Executive Director - Application Architecture

***Hybrid, 3 days onsite, 2 days remote***

***We are unable to sponsor as this is a permanent full-time role***

A prestigious company is looking for a Executive Director – Application Architecture. This is a hands on Director who will focus on backend application architecture, API, integration, Java/Kafka/Kubernetes/Cloud, etc.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, develop, and set direction for a team of application architects, each retaining individual domain focus across clearing, risk, data, APIs, and integrations
• Establish and enforce architecture standards across applications, integration patterns, API design, tech stack selection, and software design patterns
• Own the Application Architecture vision: shape the technology strategy for company applications and integrations — architecting systems built to withstand stress, change, and uncertainty, where resilient design is the standard for every solution we deliver
• Ensure consistent application of enterprise standards across all delivery teams
• Develop and maintain Solution Design documentation standards in collaboration with the rest of the OTSI team
• Enforce design patterns and architectural guardrails across teams delivering on both legacy and greenfield systems
• Establish non-functional requirements standards: performance, scalability, fault tolerance, observability as first-class architecture concerns
• Coordinate with Platform Architecture to ensure application designs reflect infrastructure reality and operational constraints
• Serve as the primary architecture partner to Engineering, Product, Financial Risk
• Management, and Quantitative Risk Management
• Collaborate with Security, QA, and Governance/Risk to ensure architectural decisions satisfy regulatory requirements including Regulation SCI and CPMI-IOSCO principles
• Conduct architecture and design reviews with enough rigor to catch problems before they reach production
• Manage and develop a team

Qualifications:

• BS degree in Computer Science, Information Systems Management, Mathematics, or a similar technical field.
• Demonstrated experience defining and enforcing application architecture standards at organizational scale across complex, multi-system portfolios
• Deep hands-on background in application architecture — APIs, integration patterns, distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and microservices
• Experience with both legacy/brownfield modernization and greenfield cloud-native development
• Strong working knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, and quality gate enforcement as architecture concerns
• Hands-on experience with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures on AWS or equivalent
• Experience with scaled agile frameworks (SAFe) in large enterprise delivery programs
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development practices and their implications for architecture and standards