Senior Solutions and Data Architect - Asset Management

Thrivent; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 161,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401k + pension

Job summary

Thrivent is seeking a Senior Solutions and Data Architect to set architectural direction across Asset Management, guiding data models, platform choices, and end-to-end integration for research, portfolio management, and reporting.

You will partner with business, analysts, and engineering to translate requirements into scalable designs, lead modernization efforts, ensure security and governance, and mentor a team to maintain high standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 8 years in architecture and/or senior engineering roles, with deep experience in data architecture for complex domains.
• Financial Services experience with Asset Management / Capital Markets domain knowledge, including familiarity with investment research, portfolio, trading, operations, risk, and reporting workflows.
• Experience designing modern data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, lakehouse, dbt) and working effectively with data engineering and application engineering teams using cloud-native deployment practices.

Responsibilities

• Shape the modern data architecture for front-to-back investment workflows.
• Own data models and standards (IBOR, ABOR, PBOR) with consistent definitions.
• Define patterns for processing unstructured data and establish data governance practices.
• Provide architectural leadership for large programs and modernization efforts.
• Review and approve solution designs ensuring security, standards, and reliability.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent experience

Job description

We exist to help people achieve financial clarity. At Thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. Driven by a higher purpose at our core, we are committed to providing financial advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs to help people make the most of all they’ve been given.

At our core, we are a membership-owned fraternal organization, as well as a holistic financial services organization, dedicated to serving the unique needs of our clients. We focus on their goals and priorities, guiding them toward financial choices that will help them live the life they want today—and tomorrow.

Job Summary

The Senior Solutions and Data Architect is a trusted advisor responsible for setting architectural direction and advancing technical excellence across Asset Management. This role is a subject matter expert who leads both data and solution architecture for critical investment vendor platforms and internally built applications, ensuring scalable, secure, and well-governed systems that support research, portfolio management, trading, operations, and downstream reporting workflows.

This role partners closely with the business, analysts and engineering teams to translate business needs into technical designs and a clear, phased roadmap balancing rapid delivery with long-term architectural integrity. Additionally, in collaboration with Thrivent’s corporate IT function, this architect establishes architecture patterns and data product standards (metadata, lineage, quality, access controls, and regulatory traceability), advises on master data management and entity resolution for critical investment domains, and helps enable front-to-back workflow connectivity across investment, operations, and reporting processes.

This role is also responsible for evaluating and guiding adoption of modern data platforms through proofs of concept and benchmarks, shaping architecture decisions across internal and vendor platforms, and helping modernize both cloud and legacy environments with resilient, secure integration patterns.

The Senior Solutions and Data Architect identifies and validates high-value AI and emerging-technology use cases, defines reusable guardrails in partnership with security/risk/compliance/enterprise architecture. Finally, the architect is expected to provide hands‑on leadership through mentoring, coaching, and enabling a culture of continuous improvement.

Job Responsibilities and Duties

Data Architecture

• Shapethemoderndata architecture, translatingfront-officeinvestment andoperationsneedsinto a clear, phased roadmap.
• Own core investment data models and standards (IBOR, ABOR, PBOR, and other related data sets) with consistent,canonicaldefinitions.
• Definepatterns for processing unstructured and semi structured data sets.
• Establish data product standardsaligned with enterprise architectureto ensure data is reliable, governed,compliant,and fit for analytics, risk, reporting,operational,andfront-officeinvestment workflows.
• Contributehands‑onexpertisetodata governance, including metadata, lineage, data quality, and regulatory traceability.
• Evaluate and guideadoptionof modern data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks), usingproof of conceptsand benchmarks to inform design decisions.
• Partner closely withinvestmentdataenablementteam to design solutions, review implementations, andfacilitatedelivery.
• Developdata security, access controls, and privacy requirements.
• Establish data observability and reliability practices tomonitorpipeline health, quality, and SLAs.

Solution Architecture

• Partner with investment and technology teams to translate business needs into scalable solution designs and roadmapsthat support front office, operational, and reporting workflows.
• Designend‑to‑endarchitectures and integrationpatterns acrossinternal and vendorplatforms, ensuring reliable data flow, security, and resilience.
• Workhands‑onwith engineering teams throughout delivery to refine. designs,validatepatterns,removearchitecturalblockers, and ensure solutions work as intendedin production.
• Define and promote architecture patterns and engineering standardsin partnership with corporate IT and enterprise architecture, ensuring consistent adoption across teams.
• Provide architectural leadership for large programs, platform modernization, and vendor/platformevaluations, influencing buy, build, and integration decisions.
• Review and approve solution designs to ensure alignment with enterprise standards, security, and operating needs.
• Lead cloud and legacy modernization efforts, including guidance onmulti‑region, resilient architectures.
• Contribute code and automation as needed (e.g., services, infrastructure templates, accelerators).
• Support agile delivery by balancing rapid iteration withlong‑termarchitectural integrity.

Modern Technology Exploration

• Validatehigh‑valueAI use cases across Asset Managementusing proofs of concept todemonstratevalue,feasibility, and governance.
• Define secure, reusable AIarchitecturesand guardrails (e.g., agent patterns, MCP-style integration, access controls, auditability) in partnership withenterprise architecture,security, risk, andengineeringteams.
• Continuously assess emerging technologies, including engineering productivity tools, to drive efficiency, accuracy, and faster delivery.

Leadership

• Provideleadershipby mentoring, coaching, anddevelopinganalysts and engineers through a hands‑on, team-based partnership approach.
• Model Thrivent’s leadership competencies — courage, collaboration, and commitment — bydemonstratingresiliency, making thoughtful decisions, and holding self and others accountable.
• Support and foster an environment focused on continuous improvement, exceptional employee engagement, and unwavering commitment to clients. Shapes a culture aligned to Thrivent’s purpose, promise, and values, ensuring trust and reputation remain strong.
• Model Thrivent’s leadership competencies – Model the Way, Rally the Team, and Deliver Outcomes.
• Embrace and support an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement, exceptional employee engagement, and an unwavering commitment to our clients. Support a culture thatrepresentsthe Thrivent purpose, promise and values, ensuring that Thrivent’s trust and reputation remain strong with its clients.

Job Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 8 years in architecture and/or senior engineering roles, with deep experience in data architecture for complex domains.
• Financial Services experiencewithAsset Management / Capital Markets domain knowledge, including familiarity with investment research, portfolio, trading, operations, risk, and reporting workflows.
• Experience in complex engineering environments, taking abstract concepts and ideas and formulating a detailed software engineering plan to deliver.
• Strong background in data modeling (conceptual/logical/physical), integration patterns, metadata/lineage, and data governance operating models, ideally in support of investment workflows.
• Experience designing modern data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks,lakehouse,dbt)and working effectively with data engineeringandapplicationengineering teams usingcloud-native deployment practices.
• Hands-on understanding of distributed data processing, orchestration, and observability concepts (batch and streaming where applicable), including the ability to prototype and troubleshoot pipelines and integrations.
• Ability to communicate architecture clearly to both business and technology audiences; comfortable influencing in ambiguous, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Proven leadership experience to train and partner with peers,stakeholdersand teams.
• Demonstrated successful problem-solving skills with ability to work through ambiguity.

Preferred:

• Experience with investment platforms, front-office technology,and data ecosystems (e.g.,Aladdin Studio,FactSetAPI and MCP offering, BloombergDL+) and associated integration patterns.
• Familiarity with data cataloging/governance platforms and practices (business glossary, stewardship workflows, automated lineage).
• Exposure to AI/agentic architectures, including safe tool use patterns and standardization approaches such as MCP servers.Production AI experiencestronglypreferred.
• Programming/scripting experience (e.g., Python, SQL; Javaa plus) with comfort producing prototypes/reference implementations andparticipatingin code reviews.

Additional Information

• This position requires you to work on-site in Minneapolis, MN a minimum of three days a week.

Pay Transparency

Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $161,072.00 - $217,920.00 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.

Other

Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.

The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.

Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.

Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to [e-mail] or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.