IT Enterprise Architect

- The Enterprise Architect is responsible for defining and governing the enterprise technology strategy, architecture standards, and transformation roadmap across our environment. This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on technical depth, requiring active engagement in architecture design, solution validation, and engineering execution. The ideal candidate has 15+ years of experience, including 2–3+ years operating specifically in an Enterprise Architect capacity, driving cloud-native transformation, modernization, and multi-cloud governance. The Enterprise Architect ensures alignment between business strategy, regulatory requirements, and technology platforms—while enabling scalable, secure, and cost-optimized solutions across Azure, AWS, and enterprise SaaS ecosystems. Key Accountabilities/Deliverables: * Enterprise Strategy & Architecture Governance + Define and evolve enterprise architecture frameworks, standards, and reference architectures, patterns & practices for Cloud, Data, Security, Integration. + Lead Community of Practice (CoP) and Architecture Review Board (ARB) and to enforce governance and guardrails across all major initiatives + Develop multi-year cloud transformation and modernization roadmaps aligned to business strategy * Hands-On Architecture & Solution Design + Actively design and review solution architectures across cloud-native platforms + Validate infrastructure and application designs using IaC (Terraform), CI/CD pipelines, GitOps and automation frameworks + Provide hands-on guidance to engineering & platform teams on performance, scalability, and resiliency patterns * Cloud & Platform Engineering Enablement + Drive adoption of Azure/AWS cloud-native services, platform engineering models, and reusable capabilities + Establish standard patterns for API-driven integration, event-driven architectures, and domain-aligned services + Enable engineering teams with reference implementations, templates, and accelerators * Security, Compliance & Risk Management + Ensure architecture aligns with regulatory requirements + Embed Zero Trust, identity-first security, and data protection strategies into all architectures + Partner with Security and Risk teams to mitigate systemic risks across platforms * Cost Optimization & FinOps + Define cloud cost optimization strategies (rightsizing, reserved capacity, tagging governance) + Establish visibility through cost dashboards and FinOps practices + Balance architectural decisions between performance, cost, and resilience * Data & AI Readiness + Standardize data integration patterns across core systems of record + Provide guidance to data architecture ensuring alignment with governance platforms (e.g., data catalog, MDM, lineage) + Collaborate on data strategies supporting analytics and machine learning initiatives * Vendor & Technology Evaluation + Lead strategic vendor evaluations (e.g., Azure vs AWS services, SaaS platforms) + Influence contract decisions, architectural fit, and long-term platform sustainability + Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards and avoid vendor lock-in risks Technical Knowledge and Understanding: * Cloud & Modern Architecture + Deep expertise in Azure and/or AWS architectures (multi-region, high availability, DR/BCP design) + Strong hands-on experience with: Containers (Azure Container Apps, AKS/EKS), Serverless (Azure Functions, AWS Lambda) and API Management and Application gateways. * Engineering & Automation + Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, or similar) + CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, or similar) + Observability and SRE practices (Datadog, App Insights, or similar) + Platform engineering and developer experience optimization * Security & Governance + Identity & Access Management (Entra ID / AWS IAM) + Zero Trust architecture + Logging, monitoring, and compliance frameworks * Data & Integration + Enterprise data platforms (Fabric, data lakes, warehousing) + Data governance (Purview or equivalent) + API-first and event-driven integration patterns Experience: * Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology or related field. * 10+ years of experience in IT architecture, software engineering, or infrastructure engineering * 2+ years of experience operating as an Enterprise Architect in a large-scale enterprise environment * Proven experience driving cloud transformation and modernization initiatives across Azure/AWS ecosystems * Demonstrated hands-on engineering experience—not limited to conceptual architecture * Experience in regulated industries (Insurance/Financial Services preferred) Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over work authorization sponsorship now or in the future for this position. #LI-Hybrid - At Core Specialty, you will receive a competitive salary and opportunities for professional development and advancement. We offer medical, dental, vision, and life insurances; short and long-term disability; a Company-match of 100% of a 6% contribution 401(k) plan; an Employee Assistance Plan; Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Account, Health Reimbursement Account, and a wellness program