Principal Architect

MSIG USA; New Jersey; On-site; USD 240,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare and Retirement Benefits

401(k) with employer match

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Parental leave

Job summary

MSIG USA is seeking a Principal Architect to lead enterprise architecture across applications, data, AI, and integrations. You will drive cloud modernization, platform consolidation, and governance while partnering with executives to translate strategy into concrete architectural plans.

The role requires deep technical expertise, strong business acumen, and the ability to operate at strategic and hands-on levels to enable innovation, security, and value realization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, information systems, engineering, or related field.
• Master’s degree is preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, architecture, or data disciplines.
• 5+ years leading enterprise-scale architecture initiatives.
• Experience governing architecture across applications, data, cloud, and AI technologies.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve enterprise architecture strategies across applications, data, AI, and analytics.
• Lead enterprise data architecture standards and governance.
• Define AI architecture patterns, governance, lifecycle management, and responsible AI practices.
• Collaborate with executives to translate business strategy into architecture and execution plans.
• Guide modernization, cloud adoption, API enablement, and platform consolidation.
• Mentor architects and engineers to strengthen architectural capabilities.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

AI strategy & governance

Cloud platforms

Leadership & mentoring

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Info Systems/Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Azure

Copilot / AI tools

APIs & SOA

Cloud transformation

Job description

Company Overview

MSIG USA is the US-based subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s top P&C carriers and a global Class 15 insurer, with A+ ratings and a reach that spans 40+ countries and regions. Leveraging our 350-year heritage, MSIG USA brings the financial strength, expertise, and global footprint to offer commercial insurance solutions that address your business’s unique risks.

MSIG USA continues to grow!

Company Overview

MSIG USA is the US-based subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s top P&C carriers and a global Class 15 insurer, with A+ ratings and a reach that spans 40+ countries and regions. Leveraging our 350-year heritage, MSIG USA brings the financial strength, expertise, and global footprint to offer commercial insurance solutions that address your business’s unique risks.

The Principal Architect serves as a senior technology leader responsible for defining and advancing the enterprise architecture strategy across applications, data, integration, analytics, and artificial intelligence capabilities. This role ensures that business solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, and aligned with enterprise objectives while enabling innovation, operational efficiency, and business growth.

This role is expected to operate at both strategic and hands‑on levels, providing architectural leadership across solution design, platform modernization, data ecosystems, AI adoption, cloud transformation, and enterprise integration initiatives. The ideal candidate combines deep technology expertise with strong business acumen, systems thinking, and the ability to translate business strategy into practical architecture and execution plans.

The Principal Architect is also expected to champion responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including AI and GenAI capabilities, while ensuring appropriate governance, security, compliance, risk management, and business value realization.

Essential Functions

Application Architecture & Solution Design

• Lead architecture efforts for enterprise applications, platforms, and digital experiences.
• Define target-state application architectures that support business agility, scalability, resilience, and operational excellence.
• Drive application modernization strategies include cloud adoption, platform consolidation, API enablement, and service-oriented architecture.
• Partner with engineering and product teams to establish scalable application patterns, reusable services, and shared capabilities.
• Guide solution architecture decisions for major initiatives while balancing business priorities, technical constraints, risk, and cost considerations.
• Promote reuse, simplification, and standardization across applications and platforms.
• Ensure architecture decisions support long-term maintainability, performance, security, and operational supportability.

Enterprise Data Architecture

• Define and evolve enterprise data architecture strategies, including operational, analytical, reporting, and AI data foundations.
• Establish data architecture standards covering data domains, master/reference data, metadata, lineage, governance, and quality management.
• Partner with business and data leaders to define enterprise information models and common business data definitions.
• Drive adoption of enterprise data platforms and capabilities supporting reporting, analytics, machine learning, and AI initiatives.
• Ensure data architectures support traceability, auditability, scalability, regulatory compliance, and business transparency.
• Lead architecture decisions involving data integration, data movement, event-driven architectures, APIs, and enterprise information exchange.
• Identify opportunities to improve data accessibility, quality, consistency, and business value across the organization.

AI Strategy, Architecture & Enablement

• Define enterprise AI architecture and adoption strategies aligned with organizational goals and responsible AI principles.
• Partner with business leaders to identify and prioritize AI use cases that improve productivity, decision‑making, customer experiences, and operational outcomes.
• Establish architectural patterns, standards, and governance for AI, GenAI, machine learning, intelligent automation, and decision‑support capabilities.
• Drive integration of AI capabilities into business applications, workflows, analytics platforms, and enterprise processes.
• Collaborate with security, legal, compliance, and risk stakeholders to ensure AI solutions are implemented responsibly and securely.
• Provide guidance on AI platforms, model lifecycle management, prompt engineering practices, knowledge management, and AI operationalization.
• Promote AI literacy and adoption across business and technology teams through education, coaching, and enterprise enablement activities.

Technology Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, business stakeholders, product teams, and delivery organizations.
• Facilitate architecture workshops, strategy discussions, solution reviews, and technology planning sessions.
• Translate complex business and technical challenges into clear architectural recommendations and execution plans.
• Communicate architectural direction, tradeoffs, risks, and opportunities to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Build strong partnerships across business functions, technology teams, vendors, and external partners.
• Influence enterprise investment decisions through strategic technology planning and architecture guidance.
• Foster collaboration and alignment across multiple initiatives, programs, and organizational teams.

Delivery Support & Continuous Improvement

• Guide major initiatives from concept through implementation, ensuring architectural integrity throughout delivery.
• Support Agile delivery teams by providing architecture guidance, technical leadership, and design oversight.
• Review solution designs, implementation approaches, and technology choices for alignment with enterprise strategy.
• Identify technical debt, modernization opportunities, operational risks, and improvement initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement in architecture practices, technology adoption, engineering standards, and delivery effectiveness.
• Mentor architects, engineers, analysts, and technology leaders to strengthen enterprise architecture capabilities and technical excellence.

Qualifications, Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field required.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, solution architecture, enterprise architecture, data architecture, or related disciplines.
• 5+ years of experience leading enterprise‑scale architecture initiatives.
• Experience defining and governing architecture across applications, data platforms, integrations, cloud environments, and AI technologies.
• Demonstrated success partnering with executive leadership and business stakeholders to deliver strategic technology outcomes.
• Experience leading digital transformation, modernization, cloud adoption, or data platform initiatives.
• Experience implementing enterprise data, analytics, machine learning, or GenAI solutions preferred.
• Insurance industry experience strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Deep understanding of enterprise architecture, application architecture, data architecture, integration patterns, and cloud technologies.
• Strong systems‑thinking mindset with the ability to understand complex interactions across people, process, data, applications, and technology ecosystems.
• Expertise in enterprise integration, APIs, event‑driven architecture, and distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of data management principles, governance, metadata, lineage, analytics, and information architecture.
• Familiarity with AI, GenAI, machine learning, agent‑based architecture, knowledge retrieval, and intelligent automation platforms.
• Ability to balance strategic vision with practical execution and delivery realities.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to align technology investments with measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority across large, matrixed organizations.
• Experience with cloud platforms, enterprise data platforms, Azure ecosystem technologies, Microsoft Copilot, and AI‑enabled productivity tools.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills with a passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and technology excellence.

Success Measures

The Principal Architect Is Successful When

• Enterprise architecture decisions consistently support business outcomes and technology strategy.
• Application, data, and AI investments accelerate business modernization and operational efficiency.
• Technology platforms become more scalable, reusable, secure, and maintainable.
• Data is increasingly trusted, accessible, governed, and leveraged for decision‑making.
• AI capabilities deliver measurable business value while meeting governance and responsible AI standards.
• Architecture practices improve delivery quality, speed, alignment, and organizational effectiveness.

Director‑equivalent IC level (Principal Architect)

This would likely align at a director‑equivalent IC level (Principal Architect) and position the role as one of the senior‑most architecture leaders below a Chief Architect or Head of Enterprise Architecture.

SALARY: The estimated salary range for this position is $240,000.00 - $270,000.00 per year. This is a good‑faith assessment of the salary range for this position only. In determining the actual salary within this range, MSIG USA will consider a candidate’s relevant experience, location, and other job‑related factors.

Additional Benefits

• Healthcare and Retirement Benefits
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with a generous employer match and profit‑sharing contribution
• Wellness incentive program
• Life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Flexible spending programs
• Short‑term and long‑term disability plans
• Additional Benefit Programs
• Paid time off program
• Paid charitable leave
• Paid parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Personal insurance (auto/homeowners) discounts

It's an exciting time for our company and a great opportunity to join a financially sound and growing global insurance group!

It is the policy of MSIG USA to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, MSIG USA will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.