Senior IT Architect

Xcel Energy; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Incentive Program

Medical/Pharmacy Plan

Dental Plan

Vision Plan

401(k) Plan

Job summary

Xcel Energy seeks a Senior IT Architect to own and govern architecture design patterns, data tools, and principles aligned with IT strategy. You will collaborate across units to support end-to-end capabilities, report on health and risk, and lead architectural governance.

The role requires deep enterprise architecture knowledge, strong communication, and leadership in large projects; hybrid/onsite flexibility is provided in a dynamic energy environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; 10+ years in architecture.
• Experience across network, infrastructure, software, hosting, security.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Familiarity with TOGAF/FEAF is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Operations: review/approve projects for standards compliance.
• Provide guidance to delivery teams on optimal architecture choices.
• Lead cross-organizational work and govern reference architecture adoption.
• Participate in IT strategy creation and roadmapping aligned with enterprise standards.

Skills

Architectural leadership

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Technology/Science/Business or related field

10+ years of related functional experience

Tools

TOGAF/FEAF

GIS (Smallworld/ESRI)

SQL Server

Oracle RDMS

MEAN/LAMP/.NET stacks

Job description

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.Position SummaryThe Senior IT Architect is a key role within the IT organization. They own and govern the use of architecture design patterns, data tools and principles that align to the overarching IT Strategy and optimally serve their respective domain. They consult and collaborate cross-organizationally to support delivery of end-to-end capabilities. They own, report, and consult on the overall health and corresponding risks of the Technical domain.Essential ResponsibilitiesArchitectural Operations: Review and approve projects and work efforts to ensure that they are compliant with architectural standards. Track and manage exceptions to standards. Continuously improve operational processes. Assess, report, and make recommendations to eliminate operational risk related to technology or architecture.Technical Expertise: Provide consultation and direction to delivery and operational teams on optimal architecture for respective solutions. Maintain state-of-the-art expertise of enterprise architecture technologies, frameworks, and industry innovations.Leadership: Lead work cross-organizationally through coaching and feedback, and through significant interactions and influence with leaders. Govern work efforts to ensure alignment with reference architecture, IT strategy and policy. Collaborate cross-organizationally to influence alignment on and adoption of enterprise architecture standards.Planning and Strategy: Participate in creation and renewal of an overarching IT strategy. Develop and enforce reference architecture standards that are aligned with IT strategies and principles. Contribute to architecture road maps and provide input to technology roadmaps. Ensure the domain IT Strategy align with Enterprise Architecture framework and standards.Minimum RequirementsBachelor's degree in Technology, Science, Business or related field, or 4 years of experience equivalent to the position.Ten years of related functional experience.Architecture acumen across multiple domains including network, infrastructure, software, hosting models, mobile platforms, and security.Exposure to diverse systems, technologies and processing environments in a large corporate setting.Project solution architecture experience.General knowledge of core aspects of enterprise architecture (Software, Hardware, Network, Integration, Data, hosting models, platform types, etc.).Strong analytical, problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.Extensive knowledge of future technology trends within area of expertise.Demonstrated leadership on technical aspects of large scale projects.Excellent communication skills, effective with varying organizational levels and skill sets.Excellent Relationship Management and collaboration skills, with a track record of working as one team cross-organizationally to drive innovation and business results.Preferred Requirements10+ years of experience in solutioning and implementing large scale systems.6+ years of work experience delivering GIS solutions in Smallworld and/or ESRI.6+ years of providing thought and capability leadership in areas of enterprise field assets.6+ years delivering enterprise technical solutions to meet business objectives and architecting end to end technical enterprise solutions.5+ Years developing technical solutions with stacks such as MEAN, LAMP or Microsoft .NET.5+ years SQL Server experience with Relational Database Management Systems (RDMS) such as Oracle or MSQL.Demonstrated Experience delivering of technology solutions through the full Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).Experience with Architectural frameworks such as TOGAF or FEAF a plus.Experience with Workflow management practices and tools a plus.Experience with Server & Network Configurations a plus.Experience in the Energy or Utility Business a plus.If not located in Minneapolis or Denver, must be willing to travel to these locations.Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.Our ValuesConnected, Committed, Trustworthy, SafeOur Employee CommitmentsWork that makes a differenceA team you can count ofOpportunities to growRewards that help you thriveXcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.Non-BargainingThe anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $125,000.00 to $170,000.00 per yearThis position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, Health Care Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental LeaveBenefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.Deadline to Apply: 09/30/26EEO is the Law (PDF) | Equal Opportunity Statement (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF)All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company's information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.Accessibility StatementXcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form. For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.