VP – Senior Information Architect

Synchrony•Cincinnati, OH

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Role Summary/Purpose: The VP – Senior Information Architect is a strategic leadership role within Synchrony’s Data & Analytics Engineering organization responsible for owning and driving the data architecture governance process. This critical role ensures enterprise-wide alignment of data architecture standards, controls, procedures, policies, and risk frameworks to support Synchrony’s evolving data landscape and long-term business objectives. As a leader, you will work extensively with senior architects, engineering teams, Internal Audit, risk and compliance functions, and business stakeholders to establish, maintain, and evolve robust architecture practices—spanning AWS cloud services (e.g., Redshift, EMR, SageMaker, etc.), Ab Initio, Kafka, Hadoop, Oracle, Snowflake and SAS - which collectively support Synchrony’s enterprise-wide data, AI and analytics needs to enable informed decision-making and business growth. You will support governance activities including risk & controls assessment, issue management, and audit coordination (SOX, Compliance and regulatory), while mentoring teams and promoting architectural excellence. Our Way of Working We’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field and a minimum 10+ years’ experience in information technology or in lieu of degree, High School/GED and 15+ years of Information technology experience.
A minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in governance role supporting engineering org or senior data architecture roles within regulated environments, with preference for financial services.
Proven experience owning data governance or data architecture risk and control frameworks and driving compliance activities.
Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with architects, engineers, risk, and audit teams.
Experience managing audit coordination and regulatory compliance activities for technology platforms.
Knowledge of industry best practices in data architecture and governance, with focus on cloud modernization initiatives.
Strong communication skills, including ability to brief executive leadership on risk and compliance matters.
Familiarity with risk management and issue tracking tools and processes is preferred.
Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required

Nice To Haves

Strategic thinker with a strong risk management mindset.
Proactive, results-oriented with ability to manage multiple priorities.
Influential leader capable of driving change across complex, matrixed organizations.
Passion for continuous improvement of data architecture controls and governance.
Recognized thought leader with strong technical writing and storytelling skills; able to translate complex architecture and control topics for executive and regulatory audiences.

Responsibilities

Own the L3 data architecture governance process, ensuring standards, procedures, and job aids are defined, maintained, and aligned with Synchrony’s strategic objectives including cloud modernization efforts.
Collaborate with enterprise and domain architects to align data architecture standards and controls across Synchrony.
Lead issue and risk management activities for data architecture, including tracking, resolving, and documenting closure of control gaps and audit findings.
Drive coordination of audits, regulatory requests, and certifications (e.g., SOX), ensuring timely responses and remediation.
Author and curate executive and regulator ready architecture governance content (e.g., standards, policies, control narratives, procedures, evidence packs, and briefing materials), ensuring clarity, consistency, and auditability.
Partner with compliance, risk, business stakeholders and engineering teams to embed controls into data platform processes supporting operational resilience and regulatory compliance.
Maintain risk and control documentation and update governance tools to track risk posture and mitigation actions.
Communicate progress and risk exposure regularly to senior leadership.
Drive automation and optimization of data architecture governance by building and managing tools that ensure continuous compliance and efficient monitoring.
Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.