Director of Enterprise Architecture

Our client is seeking a Director of Enterprise Architecture. The Director of Enterprise Architecture leads enterprise architecture through a complex business and technology transformation. This role sets and drives the target-state architecture across legacy platforms, cloud services, enterprise applications, data, integration, and network services, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned to business outcomes. The Director combines strategic leadership with strong technical credibility and a bias for execution, guiding major implementations, modernization efforts, and platform simplification through a lean, high-performing architecture team. The ideal candidate is experienced working with smaller, high-performing teams and leveraging agile ways of working to drive delivery, execution, and accountability. This role also shapes an AI-enabled technology environment by embedding automation, data, and emerging capabilities in practical, governed, and supportable ways.

Responsibilities:

• Define and drive the enterprise architecture strategy and target-state architecture across legacy platforms, cloud services, enterprise applications, data, integration, and network services.
• Lead and develop a lean, high-performing enterprise architecture team across solution, data, integration, cloud, and technical architecture domains, building a culture of accountability, ownership, agile delivery, and execution.
• Deliver large-scale technology implementations, cloud migrations, enterprise application modernization, and complex system integrations with a strong bias toward execution.
• Define and enforce architecture standards, design review practices, and governance frameworks that improve consistency, scalability, security, and delivery quality across technology initiatives.
• Simplify and rationalize the technology landscape by reducing platform overlap, standardizing core technical services, and improving integration and data flow across systems.
• Establish practical architecture and engineering patterns for infrastructure automation, deployment automation, environment management, identity, integration, and operational reliability.
• Serve as a credible senior technical leader with business and technology stakeholders, shaping decisions, challenging weak approaches, and resolving delivery risks.
• Guide the adoption of AI and automation capabilities by ensuring the right data, governance, security, and operating model foundations are in place.
• Own key vendor and partner relationships for major platforms and programs, ensuring third parties are held accountable for design quality, execution, and outcomes.
• Understands and adheres to legal/compliance standards included in corporate policies and accepts ownership for accomplishing existing tasks that fulfill legal/compliance requirements. Reports compliance violations when identified.

Scope and Complexity:

• Enterprise-wide responsibility across multiple countries, platforms, and transformation initiatives. Balances strategic architecture leadership with direct support for complex delivery, integration, and modernization efforts.
• Decision Making: Makes high-impact architecture and technology decisions affecting scalability, delivery speed, integration, risk, cost, security, and long-term maintainability, within broad enterprise priorities.
• Judgement And Freedom To Act: Exercises a high degree of independence and technical judgment. Acts decisively, challenges weak technical approaches, and engages directly when architectural clarity, delivery progress, or solution quality is at risk.
• Problem Solving: Solves complex, cross-functional problems involving legacy modernization, enterprise applications, cloud platforms, data architecture, integration, networking, security, and vendor-led delivery.

Experience:

• 10 to 15 years of experience
• Director-level leadership experience in enterprise architecture, with a proven record of building and leading multi-disciplinary architecture teams across solution, data, integration, cloud, and technical architecture domains.
• Proven success leading enterprise-scale business and technology transformation, including major implementations, cloud migrations, enterprise application modernization, ERP programs, and complex system integrations.
• Deep experience in complex, SaaS-heavy, integration-intensive environments, including enterprise applications, data platforms, identity solutions, and cloud services.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise architecture standards, governance, and design discipline, with the ability to introduce consistency without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Strong technical depth across cloud architecture, Microsoft enterprise platforms and middleware, data architecture, integration architecture, network architecture, identity, and security.
• Proven experience in Azure-centric environments, with familiarity across additional public cloud platforms and the challenges of multi-cloud delivery and operations.
• Experience establishing standardized engineering and platform practices, including infrastructure as code, deployment automation, environment management, and operational consistency; experience with tools such as Terraform strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of AI and automation enablement, including the data, governance, security, and integration foundations needed to support practical enterprise adoption.
• Proven experience working with smaller, high-performing teams and leveraging agile delivery practices to drive execution, speed, accountability, and business outcomes.
• Ability to balance architecture leadership with agile delivery, lean team structures, just-enough documentation, and direct hands-on engagement when execution or technical quality is at risk.
• Strong experience managing vendors, consultants, and offshore resources, with clear accountability for partner performance, delivery quality, and business outcomes.

Salary/Rate: $180,000 - $200,000 (depends on experience level) plus benefits.

About Us

Peterson Technology Partners (PTP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating a transparent, inclusive, and human-centered hiring experience.

For more than 27 years, PTP has operated as a premier Information Technology (IT) staffing, consulting, and recruiting firm built on trust, long-term partnerships, and technical excellence.

Based in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, IL, our team of more than 500 employees and consultants is dedicated to helping every client make the best hiring decisions possible.

As part of that commitment, we believe in providing clear information about how our hiring technologies work and how your data is used. The following section outlines our AI-assisted interview process and your rights as a candidate.

AI-Assisted Interview Experience (Pete & Gabi Rebecca):

To provide a consistent, fair, and flexible experience for all candidates, we use AI-assisted tools including our proprietary platform Pete & Gabi Rebecca to support parts of the interview process. These tools help us:

• transcribe interviews,
• summarize candidate responses,
• generate job-related insights
• streamline communication and scheduling.

Please note that

• AI does NOT make hiring decisions.
• All decisions are made by our human recruiters, hiring managers, or client partners.
• The AI does not evaluate facial expressions, emotions, or physical traits.
• It is used only to support fairness, consistency, and efficiency.

If you prefer a non-AI interview format, we will gladly provide an alternative.

Technical or Case Interviews (Role-Dependent):

For certain positions, you may participate in:

• a technical interview
• a coding challenge
• a case study
• a client-specific assessment.

We will always explain what to expect in advance so you can prepare with confidence.

Human Review & Selection:

Every candidate s profile including interviews, conversations, and assessments is reviewed by experienced recruiters and hiring leaders.

AI insights may assist with organization and evaluation, but final decisions are always human-driven.

Your Rights as a Candidate

At PTP, every candidate has the right to:

• Request a non-AI interview path
• Ask how your data is being used
• Request access to transcripts or interview recordings
• Request deletion of your AI-recorded interview
• Receive clear, timely communication

Our goal is to ensure you feel respected, informed, and supported throughout your experience

Our Commitment:

For more than 27 years, PTP has focused on putting people first candidates, consultants, employees, and clients.

We re committed to a hiring process that is:

• transparent
• compliant
• equitable
• powered by innovative technology that enhances not replaces human judgment.

Welcome to the future of hiring at Peterson Technology Partners.

We re excited to learn more about you

Equal Employment Opportunity

Peterson Technology Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.