AVP, Solution Architect

Synchrony; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Synchrony is seeking an AVP, Solution Architect to lead solution design for scalable, secure systems and guide one to two Agile teams. The role blends technical depth with business acumen to collaborate with stakeholders, shape product vision, and ensure alignment with enterprise standards.

You will drive architecture decisions, translate requirements into pragmatic designs, and coordinate with Enterprise Architects and cloud platforms to deliver end-to-end solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 7+ years IT experience or 9+ years with HS diploma.
• 7+ years full-stack development experience with Spring/Java/JEE technologies.
• 5+ years in application architecture and design.
• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and integrate information systems to meet business needs.
• Lead delivery through the SDLC and provide hands-on guidance to designers and developers.
• Evaluate and select technologies, define target framework and stack.
• Ensure scalability, reliability, maintainability, and security for future growth.
• Oversee integration, testing, and end-to-end quality across systems.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

Skills

Full-stack Java/Spring

APIs & microservices

Software architecture

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree with 7+ years IT experience

High School Diploma/GED + 9+ years professional experience

Tools

Maven/Gradle

Jenkins

OpenAPI/Swagger

API gateways

Job description

Role Summary/Purpose

The AVP, Solution Architect is responsible for leading solution design and applying core architecture principles to deliver scalable, secure, and maintainable systems. This role owns the architecture and technical direction for one or more applications or services and provides day-to-day leadership for one to two Agile teams.

The AVP, Solution Architect brings a balanced blend of technical depth and business acumen, partnering with business stakeholders to shape the product vision, prioritize initiatives, and ensure outcomes align to business value. The role collaborates closely with Enterprise Architects to develop end-to-end solution approaches, ensure alignment with enterprise standards, and contribute to strategic technology direction.

A deep understanding of business processes is essential to create a cohesive product vision and translate requirements into pragmatic, effective designs. Strong communication, stakeholder management, and process skills are required to explain complex technical concepts clearly and enable teams to make informed decisions.

Essential Responsibilities

Design and integrate solutions: Architect, build, and integrate information systems that meet defined business needs, including the selection and integration of appropriate software, hardware, and services for internal and/or external clients. Lead delivery through the SDLC: Organize and guide the overall development effort across the SDLC. Translate product and architecture vision into actionable technical direction, providing hands‑on guidance to designers and developers to build the prescribed solution. Make technology and architecture decisions: Evaluate and select the most suitable technologies for each problem, balancing architectural standards, delivery timelines, cost, risk, and business outcomes. Drive solution architecture focus areas:

• Apply technology to solve business problems and deliver measurable value.
• Define the target framework, platform, and technology stack for the solution.
• Design the application's structure and user experience, including components, interfaces, and interaction patterns.
• Ensure scalability, reliability, maintainability, and supportability for future growth.
• Assess third-party frameworks/platforms, documenting benefits, limitations, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure engineering quality and integration: Oversee programming, integration, and testing across software systems and associated devices/services, ensuring end-to-end quality, security, and performance.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned

Qualifications/Requirements

• Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of experience in one or more IT disciplines, or in lieu of a degree, High School Diploma/GED with 9+ years of professional application development experience.
• Full-Stack Engineering: 7+ years of full-stack development experience using Spring and other Java/JEE technologies, including APIs, microservices, micro frontends, and modern UI frameworks/technologies.
• Architecture & Design: 5+ years of experience in application architecture and design, with strong command of relevant design patterns, processes, and tools.
• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required

Desired Characteristics

• Strong working knowledge of the fintech landscape, with a focus on consumer financing products and processes.
• Proven, hands‑on experience designing and delivering service-oriented architectures (SOA)and distributed systems.
• Demonstrated expertise working in Agile delivery models (e.g., Scrum/Kanban) and leading teams through iterative delivery.
• Strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative solutioning skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and trade-offs.
• Experience with dependency/build management tools such as Maven or Gradle.
• Experience working with CI/CD and continuous integration environments such as Jenkins.
• Hands‑on experience building, deploying, and operating applications in the cloud (e.g., AWS/Azure/GCP), including automation and monitoring considerations. Experience creating and maintaining API contracts using OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.
• Working knowledge of API gateways and API management concepts (e.g., routing, security, throttling, analytics).
• Expertise in mobile solution architecture, including native mobile and mobile web experiences, with an understanding of performance, security, and UX considerations.

Grade/Level: 11

The salary range for this position is 115,000.00 - 200,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance. Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge. Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.

Our Way Of Working

We're proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. You will be required to commute to your nearest Hub (either virtual or physical) for in-person engagement activities such as regular business or team meetings, training and culture events.

• Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

Eligibility Requirements

• You must be 18 years or older
• You must have a high school diploma or equivalent
• You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process
• You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
• New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations).

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran