Chief Enterprise Architect
First seen by Alion on Oct 5, 2026.
Role purpose:
Define and govern a simple, composable and future-ready technology architecture while systematically reducing legacy complexity, duplication and structural technical debt.
Primary accountabilities:
- Own enterprise target architecture across applications, integration/events, data/AI, cloud and security in collaboration with peer leaders.
- Lead domain and solution architecture for strategic initiatives and major product/value-stream changes.
- Own Architecture Governance, standards, reference patterns, technology radar and exception management.
- Create application rationalisation and legacy retirement roadmap; prevent transformation from simply adding more technology.
- Own technical-debt transparency and structural simplification agenda.
- Shape build-vs-buy, SaaS/platform and strategic technology choices based on business capability, economics and long-term flexibility.
- Act as CTO's independent technical adviser on major investments and architectural risks.
Key interfaces / boundaries:
- Architecture sets guardrails and target state; Engineering owns implementation and delivery.
- Architecture must enable speed through paved roads/reference patterns - not create approval queues.
- Data/AI, Infrastructure and Security own their platforms; Architecture ensures enterprise coherence across them.
- Product/business priorities are not decided by Architecture, but material architectural consequences must be transparent.
CTO-2 functions:
- Enterprise Architecture
- Domain & Solution Architecture
- Architecture Governance & Standards
- Technology Radar & Strategic Architecture
- Application Rationalisation & Technical Debt
Primary outcomes & success measures:
Outcome:
- Simplification: Application count reduction, duplicate capability removal, legacy retirement.
- Architecture quality: Compliance to target patterns, exception volume/ageing, solution rework.
- Reuse: Shared platform/API/event/data-product adoption.
- Technical debt: Structural debt reduction and ageing of critical debt.
- Speed: Architecture decision lead time; % delivery using pre-approved/paved patterns.
- Economics: TCO avoided/reduced through rationalisation and strategic platform choices.
Leadership profile:
- Experience: Typically 20+ years across enterprise/solution architecture and large-scale modernization; strong insurance/BFSI architecture exposure; credible across core, digital, cloud, integration, data and AI.
- Leadership attributes: Enterprise thinker, intellectually rigorous, commercially pragmatic, decisive, low-ego influencer, capable of simplifying complexity.
First 12 - 18 month agenda:
- Create current-state application/integration map and target architecture.
- Define 10 - 15 non-negotiable architecture principles and paved-road patterns.
- Identify first wave of application retirement/consolidation.
- Establish fast architecture governance and exception process.
- Create transparent technical-debt and simplification scorecard.
Skills
IT Strategy, Solution Architect, Solution Design, IT Jobs in BFSI