Principal Architect – Digital Banking, Credit Union Transformation

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of architectural and technical leadership for intricate digital banking transformations, including migrations from Forge to VeriPark.

• Evaluate current-state environments and establish target-state and transition architectures across digital banking, core banking, integration, cloud, data, identity, security, and third-party systems.

• Spearhead architecture for the VeriChannel, VeriLink, Microsoft Azure, and Dynamics 365/Power Platform ecosystems.

• Develop integration and API strategies that connect digital banking platforms with core banking, payments, CRM, identity, fraud, analytics, and other financial services systems.

• Lead the Design Authority and oversee architecture governance across Aequilibrium, client, and vendor teams.

• Convert complex technical decisions into understandable business implications for CIOs, CTOs, and other executives.

• Guide engineering teams through the processes of architecture, implementation, testing, migration, and go-live.

• Advocate for configuration over customization, prioritize platform upgradeability, ensure security by design, and promote API-first integration.

• Mentor solution architects, technical leads, and engineers.

• Create reusable reference architectures, migration playbooks, integration patterns, and accelerators.

• Assist in defining Aequilibrium’s perspective on digital banking modernization and platform migration.

• Engage in strategic pursuits, client workshops, and technical presentations.

• Cultivate trusted relationships within the Canadian credit union ecosystem and with platform and technology partners.

• Contribute to thought leadership through writing articles, hosting webinars, attending conferences, and participating in industry discussions.

• Identify emerging opportunities as credit unions modernize legacy platforms, merge, and collaborate through shared technology models.

• Establish trusted-advisor relationships with credit union clients.

• Direct architecture for significant digital banking transformations.

• Develop reusable migration patterns and architectural assets.

• Enhance relationships with digital banking technology partners.

• Support winning additional digital banking transformation engagements.

• Mentor and uplift the broader AEQ team’s architecture and engineering capabilities.

⛳️ Requirements

• Must be based in Canada; currently residing in Canada.

• Over 12 years of experience in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, or senior technology leadership.

• Extensive experience within Canadian credit unions, banking, or financial services.

• Proven leadership in at least one major digital banking modernization, platform migration, or similar enterprise transformation from strategy to implementation.

• Strong grasp of digital banking architecture, core banking integration, payments, identity, security, and member-facing digital channels.

• In-depth expertise in APIs, microservices, event-driven architecture, and enterprise integration.

• Strong experience in Microsoft Azure architecture.

• Capability to shift between executive strategy discussions and detailed technical conversations with engineering teams.

• Demonstrated experience leading architecture governance and multidisciplinary delivery teams.

• Exceptional communication and executive stakeholder management skills.

• Practical experience with VeriPark, VeriChannel, and VeriLink is particularly advantageous.

• Experience with Central 1 Forge and the Canadian credit union ecosystem is especially valuable.

• Familiarity with migrating from Forge or another legacy digital banking platform to VeriPark is particularly beneficial.

• Experience with Backbase, ebankIT, Temenos, Intellect Design, or other significant digital banking platforms is particularly valuable.

• Experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform architecture is particularly valuable.

• Established relationships within the Canadian credit union, digital banking, or fintech ecosystem are particularly valuable.

• Demonstrated industry thought leadership through conference speaking, publishing, or participation in banking technology communities is particularly valuable.

• Hands-on experience ensuring compliance with AODA/WCAG AA accessibility standards.

🏝️ Benefits

• Opportunity for contract-to-hire.

• Competitive hourly compensation.

• Chance to build reusable expertise, accelerators, and architectural patterns.

• Opportunities for thought leadership through articles, webinars, conferences, and industry discussions.

• Mentorship and enhancement of architecture and engineering capabilities.