Director, Architecture

Director, Architecture
Ameritas Life-Lincoln HYB-NEHY2
Information Technology
Full-time

This is a hybrid role working partially in-office (Lincoln, NE) and partially from home.

Lead the Enterprise Architecture & Technology Consulting team and help set strategic IT direction for Ameritas.

Provide leadership to the architecture and technology consulting team. Continually refine the architecture vision and roadmap for the enterprise. This role will lead the architecture strategy by leveraging technology consulting expertise and roadmap execution to facilitate the conversion of business strategies into technical direction. Achieve long term goals for technology landscape simplification and innovation.

Keep abreast of existing, new, and emerging technologies and processing environments. Maintain knowledge of business ecosystems including cloud, SaaS, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), APIs, Machine Learning, and analytics. Manage and navigate effectively in a matrix environment to lead large groups with differing priorities towards a common goal. Utilize a practical approach to decision making and problem solving that is principle-based, unbiased, and displays intellectual integrity.

At Ameritas, our mission is Fulfilling Life. We do that in many ways, but especially by helping people invest in themselves by offering trusted financial products and advice. Because we believe everyone should be happy, healthy, and financially secure, we work hard to provide trusted financial products and valued guidance, including individual life and disability insurance, employee benefits, retirement planning, investments, and wealth management services.

What you do

• Lead the development of the enterprise architecture function and team of architects.
• Lead and influence the enterprise architecture direction with key leaders and align team structure to meet the IT strategic goals. Recognize business needs and provide leadership when changes are needed on information technology best practices and methodologies. Work in a highly collaborative way to support the business strategies.
• Advance Enterprise Architecture team by providing vision, objectives, transparency to progress, articulating results to key stakeholders and leaders.
• Review and structure the team for optimal allocation of responsibilities across enterprise and solution architecture requirements. Build clear career tracks for success of the architecture team.
• Build a business partnership and collaborative mindset with the team members.
• Assess and recommend the organizational resources and cultural change necessary to support the enterprise architecture function.
• Drive enterprise IT strategies by identifying opportunities and prioritizing based on value add and efficiencies.
• Collaborate with the IT leadership team to develop and maintain the enterprise-wide application, infrastructure, and security technology roadmap.
• Define application rationalization strategy, and guide execution roadmap.
• Establish and track key metrics to demonstrate the progress of the architecture function.
• Ownership of enterprise IT standards; define requirements, principles, and models that guide technology decision-making.
• Maintain documentation of architectures, system landscape, and logical data interfaces.
• Direct team of architects and collaborate with IT system owners to define and design technical platforms, communicate value of chosen architecture, and establish technical direction for projects.
• Responsible for allocating solution architects to projects for defining technical direction, guiding resolution of technical architecture issues, and conducting architecture reviews as per defined governance process.
• Analyze IT industry and market trends to determine their impact on the enterprise.
• Promote the Mission, Vision, and Values of Ameritas.

What you bring

• Master's or bachelor's degree in business, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, system analysis or a related field of study, or equivalent combination of experience.
• 7-10 year's relevant experience in architecture domain required.
• 4-7 year's leadership, management, or supervisory experience required.
• Strong people leadership skills, with ability to manage by influence and guide key technology architecture and design decisions in close collaboration with IT leaders and business partners required.
• Exceptional soft and interpersonal skills, including teamwork, facilitation, and negotiation required.
• Consultation and project management skills required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including technical writing. Ability to effectively articulate complex concepts to a diverse business community.
• Insurance industry experience desired but not required.

What We Offer

• Our company motto is "Fulfilling Life" and we take that job seriously, with a heavy commitment to volunteering and community support, employee well-being, and providing quality products and services that help our customers create a brighter future.
• Being a mutual-based organization, the return on our investment goes back into the company, to benefit our members/customers.
• We're committed to professional development, opportunity, inclusion and diversity. Team building and collaboration are also priorities.
• A total rewards package with all the comprehensive health and welfare benefits you'd expect, including competitive pay and incentives, 401(k), flexible work schedules and time off to care for yourself and others.
• Additional popular benefits, including tuition reimbursement, and student loan repayment, an incentivized well-being program, adoption assistance, paid time off for volunteering, training, and career development opportunities.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Ameritas has a reputation as a company that cares, and because everyone should feel safe bringing their authentic, whole self to work, we're committed to an inclusive culture and diverse workplace, enriched by our individual differences. We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer that hires based on qualifications, positive attitude, and exemplary work ethic, regardless of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.