Lead Architect - Vice President

Citi; New York (NY); On-site; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Citi seeks a Lead Architect - Vice President to steer technology strategy and define end-to-end architecture for mission-critical systems in a large-scale Java ecosystem.

You will lead microservices design with Spring Boot, drive event-driven patterns using Kafka, and guide data modeling, security, and cloud-native deployment across teams.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in software engineering with architecture focus.
• Deep proficiency in Core Java, concurrency, and JVM internals.
• Proven leadership delivering distributed, scalable enterprise systems.
• Expertise with Spring Framework and Spring Boot for microservices.
• Experience designing event-driven systems with Kafka.
• Strong database modeling and performance tuning skills.
• Hands-on cloud-native and container orchestration experience.
• Proven Agile leadership across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and own end-to-end technical architecture for major systems.
• Lead design and implementation of large-scale microservices using Spring Boot.
• Provide technical leadership with hands-on Java contributions.
• Architect and govern enterprise event-driven systems with Kafka.
• Oversee data modeling, security, and performance across systems.
• Govern lifecycle from planning to deployment and long-term support.
• Enforce cloud-native, CI/CD practices and containerization standards.
• Champion Agile practices and engineering excellence.
• Lead security reviews and mitigate architectural risks.
• Mentor senior engineers and promote technical growth.

Skills

Core Java

Architecture Leadership

Spring Boot

Kafka

Database Architecture

Cloud & Kubernetes

Agile

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Lead Architect - Vice President

Discover your future at Citi

Working at Citi is far more than just a job. A career with us means joining a team of approximately 219,000 dedicated people from around the globe. At Citi, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community and make a real impact.

Job Overview

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Lead Architect to steer our technology team. This senior leadership position is responsible for architecting, designing, and guiding the implementation of mission-critical, high-performance application systems. The ideal candidate is a thought leader with profound expertise in the Java ecosystem, distributed systems, and microservices architectures. You will set the technical direction and strategy, driving innovation and ensuring the delivery of robust, scalable, and secure solutions that align with our long-term business goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Technical Strategy & Architecture: Define and own the end-to-end technical architecture for major application systems. Lead feasibility studies, drive technology selection, and create the strategic roadmap for future development.
• System & Microservices Design: Lead the architectural design and implementation of complex, large-scale microservices ecosystems using the Spring Boot framework. Ensure designs are scalable, resilient, and maintainable.
• Expert-Level Java Development: Provide technical leadership and hands‑on contribution to the development of sophisticated, efficient, and reliable Java code, with a deep focus on advanced multithreading, concurrency, and performance tuning.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Architect and govern enterprise‑grade, event‑driven systems using Kafka and other messaging technologies, establishing best practices for data streaming and asynchronous communication.
• Database & Data Strategy: Oversee the design and optimization of high-throughput database solutions. Define data modeling standards, and ensure data integrity, security, and performance across all systems.
• Lifecycle Governance: Provide technical oversight and governance across the entire software development lifecycle, from strategic planning and analysis to deployment and long-term support.
• Cloud & Containerization Strategy: Define and enforce best practices for containerization (ECS, Kubernetes), cloud-native deployment, and infrastructure-as-code practices to build scalable and automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Agile Leadership: Champion and refine Agile best practices within and across teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and engineering excellence.
• Code Quality & Security Governance: Establish and enforce stringent standards for code quality, performance, and security. Lead security architecture reviews and mandate measures to mitigate risks.
• Mentorship & Technical Leadership: Act as a key technical visionary for the organization. Mentor and develop senior engineers and team leads, fostering a culture of innovation and technical excellence.
• Risk & Compliance Oversight: Drive a culture of proactive risk management and robust compliance. Ensure architectural decisions and development practices align with all applicable laws, policies, and ethical standards.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• Experience: 10-15 years of progressive experience in software engineering, with a significant focus on systems architecture and technical leadership.
• Core Java Mastery: Mastery of Core Java, including deep expertise in advanced concurrency, performance optimization, JVM internals, and the latest language features.
• Architectural Leadership: Proven track record of designing and delivering complex, distributed, and scalable enterprise systems.
• Spring Framework: Expert‑level proficiency with the Spring Framework and Spring Boot for building and operating large‑scale microservices.
• Event-Driven Systems: Proven experience architecting and managing large‑scale, highly available event‑driven systems using Kafka.
• Database Architecture: Expertise in database architecture (SQL and NoSQL), advanced performance tuning, and complex data modeling.
• Cloud & Container Orchestration: Extensive, hands‑on experience with cloud-native technologies, container orchestration (e.g., ECS, Kubernetes), and modern CI/CD practices.
• Agile Methodologies: Demonstrated leadership in maturing and scaling Agile development practices across teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• AI & Prompt Engineering: Strategic experience in leveraging smart AI tools and prompt engineering to accelerate development cycles, improve code quality, and drive analytics.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree preferred

Job Family Group: Technology

Job Family: Applications Development

Time Type: Full time

Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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