Global KYC Senior Architect, Solution Engineering (Hybrid)

The Western Union Company; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K Plan

Tuition Assistance

Parental Leave

Employee Discount

Life Insurance

Job summary

The Western Union Company in Austin, TX is seeking a Senior Architect, Solution Engineering to spearhead the design, modernization, and global operation of KYC and regulatory compliance platforms. You will translate regulatory requirements into secure, scalable solutions leveraging Java, Spring Boot, AWS, Kafka, and microservices, with strong emphasis on observability and audit-ready data lineage.

You'll drive proof-of-concept efforts, cloud adoption, and platform modernization across regions,

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, solution architecture, enterprise architecture, or large-scale application design.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience building cloud-native applications and microservices using Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, and modern software engineering practices.
• 5+ years of experience designing and deploying solutions on AWS (or other major cloud platforms), including cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, and enterprise-scale integrations.
• 2+ years of experience leading or participating in proof-of-concept (POC) initiatives that validate architecture strategies, technology decisions, and modernization approaches.
• 4+ years of experience designing and integrating enterprise platforms, including vendor solutions, third-party APIs, and distributed application ecosystems.
• 4+ years of experience designing microservices architectures, API-first solutions, event-driven architectures, and enterprise integration patterns.
• 4+ years of experience designing highly available, resilient, observable, and scalable distributed systems.
• 3+ years of experience establishing observability strategies, monitoring frameworks, logging standards, alerting capabilities, and operational excellence practices.
• 4+ years of experience working with AWS services, Kafka, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and cloud-native operational tooling.
• 4+ years of experience creating architecture documentation, solution designs, technology roadmaps, process flows, system interaction diagrams, and executive-level technical presentations.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience with technologies such as Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes, Splunk, Dynatrace, CloudWatch, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, or similar enterprise platforms.
• 1+ years of experience using AI-assisted engineering tools, to analyze requirements, identify architectural trade-offs, and recommend optimized technology choices that improve solution quality and reduce delivery risk.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, evolution, and modernization of global KYC and compliance platforms.
• Translate business and regulatory requirements into secure, scalable technical solutions.
• Lead POC initiatives to validate architecture patterns and migration approaches.
• Drive cloud adoption, microservices orchestration, and legacy modernization programs.
• Establish architecture standards for service boundaries, API governance, observability, and data lineage.
• Mentor engineering teams on CI/CD, production readiness, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate with product, compliance, engineering, architecture, and vendor teams to support growth and regulatory obligations.
• Influence architecture standards and best practices across organizations.

Skills

Cloud-native architectures

Java / Spring Boot

AWS

Microservices

Observability

Data lineage

Architecture governance

POC leadership

AI-assisted engineering

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering/IT

Tools

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

Splunk

Dynatrace

CloudWatch

PostgreSQL

MySQL

Snowflake

Job description

Role Responsibilities

As a Senior Architect, Solution Engineering, you will own the design, evolution, and modernization of critical global Know Your Customer (KYC) and compliance platforms. You will translate complex business and regulatory requirements into secure, scalable, and resilient technical solutions that support millions of events daily. Leveraging modern architecture practices, cloud-native technologies, and deep engineering expertise, you will guide strategic technical decisions, drive modernization initiatives, and establish solutions with proactive observability, audit-grade data lineage, and operational resilience. You will lead architectural transformation initiatives, including proof-of-concept efforts, cloud adoption strategies, microservices of orchestration, and legacy modernization programs. Working closely with product, engineering, compliance, business, and vendor stakeholders, you will define the technical foundation that enables the organization to meet regulatory obligations while supporting growth, innovation, and operational excellence.

Lead the architecture, design, and evolution of enterprise KYC and regulatory compliance platforms supporting global operations. Design secure, scalable, resilient, and fault-tolerant solutions that incorporate redundancy, failover, graceful degradation, observability, and rapid recovery patterns for mission-critical systems. Lead and execute proof-of-concept (POC) initiatives to validate architecture patterns, emerging technologies, integration approaches, and strategic technical decisions. Drive platform modernization initiatives by assessing current-state environments, defining target-state architectures, developing transformation roadmaps, and implementing cloud adoption and incremental migration strategies. Design and orchestrate microservices-based solutions utilizing Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, AWS, Kafka, event-driven architecture, and enterprise integration patterns. Establish architecture standards for service boundaries, API governance, event orchestration, resilience, observability, data lineage, traceability, and audit readiness across distributed systems. Design solutions that provide complete regulatory traceability, including decision provenance, control-change governance, anomaly monitoring, alerting, and audit-ready evidence across KYC and compliance workflows. Create architecture artifacts, solution designs, process flows, system interaction diagrams, and technology roadmaps that guide implementation and support executive decision-making. Partner with business, product, compliance, engineering, architecture, and vendor teams to translate business and regulatory requirements into scalable, secure, and maintainable technology solutions. Lead architecture reviews, design governance, and technical decision-making while mentoring engineering teams on best practices, CI/CD, production readiness, and operational excellence. Drive innovation through AI-assisted development, automation, cloud-native technologies, and emerging architecture practices to improve engineering productivity, accelerate delivery, and support organizational growth. Strength in guiding teams through complex system migrations and legacy decoupling.

Role Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, solution architecture, enterprise architecture, or large-scale application design.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience building cloud-native applications and microservices using Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, and modern software engineering practices.
• 5+ years of experience designing and deploying solutions on AWS (or other major cloud platforms), including cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, and enterprise-scale integrations.
• 2+ years of experience leading or participating in proof-of-concept (POC) initiatives that validate architecture strategies, technology decisions, and modernization approaches.
• 4+ years of experience designing and integrating enterprise platforms, including vendor solutions, third-party APIs, and distributed application ecosystems.
• 4+ years of experience designing microservices architectures, API-first solutions, event-driven architectures, and enterprise integration patterns.
• 4+ years of experience designing highly available, resilient, observable, and scalable distributed systems.
• 3+ years of experience establishing observability strategies, monitoring frameworks, logging standards, alerting capabilities, and operational excellence practices.
• 4+ years of experience working with AWS services, Kafka, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and cloud-native operational tooling.
• 4+ years of experience creating architecture documentation, solution designs, technology roadmaps, process flows, system interaction diagrams, and executive-level technical presentations.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience with technologies such as Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes, Splunk, Dynatrace, CloudWatch, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, or similar enterprise platforms.
• 1+ years of experience using AI-assisted engineering tools, to analyze requirements, identify architectural trade-offs, and recommend optimized technology choices that improve solution quality and reduce delivery risk.

*Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Western Union will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field.
• Experience in Financial Services, Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), Fraud Prevention, Regulatory Technology, or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience leading legacy modernization, re-platforming, re-architecting, cloud migration, or digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience designing and implementing advanced microservices of orchestration patterns, including service mesh architectures, API gateways, event choreography, event orchestration, and saga patterns.
• Strong understanding of platform engineering, domain-driven design, event streaming, observability, resilience engineering, and AI-augmented software development practices.
• Experience supporting large-scale global platforms processing high transaction volumes and operating across multiple regions.
• Experience mentoring engineers, influencing architecture standards, and establishing enterprise technology best practices across organizations.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate architecture strategy and technical recommendations to executives, business leaders, engineers, compliance teams, and external partners.

Workplace Option

HYBRID - Western Union values in-person collaboration, problem solving, and ideation whenever possible. We believe this fosters common ways of working and supports how we execute initiatives for our customers. The expectation is to work from the office a minimum of three days a week.

Location Options: 11902 Burnet Rd., Suite 350, Austin, TX 78758 (preferred) 5 Concourse Pkwy NE, Suite 2300 Atlanta, GA 30328

Benefits

Benefits You will also have access to short-term incentives, multiple health insurance options, accident and life insurance, and access to best-in-class development platforms, to name a few (https://careers.westernunion.com/global-benefits/). Please see the benefits below specific to your country. If applicable, additional role-specific benefits will be mentioned during your interview process or in an offer of employment. Your United States specific benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance Tuition Assistance Program Employee Discount Program Parental Leave 401K Plan For residents of Colorado, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania: Please do not respond to any questions on this initial application that may seek age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You may also redact this information from any materials you submit during the application process. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Salary

The annual base salary range is $165,000 to $180,000 per year. Total on-target compensation includes a base salary and short-term and long-term incentives that align with individual and company performance. Actual salaries will vary based on candidates’ qualifications, skills, and competencies.

Other Details

We are passionate about honoring our employee's identity and fostering a feeling of belonging. Our commitment is to provide an inclusive culture that celebrates the unique backgrounds and perspectives of our global teams while reflecting on the communities we serve. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, political affiliation, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or veteran status. The company will provide accommodation to applicants, including those with disabilities, during the recruitment process, following applicable laws.