Blockchain Architect

Role:  Blockchain Architect

Work location: Bay Area San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)

Type: Contract

Description:

• An Architect, which will be part of the Architecture group in DTI, is a senior technical leader who combines deep domain expertise with strong strategic thinking to define, guide, and evolve enterprise and platform architectures. This role requires the ability to design scalable, secure, and resilient solutions across complex, multi-system environments while influencing technology direction beyond a single product or team.
• In this role, the Architect maintains awareness of emerging blockchain and Web3-inspired patterns and ecosystems as inputs into architectural decision-making, while ensuring all solutions remain grounded in regulated, enterprise-grade design principles, strong governance, and operational rigor
• appropriate for a large financial institution.
• A successful Architect with 10+ years of experience demonstrates mastery of architectural patterns, cloud and modern engineering practices, and non-functional requirements such as performance, resiliency, and security. They are a trusted advisor to senior leadership, able to translate business strategy into technical direction, lead
• cross-functional alignment, mentor other architects and engineers, and drive long-term architectural consistency and innovation across the organization.

Responsibilities Include:

• Provide architectural leadership for blockchain-enabled initiatives, including tokenized deposits, digital assets, and distributed settlement use cases, ensuring solutions align with bank-grade security, resiliency, and regulatory expectations.
• Design hybrid architectures that integrate distributed ledger platforms with core banking systems, payment platforms, data stores, and event-driven microservices.
• Define appropriate on-chain vs off-chain responsibilities, including smart contracts, orchestration services, API layers, and operational controls.
• Evaluate and guide usage of permissioned distributed ledger technologies, identity and access models, privacy architectures, and governance structures suitable for regulated environments.
• Familiarity with smart contract concepts as deterministic business rule enforcement, not as workflow orchestration.
• Experience working across payments, liquidity, settlements, or financial market infrastructures in large-scale enterprises.
• Establish architectural guardrails and best practices for emerging digital asset and blockchain capabilities, avoiding vendor lock-in and ensuring long-term interoperability and maintainability.
• Provide thought leadership to engineering teams and stakeholders on where blockchain adds business value versus where traditional platforms remain more appropriate.