Enterprise Architect

Are you an Enterprise Architect who is looking to join one of the top companies within the banking industry?

Are you looking to further your career and grow?

Do you have experience in cloud architecture?

If you answered yes to those three questions, then apply today!

Acara Solutions is seeking highly qualified candidates to work remotely with our client in Buffalo, NY. Interested?

Here's what you'd do:

• Documents, visualizes, and articulates overall technical health, current and target states of Enterprise Architecture in collaboration with domain leadership.
• Develops roadmaps with domain leadership to incorporate industry trend data for a targeted domain/function, and connect them with the broader Enterprise technology landscape, including alignment to industry Enterprise Architecture standards, building a pathway to achieve target state goals.
• Leverage expertise in technical and business strategy to collaborate with Technology domain leadership to support strategic decision-making.
• Provide consultation services to domain leadership to improve technology delivery and operational efficiency.
• Research and communicate fact-based recommendations to Master Architects to support the domain in the Enterprise Architecture governance process.
• Provide thought leadership and build strong stakeholder partnerships to articulate the current state, target state, and domain roadmap.
• Partner with delivery teams and domain leadership on architecture areas to include business, application, data, Cloud/infrastructure, security, integration, operations, and support in preparation for S1/S2 leadership meetings and architectural peer group meetings.
• Research, understand, and apply existing, new, and emerging technologies and trends to determine their potential impact on technology domains.
• Translate the enterprise's technology future-state architecture vision into principles, guidelines, standards, and patterns to ensure alignment with broader strategic goals.
• Identify opportunities and approaches for solving domain problems from a broad enterprise perspective that may include new products, new platforms, or system enhancements for Agile teams and domain leadership to help promote the reuse of existing technical investments and capabilities.
• Create and maintain reference materials for use by the technical delivery team to ensure consistent and compliant solutions for enterprise-level architecture patterns.
• Participate in the planning and design of strategic initiatives that require architecture guidance.
• Understand and adhere to the company's risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the company's Risk Appetite.
• Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and reflects the client's brand.
• Maintain client internal control standards, including the timely implementation of internal and external audit points, together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
• This position will interface with senior leaders and will need excellent communication skills, along with basic knowledge of new and emerging technology trends, and the practical application of those trends for strategic use
• As an Enterprise Architect for Commercial Lending at the client, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the organization's technology strategy, landscape, and roadmap.
• In this role, you will serve as an integrative force across business and technology domains, establish trusted advisor partnerships with senior leaders, and drive the architecture of complex, high-priority initiatives that deliver significant business value.
• Your work will influence large-scale programs that are critical to the bank's long-term success, ensuring scalable, resilient, and forward-looking solutions.
• Strategic Planning: Define and evolve enterprise architecture strategies and roadmaps that align business priorities, regulatory requirements, and long-term technology vision.
• High-Level Design: Develop high-level architectural models and frameworks that support secure, scalable, and resilient solutions across the bank, aligned with the strategic direction established by the Enterprise Architecture function.
• Detailed Solutions Architecture: Translate strategic objectives into actionable solution architectures that provide clear direction to delivery and engineering teams.
• Regulatory & Risk Alignment: Ensure architectural solutions comply with financial industry regulations, internal risk frameworks, and data privacy standards, supporting auditability and operational integrity.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with business leaders, product owners, and technology teams to ensure architectural alignment across client services, digital platforms, and core banking systems.
• Implementation Leadership: Provide architectural oversight and governance throughout the solution delivery lifecycle, ensuring adherence to enterprise standards and successful on-time execution of high-impact initiatives.
• Trusted Advisor: Build strong relationships with management, providing expert advice and insights to support decision-making.
• Communication: Communicate complex architectural concepts clearly and persuasively to both technical and non-technical audiences, fostering alignment and informed decision-making.
• Vendor & Partner Engagement: Collaborate with external technology providers and service partners to ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for performance, cost-effectiveness, and agility in a highly regulated environment.
• Architecture Roadmaps: Visual and narrative representations of the existing and target architecture landscapes, including capability maps, system interactions, and technology stacks, that align technology capabilities with business goals across technology domains.
• High-Level Design Documents: Comprehensive documentation for major initiatives or programs, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and business requirements.
• Architecture Principles and Standards: Defined guidelines and best practices to ensure consistency, scalability, and compliance across technology solutions.
• Technology Assessments and Recommendations: Evaluations of emerging technologies, platforms, or vendor solutions with documented recommendations for adoption or integration.
• Gap Analyses and Impact Assessments: Identification of gaps between current and future states, along with assessments of business and technical impacts.
• Stakeholder Presentations and Briefings: Engaging executive-level presentations that communicate progress and outcomes to business and technology leaders.
• Reference Architectures and Patterns: Reusable templates and design patterns that accelerate solution delivery and promote architectural consistency.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Here's what you'll get:

• Pay rate: $48.37-$80.62/Hour
• Hours: 40 hours/week
• Length: Contract to hire (6 months)

Sound like a good fit?

APPLY TODAY

About Acara Solutions

Acara is a premier provider of recruiting and workforce solutions, and we help companies compete for talent. With a legacy of needs in various industries worldwide, we partner with clients, listen to them, and customize visionary talent solutions that drive desired business outcomes. We leverage decades of experience to deliver contingent staffing, direct placement, executive search, and workforce services worldwide.

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or IT or Engineering
• Minimum 7 years of experience in cloud architecture
• Minimum 3 years of experience in focused on Commercial lending technology within a financial institution.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in institutional banking products and services, including capital markets, investment management, structured finance, and M&A
• Minimum 3 years of experience in architecture diagramming practices, architectural frameworks, and enterprise architecture tools
• Minimum 7 years of experience in software engineering, software delivery, and solution architecture, including developing and integrating applications using similar software architecture principles and patterns
• Minimum 3 years of experience in driving and delivering innovation within the realm of financial services
• Minimum 3 years of experience in financial services industry domains, particularly commercial banking services, including commercial loans, lines of credit, leveraged finance, syndications, participations, leases, equipment finance, dealer floor plan, and asset-based lending.
• Minimum 3 years of experience with modern technology architectures, including cloud, microservices, APIs, data platforms, and integration patterns
• Minimum 3 years of experience with business capability modeling, value stream mapping, and other business architecture techniques
• Minimum 3 years of experience in developing and applying enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Zachman) to guide technology planning, governance, and execution.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in integrating diverse systems, platforms, and data sources to create cohesive, interoperable solutions that support seamless client experiences and operational efficiency.
• Minimum 3 years of experience with commercial lending origination and servicing platforms (such as nCino loan origination system and AFS Vision commercial loan accounting system, and Bottomline commercial treasury management systems) as well as corollary systems that manage customers, sales activities, collateral, construction loan administration, equipment, and dealer floor plan.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in using architectural modeling tools and documentation standards
• Minimum 3 years of experience with IT governance, portfolio management, and enterprise change management processes
• Minimum 3 years of experience with data architecture concepts, including data governance, master data management, and analytics enablement
• Minimum 3 years of experience with emerging technologies and their potential impact on financial services
• Minimum 3 years of experience in vendor and third-party solution evaluation, selection, and integration strategies
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in Enterprise Architecture in KYC and/or Fraud Prevention architecture.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in KYC/AML systems.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience with AML/KYC tools (Nice Actimize and LexisNexis Bridger) and data integration technologies.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience with financial regulations (BSA, FinCEN, FATF) and fraud typologies (account takeover, synthetic identity, insider threats).
• Minimum of 3 years of experience with machine learning and AI applications in fraud detection and compliance.

• Master's Degree in Business
• Experience working with Cloud technologies and vendors
• Experience working in an Agile environment, Certification in enterprise architecture frameworks
• Experience working in the financial services industry
• Experience working in two or more technical roles to banking, technical design, and roadmap planning
• Awareness of cybersecurity principles, data privacy standards, and secure architecture practices
• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements similar to financial institutions (e.g., FFIEC, SOX, GLBA, GDPR)
• Awareness of agile, DevOps, and product-centric delivery models and how architecture supports them
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to align technology architecture with business strategy, identifying opportunities to drive value, efficiency, and innovation across complex financial services ecosystems.
• Business Acumen: Deep understanding of financial services, particularly the needs in the Commercial Banking sector, with the ability to translate those needs into effective architectural solutions.
• Solution Design: Skilled in designing end-to-end solutions that are scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise standards, while addressing both current and future-state business capabilities.
• Ensure interoperability between systems along the entire value stream of commercial lending from opportunity to payoff.
• Risk and Compliance Awareness: Strong grasp of regulatory and risk considerations in financial services, with the ability to architect solutions that meet compliance, audit, and data governance requirements.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Proven ability to collaborate with senior business and technology leaders, facilitating alignment, managing expectations, and influencing strategic decisions.
• Communication and Visualization: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences through clear documentation, presentations, and visual models.
• Change Leadership: Ability to lead through ambiguity, drive consensus, and support organizational change as part of large-scale transformation initiatives.
• Critical Thinking Skills: A creative and analytical approach to diagnosing and resolving technical challenges.
• Technology Enablement: Lead the selection and implementation of CRE technologies (e.g., IWMS, CAFM, lease accounting, smart building platforms). Ensure integration with enterprise systems such as ERP, HRIS, and financial reporting tools.
• Continuous Learning: A passion for staying updated on financial services-related technologies and their rapidly evolving tools, features, and best practices.
• Deep understanding of US banking laws like the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, US Patriot Act (2001), and FinCEN Guidelines and Updates.

Additional Information :

• Upon offer of employment, the individual will be subject to a background check and a drug screen.
• In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.