Director, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, Core Platform

Sun Life; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 135,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

20 vacation days per year

Share Ownership Program

Job summary

Sun Life in Canada is seeking a Director, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, Core Platform to shape our architectural direction. You will translate enterprise priorities into roadmaps, standards and investment plans while guiding cross-functional teams of architects and leaders.

You will drive cloud and on‑premise integration, governance and measurable outcomes, balancing security, resilience and cost efficiency across the business.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; master’s preferred.
• TOGAF or equivalent architecture certification is desirable.
• 10+ years of progressive architecture experience across domains.

Responsibilities

• Define future-state architectures and transition roadmaps.
• Provide strategic analysis and executive reporting on decisions and investments.
• Maintain an integrated view of architecture priorities and outcomes.
• Translate priorities into actionable architecture direction.
• Integrate cloud, network, security, platform, and application architecture.
• Lead governance and ensure alignment with security and cost objectives.

Skills

Executive communication

TOGAF

10+ years experience

Cloud platforms

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

You are as unique as your background, experience and point of view. Here, you’ll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self. You’ll work with dynamic colleagues - experts in their fields - who are eager to share their knowledge with you. Your leaders will inspire and help you reach your potential and soar to new heights. Every day, you’ll have new and exciting opportunities to make life brighter for our Clients - who are at the heart of everything we do.

At Sun Life, we’re driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful.

When you join Sun Life, you’ll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients’ lives.

Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Director, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, Core Platform

The Director, Enterprise Architecture Strategy is the architecture strategist supporting the Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Architecture, Core Platforms.

The Director drives the architecture integration strategy across cloud, on premise, network, application platforms, and foundational technology services. The role translates enterprise and business priorities into actionable architecture direction, roadmaps, investment priorities, standards, and modernization outcomes.

Working closely with the AVP, other Enterprise Architects, technology executives, engineering leaders, and domain and solution architects, the Director ensures that architecture priorities are aligned with business, operational, security, regulatory, and cost outcomes.

What will you do?

• Working in collaboration with the other Enterprise Architects, define future-state architectures, transition roadmaps, principles, standards, reference architectures, and decision boundaries.


• Provide strategic analysis, recommendations, visibility and executive reporting into architecture decisions, investments, dependencies, risks, and outcomes.


• Maintain an integrated view of architecture priorities, decisions, dependencies, and outcomes.


• Translate business priorities, executive direction, regulatory obligations, operational risks, and technology constraints into actionable architecture priorities.


• Integrate cloud, infrastructure, network, security, identity, platform, API, and application architecture into a coherent enterprise direction.


• Facilitate joint architecture planning and decision-making where initiatives cross business, portfolio, or technology boundaries.


• Promote the reuse of enterprise capabilities, platforms, standards, patterns, and architecture decisions.


• Escalate unresolved cross-domain decisions to the appropriate architecture or executive authority.


• Lead architecture governance and ensure architecture decisions are documented, traceable, implementable, and aligned with security, resilience, operational, financial, and compliance requirements.


• Partner with engineering and operational leaders to validate that architecture direction is practical, financially responsible, and sustainable in production.


• Define and communicate measurable outcomes for technology health, risk reduction, resilience, cost efficiency, simplification and platform adoption.

What you’ll need to succeed?

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Business Technology Management, or a related discipline. A master’s degree is preferred.


• Enterprise architecture credentials such as TOGAF, IASA CITA, or an equivalent architecture certification are preferred.


• 10 or more years of progressive architecture experience, including enterprise, portfolio, or cross-domain responsibility.


• Demonstrated experience developing enterprise technology strategies, future-state architectures, integrated roadmaps, standards, and transition plans.


• Broad knowledge of cloud platforms, networks, operating systems, middleware, identity, security, virtualization, application hosting, APIs, integration, automation, and platform engineering.


• Experience with cloud migration, infrastructure transformation, vulnerability remediation, technology currency, lifecycle management, and technical debt reduction.


• Experience integrating architecture strategies and resolving dependencies across multiple business and technology domains.


• Proven ability to influence senior business and technology leaders through clear analysis, options, trade-offs, and recommendations.


• Ability to translate business and enterprise priorities into actionable architecture direction.


• Ability to synthesize complex and fragmented information into a coherent enterprise position.


• Excellent executive communication, facilitation, negotiation, and influence.


• Strong financial and analytical acumen, including investment, cost, risk, and value trade-offs.


• Ability to lead through influence, establish decision clarity, and resolve conflicts.


• Sound judgment regarding when to standardize, consolidate, modernize, remediate, replace, retire, or accept risk.

What’s in it for you?

• A competitive salary and bonus program, based on market scale


• A flexible group insurance program starting on your first day of work to meet your needs and those of your family.


• Time off that allows you to focus on the moments that matter most. 20 vacation days per year.


• Our Share Ownership Program gives you the opportunity to invest in Sun Life while benefiting from employer matching contributions.


• We are proud to be included in Great Place to Work’s 2026 list of Canada’s Best Workplaces.


• Working together, sharing common values, and encouraging growth & achievement.

As this position is posted in several locations, we specify that bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only as the position includes managing both French and English-speaking staff (Quebec and outside Quebec) and providing daily support to the team.

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to [e-mail].

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you.

We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range

135,000/135 000 - 195,000/195 000

Job Category

IT - Application Development

Posting End Date

18/10/2026