Technical Fellow, Enterprise Architecture

Blackbaud

4d

About The Position

The Technical Fellow, Enterprise Architecture, is the most senior technical role in the Enterprise Technology Group. This is the authoritative voice on enterprise-wide platform strategy — the person who translates the company's operating model into a single, coherent architectural blueprint and holds that line across seven value streams, four cross-cutting platforms, and the C-suite. This is not an advisory role. The Technical Fellow owns the target-state architecture, drives the platform portfolio strategy, and embeds architectural rigor directly into how the company funds and sequences its biggest technology bets. You will work at the intersection of business strategy and technical execution, partnering closely with the CIO, CTO, COO, CDAIO, and senior business leaders to ensure every major investment decision is made against a shared, authoritative source of technical truth.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive technical experience, with at least 7 years in enterprise architecture or principal/staff/distinguished engineer roles at scale
• Demonstrated experience defining enterprise-wide architecture across multiple business domains, technology layers, and organizational units
• Track record of influencing major platform and investment decisions at the VP and C suite level
• Deep familiarity with Lean Portfolio Management, SAFe, or equivalent scaled Agile frameworks and how EA integrates with them
• Hands-on expertise with enterprise platforms including Salesforce, Databricks, Workday, and/or ServiceNow at an architectural level
• Strong command of enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman, or equivalent) and the judgment to apply them pragmatically
• Fluency across data architecture, AI/ML platform design, application integration patterns, and cloud infrastructure strategy
• Experience designing governed data platforms and AI foundations in regulated or complex enterprise environments
• Proficiency with architecture tooling, modeling standards (ArchiMate, C4, or equivalent), and ADR practices
• Exceptional ability to build credibility and alignment across technical, product, and business stakeholders without formal authority
• Skilled at translating complex technical concepts into strategic narratives for executive and board audiences
• Experience building and leading architecture communities of practice or federated governance models
• Strong written communication — able to produce architecture documentation, executive briefings, and decision frameworks that hold up under scrutiny

Responsibilities

• Define, own, and evolve the enterprise target-state architecture across business, data, application, and infrastructure layers
• Build, lead, and develop a small team of enterprise and solution architects embedded across the value streams. Set the architectural standards and ways of working, ensure consistent application of the target-state blueprint at the solution level, and create the conditions for the team to operate as trusted partners to engineering and product — not gatekeepers
• Lead platform portfolio strategy — anchoring on core systems, rationalizing the broader portfolio, and establishing governance to prevent future proliferation
• Integrate architectural guardrails and runway planning directly into Lean Portfolio Management cycles, including PI Planning and portfolio reviews
• Design the enterprise data and AI governance framework, establishing standards for data movement, AI model deployment, and cross-value-stream interoperability
• Partner with product, engineering, and business leaders across all value streams to ensure architectural alignment on major initiatives
• Develop and maintain reference architectures, architecture decision records (ADRs), and the enterprise technology roadmap
• Advise the CIO, CTO, CDAIO and COO on sequencing, dependency management, build/buy tradeoffs, and areas of architectural risk
• Represent Enterprise Architecture in executive forums, board-level technology discussions, and external partner engagements
• Mentor senior engineers and architects across the organization, establishing a federated model that scales architectural thinking without centralizing all decisions

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed