Head of Enterprise Architecture

Why Great Gray?

At Great Gray Group, we strive to set the bar for the retirement services industry. Our goal is to deliver advanced retirement solutions that combine our core fiduciary services with robust investment options, innovative technology, and dedicated client service. We focus on making choices clearer, transitions smoother, and the client experience more delightful. Complacency isn't in our vocabulary. Every day, we look for opportunities to better serve our clients, be an excellent business partner, and earn the trust of those who rely on us. 

The Role

Great Gray is seeking a Head of Enterprise Architecture to define and drive the architectural vision and technical roadmap across our enterprise technology platforms. This is a highly influential senior role responsible for ensuring that Great Gray’s technology foundation is scalable, resilient, secure, and aligned with long-term business strategy.

The Head of Enterprise Architecture will partner closely with engineering, product, data, security, and business leaders to modernize legacy systems, evolve cloud-native platforms, and enable faster, higher-quality delivery across the organization. This role balances strategic foresight with hands-on architectural leadership, ensuring both long-term sustainability and near-term developer productivity as the company continues its rapid growth.

Location

This position will work remote. Candidate must be located in the Eastern Time Zone within the United States.

Visa sponsorship or transfer of an existing visa is not available for this position. Applicants must be authorized to work directly for any employer in the United States without visa sponsorship or transfer.

Responsibilities 

Strategic Architecture Leadership

·       Define and own the enterprise architectural vision across Great Gray’s multi-platform technology ecosystem.

·       Align architectural strategy with business growth objectives, regulatory requirements, and product roadmaps.

·       Lead architectural integration and consolidation of various platforms within the Great Gray portfolio.

·       Establish and maintain architecture principles, standards, patterns, and guardrails to ensure consistency, quality, and resilience across platforms.

System Design & Technical Direction

·       Oversee architectural decisions across application layers, APIs, data models, integrations, and cloud infrastructure.

·       Identify and proactively address cross-cutting concerns such as scalability, performance, availability, security, compliance, and cost optimization.

·       Guide build-versus-buy decisions, shared service strategies, and component reuse to maximize return on technology investments.

Technical Governance & Review

·       Establish and lead architecture review and design governance processes.

·       Partner with engineering and product leadership to evaluate technical trade-offs and ensure solutions are maintainable, scalable, and aligned with enterprise standards.

·       Serve as a final escalation point for complex technical and architectural decisions.

Platform Innovation & Modernization

·       Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies and architectural approaches (e.g., event-driven systems, data platforms, AI/ML enablement, observability, and automation).

·       Develop and maintain a forward-looking architecture roadmap capable of supporting significant growth in transaction volume, data scale, and product complexity.

·       Ensure platforms are designed for high reliability, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence.

Coaching & Influence

·       Act as a mentor and technical leader to senior engineers, architects, and technical leaders across multiple domains.

·       Foster a culture of engineering excellence, strong design discipline, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing.

·       Influence without direct authority by building trust and alignment across teams and executive stakeholders.

·       Complete other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Experience

·       Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field required. Advanced degree preferred.

·       15+ years of experience in software engineering, including at least 5 years in senior or enterprise architecture leadership roles.

·       Proven experience defining and scaling architecture for large, complex SaaS, fintech, or platform-based systems.

·       Demonstrated success leading legacy modernization initiatives, including monolith decomposition and cloud migrations.

·       Experience managing and influencing other architects across multiple products or domains.

·       Strong background in distributed systems, API design, cloud platforms (Azure preferred), and modern web architectures.

·       Deep understanding of DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, observability, reliability engineering, and security best practices at scale.

·       Expert-level capability in system design, architectural modeling, and platform decomposition.

·       Exceptional communication and influence skills, with the ability to operate effectively at both executive and deep technical levels.

·       Strong analytical, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

·       Ability to evaluate emerging technologies and define pragmatic, business-aligned adoption strategies.

·       Your standards reflect our core values: Growth Mindset, Disciplined Curiosity, Grit, Results Ownership, Collaboration.

Tech Stack

Our current tech stack is a blend of existing and next-gen tools/languages, and like our company itself, our software is always evolving.

·       Frontend: Angular, React

·       Backend: C# .NET

·       Data Layer: MSSQL, Python, Postgres, Databricks

·       Infrastructure: Azure cloud

·       Tooling: Cypress, Docker, GitHub, Cursor, SonarQube

Base Pay Range*

$190,000-$235,000

*This base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

The pay range displayed above is the base pay compensation range that Great Gray expects to pay for this position at the time of this posting.  Individual compensation within this range depends on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, candidate’s prior education and relevant work experience and training as well as position location and local market demands.  Our pay-for-performance culture also includes participation in an annual incentive bonus plan for this position which is not included in the ‘Base Pay Range’ noted above.

Benefits

We have a comprehensive and competitive benefits package at Great Gray. Some of the highlights are:

·       Be an integral part of an early-stage, high-growth organization!

·       Competitive compensation package including 401(k) with elective and non-elective match opportunities

·       Lifestyle spending allowance program

·       Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

·       Employer-paid life and disability insurance

·       Generous paid time off program

Company Background 

Great Gray is the leading independent provider of trustee and administrative services to Collective Investment Trusts (“CITs”), with over $300 billion in CIT assets under management, across more than 900 funds. We proudly work with more than 80 subadvisors, including leading firms such as AllianceBernstein, American Funds, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, MetLife, Neuberger Berman, PGIM, PIMCO and Raymond James. 

CITs are more than just an investment vehicle. They represent a forward-thinking approach to retirement planning. These tax-exempt, pooled investment vehicles are offered to employer-sponsored retirement plans, like 401(k)s. CITs are comparable to mutual funds, but, because they are tailored for the institutional retirement market, they can offer distinct advantages, including efficient administration and cost-effectiveness. CITs have a history dating back over 90 years; but they have gained favor over the past decade, driven by innovations, and Great Gray has been at the forefront.

Great Gray has consistently delivered year-over-year growth at an above market rate and is investing in the continued development of its core CIT business as well as complementary administrative services and technology solutions for the retirement market.

Madison Dearborn Partners (“MDP”) purchased Great Gray from Wilmington Trust in April 2023. As a result, Great Gray is an independent company owned by funds affiliated with MDP.

Investor Background 

MDP is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP's formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $28 billion and has completed over 150 platform investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media, and technology services.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Great Gray, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status or other non-merit factor.

Accommodation Statement

Great Gray is committed to ensuring individuals with disabilities and/or those who have special needs participate in the workforce and are afforded equal opportunity to apply and compete for jobs. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website, need assistance completing the application process, or need to request an accommodation for any part of our application or interview process, please contact us at: TalentAcquisition@GreatGray.com