Lead System Architect & Technical Program Manager

Job description

We are seeking a visionary and execution-oriented Lead System Architect & Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead the execution of our high-priority, large-scale technical initiatives for the CitiDirect Platform Core and Platform Digital Servicing Agile Release Trains (ARTs). This is a unique, hybrid role designed for a senior technical leader who can both design complex, enterprise-grade system architectures and actively drive their execution across both ARTs. In this role, your primary focus will be System Architecture —defining the technical vision, designing scalable system architectures, and building the architectural runway. Concurrently, you will leverage Technical Program Management competencies to operationalize your designs, manage cross-team technical dependencies, mitigate risks, and ensure the successful delivery of high-priority technical initiatives. You will serve as the ultimate technical authority for the CitiDirect Platform ARTs, bridging the gap between high-level enterprise strategy and hands-on engineering execution. Key Responsibilities 1. System Architecture & Technical Strategy (Primary Focus - 70%) Architectural Vision & Design: Define and communicate the future-state architecture, technical vision, and system design patterns for the platforms within the Platform ARTs. Architectural Runway: Design and champion Enabler Epics and Features (covering cloud infrastructure, microservices, security, and data architecture) to ensure the platform supports near-term business features without technical debt. Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs): Define, monitor, and enforce NFRs—including security, scalability, high availability, performance, and maintainability—across the ART scrum teams. Technical Debt & Modernization: Identify systemic technical debt, prioritize remediation efforts, and lead architectural spikes or prototyping for new technology evaluations. Engineering Standards: Establish and promote modern engineering practices, including DevSecOps, Test-Driven Development (TDD), automated testing, and API-first design patterns. 2. Technical Program Management & Execution (30%) Program Delivery Coordination: Partner with the Release Train Engineer (RTE) to facilitate PI (Program Increment) execution, ensuring that engineering teams deliver on technical milestones and architectural enablers. Dependency & Risk Management: Proactively identify, map, and resolve complex technical dependencies across multiple partner ARTs. Risk Mitigation: Lead the identification of program-level technical risks and systematically address them through stakeholder engagement – product, architecture and engineering. Backlog Prioritization: Partner with Product Managers and Product Owners (POs) to refine the Program Backlog to ensure epics/tasks are always available for upcoming PIs. Technical Translation: Translate complex architectural designs, non-functional requirements (NFRs), and security mandates into clear, actionable features and user stories for engineering teams. Stakeholder Communication: Provide transparent, data-driven status updates, technical risk assessments, and delivery metrics to senior leadership and stakeholders. Key SAFe Ceremony Involvements PI Planning: Present the Architectural Vision and technical context to the ART; facilitate technical breakout sessions to validate team-level designs, map dependencies on the Program Board, and draft technical PI objectives. ART Sync / Scrum of Scrums: Act as the primary technical escalation point to resolve architectural blockers, infrastructure issues, and cross-team dependencies. System Demo: Lead the evaluation of the integrated system demo to ensure architectural integrity, interoperability, and NFR compliance. Inspect & Adapt (I&A): Lead problem-solving workshops to address systemic technical, architectural, or infrastructure bottlenecks identified during the PI. Qualifications & Experience Required: Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or a related technical field. Experience: 7+ years of experience in software engineering, system design, and enterprise-scale architecture. Deep, hands-on experience working within a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) environment. Technical Depth: Proven expertise in designing and deploying cloud-native architectures (ECS, AWS), microservices, and event-driven systems. Strong understanding of DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Kubernetes/Docker), and modern data architectures. Preferred Certifications: Architecture: SAFe® System Architect (ARCH), AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional, or Azure Solutions Architect Expert. Agile/Program Management: SAFe® Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM), SAFe® Release Train Engineer (RTE), or Project Management Professional (PMP). Core Competencies Architectural/Technical Authority: Strong technical credibility to guide, mentor, and gain the respect of senior engineers, tech leads, and system architects. Strategic Execution: Exceptional ability to translate abstract architectural concepts into concrete, phased execution plans. Influence & Collaboration: Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders without direct authority. Systemic Problem Solving: A track record of diagnosing and resolving complex, systemic technical blockers across highly matrixed organizations. ------------------------------------------------------ Job Family Group: Technology ------------------------------------------------------ Job Family: Applications Development ------------------------------------------------------ Time Type: Full time ------------------------------------------------------ Most Relevant Skills Please see the requirements listed above. ------------------------------------------------------ Other Relevant Skills For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter. ------------------------------------------------------ Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. 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