Architect - Solution Ownership (Chicago)

Slalom; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 133,000 - 163,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

401(k) with match

Parental leave

Fertility assistance

Job summary

Slalom seeks an Architect-level Solution Owner to work with engineers, designers, and data specialists to translate business intent into clear product direction. You’ll lead AI-enabled Agile delivery teams and ensure strategy, scope, delivery health, and value stay connected from concept through launch and iteration.

You’ll govern projects, craft specifications and acceptance criteria with Product Owners, manage risk, document toolchains, and drive continuous improvement across the delivery

Qualifications

• Translate ideas into clear specs, backlogs, and success metrics.
• Bridge business and technical teams with familiar tooling.
• Use AI to accelerate research, validate findings, and inform decisions.
• Apply Agile frameworks adaptively to project needs.

Responsibilities

• Define and govern project cadence, events, and reporting.
• Collaborate with Product Owners on product scope and acceptance criteria.
• Own lifecycle from concept to launch and subsequent iterations.
• Maintain a shared context hub with strategy, decisions, risks, and tech context.
• Lead delivery teams, manage issues, and provide status updates.
• Document toolchains and AI workflows used by the team.

Skills

Product requirement to backlog specs

Bridge business & tech teams

Analytical communication

Agile frameworks (Scrum/Kanban/SAFe)

Delivery risk and issue management

AI in delivery

Technical mindset

Education

Technical degree / software delivery background

Tools

Version Control

Delivery Toolchains

Job description

AI-native product and delivery leader who works with clients to shape the right solutions, directs teams on how to deliver them, and stays accountable for outcomes, performance, and business value.

Who You’ll Work With

Slalom’s Solution Owners are hands-on technology, AI, and Agile delivery experts dedicated to their projects and clients. Our job is to make sure our clients build the right thing at the right time — and then build it right. AI tools, agents, and workflows are embedded into our delivery practices — accelerating discovery, documentation, analysis, backlog management, and team alignment. We are passionate, adaptive experts who continually practice and hone our craft.

What You’ll Do

As an Architect-level Solution Owner, you’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers, architects, designers, and data specialists inside high-velocity delivery pods, and partner directly with client product owners and technology leaders to translate business intent into clear product direction, lead AI-enabled Agile delivery teams, and keep strategy, scope, delivery health, and value connected from concept through launch and iteration. Core responsibilities include:

• Defining and managing project governance including cadence, Agile events, and delivery reporting that surfaces the data clients need to decide.
• Partnering with Product Owners to define the product, pressure-test assumptions, and produce clear specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria tied to OKRs — reframing conversations from solutions to outcomes when needed.
• Owning the product lifecycle from concept through launch and beyond — collecting feedback, measuring impact, and planning the next iteration.
• Maintaining the project’s context hub — a shared source of truth across strategy, decisions, requirements, risks, and technical context — and using AI tooling (e.g., MCPs, agents) to keep it current and accessible.
• Leading delivery teams through managing issues and risks, facilitating meetings, and providing clear project status updates.
• Collaborating with engineering leaders, validating the technical approach, strategy, and deliverables, and documenting the toolchain the team relies on.
• Building and refining effective prompts, templates, and repeatable AI workflows that support requirements, documentation, analysis, and backlog management.
• Testing ideas through lightweight prototypes and using feedback to sharpen product direction.
• Travel may be required depending on client needs.

What You’ll Bring

You are a curious problem solver and bring several years of product development experience as a Product, Project, or Program Manager using Agile methodologies and leveraging AI across the full software and testing lifecycle. You demonstrate:

• Skill in turning ideas and conversations into clear specifications, backlogs, acceptance criteria, and success metrics for iterative development.
• Ability to bridge business and technical teams, with comfort in repositories, version control, and delivery toolchains.
• Strong investigative, analytical, and communication skills — including the use of AI to accelerate research, validate findings, and produce actionable insights.
• Knowledge of Agile frameworks including Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, XP, and Lean, and the ability to adapt the framework to project needs.
• Strong delivery acumen, risk identification and mitigation skills, in complex or ambiguous environments.
• Experience applying AI to real delivery work, and the curiosity to keep pushing what it can do.
• A technology-oriented mindset and comfort with modern developer tooling. A technical degree, software delivery background, or equivalent experience is helpful.

About Us

Slalom is a fiercely human business and technology consulting company that leads with outcomes to bring more value, in all ways, always. From strategy through delivery, our agile teams across 52 offices in 12 countries partner with clients to co-create powerful customer experiences, modern ways of working, and meaningful impact.

What sets us apart? We believe work should be challenging and fulfilling, not perfect, but possible. That’s why we prioritize purpose, flexibility, connection, and recognition, so our people can thrive and love what they do, most days.

Compensation and Benefits

Slalom prides itself on helping team members thrive in their work and life. As a result, Slalom is proud to invest in benefits that includemeaningful time off and paid holidays, parental leave, 401(k) with a match, a range of choices for highly subsidized health, dental, & vision coverage, adoption and fertility assistance, and short/long-term disability. We also offer yearly $350 reimbursement account for any well-being-related expenses, as well as discounted home, auto, and pet insurance.

Slalom is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.For this role, we are hiring at the following levels and targeted base pay salary ranges: The targeted base salary pay range for Architect is $133,000 to $163,000. In addition, individuals may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus . Actual compensation will depend upon an individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.

Wearecommittedtopaytransparencyandcompliancewithapplicablelaws.Ifyouhavequestionsorconcernsaboutthepayrangeorothercompensationinformationinthisposting,pleasecontactusat: [e-mail]. Pleasenote,thisrecipientisnotabletosupportrecruitmentinquiriesbeyondthispurpose.

EEO and Accommodations

Slalomisanequalopportunityemployerandiscommittedtoattracting,developingandretaininghighlyqualifiedtalentwhoempowerourinnovativeteamsthroughuniqueperspectivesandexperiences.Allqualifiedapplicantswillreceiveconsiderationforemploymentwithoutregardtorace,color,religion,sex,nationalorigin,disabilitystatus,protectedveterans’status,oranyothercharacteristicprotectedbyfederal,state,orlocallaws.Slalomwillalsoconsiderqualifiedapplicationswithcriminalhistories,consistentwithlegalrequirements.Slalomwelcomesandencouragesapplicationsfromindividualswithdisabilities.Reasonableaccommodationsareavailableforcandidatesduringallaspectsoftheselectionprocess.Pleaseadvisethetalentacquisitionteamorcontact [e-mail] ifyourequireaccommodationsduringtheinterviewprocess.