Our vision for the future is based on the idea that transforming financial lives starts by giving our people the freedom to transform their own. We have a flexible work environment, and fluid career paths. We not only encourage but celebrate internal mobility. We also recognize the importance of purpose, well-being, and work-life balance. Within Empower and our communities, we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our associates dedicate thousands of hours to volunteering for causes that matter most to them.

Chart your own path and grow your career while helping more customers achieve financial freedom. Empower Yourself.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time, including CPT/OPT.

The Senior Data Architect will define and govern enterprise data architecture strategy while designing scalable, cloud-native business process solutions that align with organizational objectives. This role will establish architectural standards, reference models, and governance frameworks that enable secure, cost-efficient, and high-performing data and workflow ecosystems. The Senior Data Architect will partner with business and technology leaders to translate strategic goals into integrated data and process architectures, lead complex initiatives, influence enterprise technology direction, and ensure interoperability across platforms.

What you will do:

• Define and maintain the enterprise data platform blueprint, including ingestion, storage, processing, serving, governance, and security.
• Design, model, and simulate complex business processes using BPMS tools and workflow frameworks.
• Establish and govern architectural standards, including data contracts, service-level objectives, access controls, and privacy-by-design principles.
• Develop enterprise and domain reference architectures to support scalability, interoperability, and reuse.
• Design and modernize systems into cloud-compatible or cloud-native architectures, including migration strategies.
• Lead architecture reviews for complex or high-risk initiatives, evaluate trade-offs, and mitigate technical and compliance risks.
• Develop process architecture artifacts, including workflow diagrams, functional maps, and cross-functional process models.
• Recommend and implement best practices for process orchestration, workflow design, and system integration.
• Align data and process architecture with enterprise architecture, security, IAM, networking, and FinOps practices.
• Evaluate build-versus-buy decisions, serve as a subject matter expert in BPMS tools and process design patterns, collaborate with stakeholders to test and refine workflows, mentor technical professionals, provide strategic architecture recommendations, support CI/CD, DevOps, and automation practices, ensure solutions meet evolving security requirements and industry standards, and perform other duties as assigned.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, mathematics, business, or equivalent experience.
• 9-12 years of experience in data engineering, platform engineering, software architecture, or related technical roles.
• At least 5 years of experience working within Agile software development environments.
• Extensive experience leading data or solution architecture across multiple domains or enterprise platforms.
• Strong expertise in modern data architectures, including data lakes, data warehouses, lakehouses, and streaming platforms.
• Experience with business process management systems and workflow modeling tools.
• Knowledge of microservices architecture and development, such as Java, Node.js, Scala, and serverless frameworks.
• Experience with multiple data storage technologies, including SQL, NoSQL, and graph databases.
• Strong experience with cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, or GCP, and cloud-native design.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.

What will set you apart:

• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools, such as Terraform and CloudFormation.
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Experience with ETL processes and large-scale data processing frameworks, such as Spark.
• Knowledge of containerization technologies, including Docker, Kubernetes, and ECS.
• Strong understanding of data governance, security, and privacy principles.
• Proven ability to define architectural standards and influence enterprise-wide adoption.

This job operates in a professional office environment.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications of the job. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. You will be evaluated in part based on your performance of the responsibilities and/or tasks listed in this job description. You may be required to perform other duties that are not included on this job description. The job description is not a contract for employment, and either you or the employer may terminate employment at any time, for any reason, as per terms and conditions of your employment contract.

What we offer you

We offer an array of diverse and inclusive benefits regardless of where you are in your career. We believe that providing our employees with the means to lead healthy balanced lives results in the best possible work performance.

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• Retirement savings – 401(k) plan with generous company matching contributions (up to 6%), financial advisory services, potential company discretionary contribution, and a broad investment lineup
• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250/year
• Business-casual environment that includes the option to wear jeans
• Generous paid time off upon hire – including a paid time off program plus ten paid company holidays and three floating holidays each calendar year
• Paid volunteer time — 16 hours per calendar year
• Leave of absence programs – including paid parental leave, paid short- and long-term disability, and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)
• Business Resource Groups (BRGs) –  BRGs facilitate inclusion and collaboration across our business internally and throughout the communities where we live, work and play. BRGs are open to all.

Base Salary Range

The salary range above shows the typical minimum to maximum base salary range for this position in the location listed. Non-sales positions have the opportunity to participate in a bonus program. Sales positions are eligible for sales incentives, and in some instances a bonus plan, whereby total compensation may far exceed base salary depending on individual performance. Actual compensation offered may vary from posted hiring range based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.

Equal opportunity employer •  Drug-free workplace

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity.  All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age (40 and over), race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, religion, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable state or local law. 

***For remote and hybrid positions you will be required to provide reliable high-speed internet with a wired connection as well as a place in your home to work with limited disruption. You must have reliable connectivity from an internet service provider that is fiber, cable or DSL internet. Other necessary computer equipment, will be provided. You may be required to work in the office if you do not have an adequate home work environment and the required internet connection.***

Job Posting End Date at 12:01 am on:

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