is platform strategy, architectural coherence, and non‑functional excellence across the integration ecosystem. The role requires some level of engagement with solution delivery initiatives for architectural oversight, alignment and feedback into the roadmap.

Requirements

Proven experience as a Senior or Enterprise Architect supporting large, complex organizations.
Strong architectural depth across middleware and integration technologies, including: API management and gateway platforms, Event streaming / messaging, File transfer and B2B integration, Process orchestration and workflow engines.
Demonstrated expertise in non‑functional design for enterprise platforms (reliability, security, observability, automation).
Experience working in close partnership with Enterprise Architecture teams.
Ability to evaluate technologies objectively and recommend pragmatic, sustainable paths forward.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, especially for senior leadership audiences.
Experience with Enterprise Architecture and Governance Tools such as SAP LeanIX.
Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical field is required.
10 years of relevant work experience is required. An equivalent combination of education and related experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

Own the portfolio‑level architecture view of middleware and integration platforms, including API management, event streaming, file transfer, B2B/EDI, orchestration, and supporting data movement technologies.
Collaborate closely with Enterprise Architecture to keep platform roadmaps current, relevant, and defensible, and ensure alignment to enterprise strategies, business priorities, and security posture.
Periodically reassess platform positioning as technologies and business needs change.
Evaluate when to invest, maintain, constrain, or retire platforms using structured lifecycle and value-based models.
Drive continuous improvement of platform non‑functionals, including Observability & Monitoring, System Reliability & Resilience, Automation, Security, and Performance & Scalability.
Define cross‑platform architectural standards and guardrails that elevate operational maturity without slowing delivery teams.
Partner with platform owners to translate architectural intent into practical standards, patterns, and reference implementations.
Serve as a trusted architectural advisor to senior technology leadership.
Lead deep‑dive evaluations of new tools, platforms, or capabilities (including emerging AI‑adjacent integrations) and articulate tradeoffs, risks, and long‑term implications.
Ensure architectural decisions consider enterprise‑wide impacts, not just local optimizations.
Help prevent platform sprawl by guiding adoption with intent and clarity.
Work effectively across Enterprise Architecture, Platform Engineering teams, Security, Infrastructure, and Operations, and Application and Data architecture communities.
Translate complex technical concepts into clear, executive‑ready narratives that support informed decision‑making.
Influence outcomes through credibility and clarity, not authority.