Distinguished Architect-Consumer Banking

Citizens; Johnston (RI); On-site; USD 182,000 - 254,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Paid parental leave

Flexible work arrangements

Education reimbursement

Wellness programs

Job summary

Citizens is seeking a Distinguished Architect to lead architectural efforts across multiple platforms and guide a team of architects. You will align technology choices with business goals and present designs to an Architecture Review Board and senior leadership.

You will influence enterprise strategy, drive product and solution directions, and ensure scalable, resilient architectures across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in software engineering, CS, or related field.
• 15+ years in web development or solutions architecture.
• Experience with large-scale tech enhancements and pilots.
• DevOps experience; Chef and Puppet.
• Knowledge of multiple languages and at least one front-end framework (Angular/React/Vue).
• Experience with IT infrastructure, cloud development, and databases (RDBMS/NoSQL).
• Experience building cloud-native, highly available customer-focused apps and APIs.
• Experience transforming monoliths to microservices.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of architects and allocate resources for quality solutions.
• Develop architectural strategy across Company Platforms for consistency.
• Communicate strategy to executives and partners to influence decisions.
• Provide design input and technical direction across portfolios.
• Drive product and solution strategies aligning tech vision with planning and investments.

Skills

Web development

Solutions architecture

DevOps

Front-end frameworks

Cloud development

APIs

Databases

Microservices

Security

Legacy modernization

Education

Bachelor's degree in software engineering/CS/engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Chef

Puppet

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Locations: Dallas TX, Iselin NJ, Short Hills NJ, Westwood or Medford MA, or Phoenix AZ and couple other locations.

Role is not relocation eligible.

At Citizens, we invest in the humans who build the logic, ideas, and innovations that bring new technologies to life.

As a Distinguished Architect, you will be responsible for groundbreaking integration support across multiple technological and/or business platforms. You will have the opportunity to lead a team of architects and work alongside senior management, software engineers and technologists to ensure the strategic alignment of technological solutions and business objectives. The Distinguished Architect will provide architectural mentorship and oversight across a portfolio of company platforms and will present designs and ideas to an Architecture Review Board and to executive technology and business leadership. Most importantly, you’ll feel valued for who you are and supported to achieve what’s important to you, personally and professionally! Technology is constantly evolving, and we believe you will too.

Primary Responsibilities Include

• Leading a team of architects; offering guidance, thought leadership and ensuring proper resource allocation to deliver top-quality solutions.
• Developing architectural strategy across assigned Company Platforms, ensuring enterprise-level consistency and alignment.
• Establishing and communicating strategy to executive staff, industry partners and customers; using recognized technical and business expertise to influence, guide, and craft business strategy and decision-making at the highest interpersonal levels.
• Providing consultation, design input, technical direction and feedback for consistent Company Platform architectural approaches across portfolio Principal Architects and senior engineering leadership.
• Driving and developing product and solution strategies that inform product requirements and investment decisions for Company Platforms across the organization, weaving the enterprise technology vision into the planning and investment processes.

Qualifications, Education, Certifications And/or Other Professional Credentials

• Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related discipline
  • 15+ years of working experience in web-development or solutions architecture, with a proven track record of developing consumer-facing and internal solutions
  • Experience implementing large-scale technological enhancements and/or pivots, including pilot implementation and analysis
  • Excellent understanding of DevOps; Chef and Puppet technique
  • Understanding of multiple programming languages, including at least one front end framework (Angular/React/Vue), such as Python, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Golang, C, C++, etc.
  • Experience working with IT infrastructure and cloud development
  • Experience working with data and DBMS, including legacy and emerging database technologies
  • Experience with RDBMS, NoSQL
  • Experience building highly available customer-facing applications, in a GDHA setting
  • Experience building cloud-native applications
  • Experience with APIs
  • Experience designing highly available and resilient solutions, Automation, identify opportunity of performance improvements, Able to transform traditional monolith architecture stack to modern microservices based loosely decoupled architecture.
  • Experience in 2 or 3 of the following technology areas. Infrastructure, Security, DevOps, Application Development, Database technologies, Cloud computing (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Master's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or related discipline
  • 5+ years of working experience in the financial services industry
  • UI/UX experience, including relevant web/application branding techniques
  • Comfortable/ experience navigating large corporate structure
  • Executive speaking and presentation skills- Formal presentations, white-boarding, large and small group presentations

Hours & Work Schedule

• Hours per Week: 40
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday

Pay Transparency

The salary range for this position is $182,000 – $254,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn additional incentive earnings (if applicable). Actual pay is based on various factors including, but not limited to, the budget, work location, and relevant skills and experience. We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time‑away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits Some job boards have started using jobseeker‑reported data to estimate salary ranges for roles. If you apply and qualify for this role, a recruiter will discuss accurate pay guidance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.

Why Work for Us

At Citizens, you'll find a customer‑centric culture built around helping our customers and giving back to our local communities. When you join our team, you are part of a supportive and collaborative workforce, with access to training and tools to accelerate your potential and maximize your career growth.

Posting End Date: 08/18/2026