Executive Director, Application Architecture

Executive Director, Application ArchitectureSalary: Open + BonusLocation: Chicago, ILHybrid: 3 days onsite, 2 days remoteQualificationsBachelor’s degreeDemonstrated experience defining and enforcing application architecture standards at organizational scale across complex, multi-system portfoliosDeep hands-on background in application architecture — APIs, integration patterns, distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and microservicesExperience with both legacy/brownfield modernization and greenfield cloud-native developmentStrong working knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, and quality gate enforcement as architecture concernsAbility to lead through influence as well as authority — building alignment across Engineering, Security, QA, and Governance without losing the ability to make hard callsExcellent communication skills — able to represent architecture decisions to executive leadership and translate strategy into actionable standards for development teamsHands-on experience with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures on AWS or equivalentExperience with scaled agile frameworks (SAFe) in large enterprise delivery programsFamiliarity with AI-assisted development practices and their implications for architecture and standardsResponsibilitiesLead, develop, and set direction for a team of application architects, each retaining individual domain focus across clearing, risk, data, APIs, and integrationsEstablish and enforce architecture standards across applications, integration patterns, API design, tech stack selection, and software design patternsEnforce design patterns and architectural guardrails across teams delivering on both legacy and greenfield systemsEstablish non-functional requirements standards: performance, scalability, fault tolerance, observability as first-class architecture concernsCoordinate with Platform Architecture to ensure application designs reflect infrastructure reality and operational constraintsServe as the primary architecture partner to Engineering, Product, Financial Risk Management, and Quantitative Risk ManagementCollaborate with Security, QA, and Governance/Risk to ensure architectural decisions satisfy regulatory requirements including Regulation SCI and CPMI-IOSCO principlesConduct architecture and design reviews with enough rigor to catch problems before they reach productionManage and develop a team