Director of Architecture and Engineering

Colonial First State; Sydney; On-site; AUD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Birthday day

Employer superannuation

Life Leave — 3 days

Sonder mental health support app

Corporate health insurance discounts

Counselling services

Job summary

Colonial First State (CFS) invites a Director of Architecture & Engineering to lead a large, distributed technology team across core wealth management platforms. You will drive technology transformation, establish engineering standards, and champion AI adoption to improve efficiency, quality and customer outcomes.

Sound governance, risk and regulatory compliance are essential. The role requires strategic thinking, strong leadership and the ability to partner with senior stakeholders while

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale Architecture and Engineering functions in complex enterprise environments.
• Ability to build, lead and develop high-performing teams and senior leaders.
• Define and execute architecture and engineering strategies aligned to business objectives and roadmaps.
• Deep expertise across Domain, Solution and Application Architecture; modern engineering practices including automation and DevOps.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influence with executive decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Architecture and Engineering function, guiding Principal Architects and Distinguished Engineers.
• Define and deliver architecture strategy, standards, governance, roadmaps and best practices.
• Drive AI adoption across engineering teams and platforms, including AI-enabled business solutions.
• Ensure scalable, secure, resilient, and compliant technology solutions meeting governance and regulatory requirements.
• Simplify and modernise platforms through standardisation, automation, reuse and continuous improvement.
• Build high-performing teams and guide strategic technology investment.

Skills

Leadership

Architecture leadership

DevOps & automation

AI governance

Stakeholder engagement

Tools

AWS

Azure

Job description

Are you ready to be part of an organisation that values expertise, passion and diversity? At CFS we know that the foundation of our success lies in our exceptional people. We believe in celebrating individuality, have a passion for high performance and creating an environment where you can unleash your full potential. Our people enable us to make a difference and deliver exceptional experiences to help our customers achieve financial freedom.

Your Team

The Director of Architecture & Engineering, FirstChoice oversees a large distributed technology team supporting CFS's core investment, superannuation and retirement platforms. The role drives technology transformation, engineering excellence and customer outcomes while partnering with senior team members across the business. It is responsible for delivering strategic priorities through scalable and innovative technology solutions. The role also champions AI adoption, building capability and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, quality and customer experience.

Your Responsibilities

• Lead the Architecture and Engineering function, providing guidance to Principal Architects and Distinguished Engineers.
• Define and deliver architecture strategy, engineering standards, governance, roadmaps, and best practices aligned to business outcomes.
• Drive AI adoption across engineering teams and platforms, including AI-assisted development and AI-enabled business solutions.
• Ensure scalable, secure, resilient, and compliant technology solutions that meet governance, risk, and regulatory requirements.
• Simplify and modernise platforms through standardisation, automation, reuse, and continuous improvement.
• Build high-performing teams, influence senior stakeholders, and guide strategic technology investment choices.

Your Capability and Experience

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale Architecture and Engineering functions within complex enterprise environments.
• Strong capability to build, lead and develop high-performing teams, including senior architects and engineering leaders.
• Proven ability to define and execute architecture and engineering strategies aligned to business objectives and technology roadmaps.
• Deep expertise across architecture domains (Domain, Solution and Application Architecture) and modern engineering practices, including automation and DevOps.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to guide executive decision-making and technology investment outcomes.
• Demonstrated success delivering large-scale transformation initiatives while driving simplification, standardisation, innovation, scalability and resilience across technology platforms.
• Strong understanding of financial services, wealth management platforms and regulatory considerations.
• Highly Desirable: Senior technology oversight experience overseeing architecture and engineering teams, including implementation of AI-enabled platforms, AI engineering practices and enterprise AI governance frameworks. Experience working within public cloud environments such as AWS and/or Azure and partnering with third-party technology vendors and service providers.

What to Expect

At CFS, you'll be working among the very best in the wealth management industry. It's an inspiring environment that encourages development and celebrates success. Other things to look forward to:

• Additional day for your birthday
• Access to CFS Employer Super
• Life Leave - 3 days per annum
• Access to Sonder who provides human-powered medical, mental health and safety support through one easy-to-use app enabling you to get support whenever and wherever you need.
• Access to Corporate rates with BUPA Health Insurance
• Confidential coaching and counselling services supporting life, mind, body, relationships, work and family to assist you in taking charge of your own health and wellbeing

CFS Culture

At CFS we are committed to creating a thriving environment where individuals can flourish. We believe that success is built upon strong teams, and we are dedicated to celebrating uniqueness, championing individuality and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. We believe that when you can truly be yourself, you can unlock your full potential.

Apply today and join us in helping Australians to achieve their financial freedom.

Please note, CFS requires all candidates to have full work rights in Australia.

Where we have preferred candidates, background checks (including Police, Employment, Bankruptcy checks, ASIC banned and disqualified persons) will be completed prior to the final preferred candidate's employment being confirmed. The outcomes of the background checks do not preclude the preferred candidate, however, they will be assessed against the inherent requirements of the role.

This role is based on Gadigal Land (Sydney).