Principal Architect – Enterprise Transformation (Applications, Data & AI, Multi-Cloud) – Wholesale Banking

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced and hands-on Principal Architect to join our APAC Architecture team, reporting directly to the Chief Architect, APAC.

This role is responsible for designing enterprise technology solutions and driving strategic transformation initiatives for Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) clients, with a primary focus on Wholesale Banking.

Working closely with the Chief Architect, APAC, you will shape enterprise solutions spanning Modern Applications, Data & AI, Enterprise Integration, and Multi-Cloud environments. You will partner with business stakeholders, engineering teams, and delivery organisations to solve complex business challenges through scalable, secure, and future-ready technology architectures.

The successful candidate combines deep enterprise architecture expertise with strong

Wholesale Banking domain knowledge, particularly in Corporate Payments, Cash Management, Financial Markets, and Trade Finance. This role is ideal for a hands-on architect who enjoys solving complex technical challenges while working across consulting, presales, and enterprise delivery engagements.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Architecture & Solution Design

• Design end-to-end enterprise solution architectures that align with business objectives, enterprise standards, and technology strategies.

• Develop architecture blueprints, target-state architectures, solution roadmaps, and integration strategies for enterprise transformation programmes.

• Produce high-level and detailed solution designs covering application, integration, infrastructure, security, and non-functional requirements.

• Define reusable architecture patterns, technology standards, and design principles to promote consistency across enterprise solutions.

Enterprise Transformation

• Architect modernization initiatives involving legacy system transformation, cloud adoption, application modernization, and platform consolidation.

• Design cloud-native applications using Microservices, Event-Driven Architecture, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and API-first principles.

• Define enterprise integration approaches between internal platforms, third-party systems, cloud services, and banking applications.

• Recommend technology approaches that improve scalability, resilience, performance, maintainability, and operational efficiency.

Wholesale Banking Solution Architecture

• Design technology solutions supporting Corporate Payments, Cash Management, Financial Markets, Trade Finance, Treasury Services, and Liquidity Management.

• Translate business capabilities and operational requirements into scalable enterprise solution architectures.

• Advise customers on technology modernization opportunities across Wholesale Banking platforms and digital banking ecosystems.

• Ensure solution designs align with banking regulations, operational controls, security requirements, and enterprise risk management practices.

Cloud, Data & AI Architecture

• Design enterprise cloud architectures across AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, hybrid cloud, and private cloud environments.

• Define modern enterprise data architectures supporting analytics, AI/ML, Generative AI, and enterprise data governance.

• Architect scalable data platforms enabling batch processing, real-time data integration, streaming, and intelligent automation.

• Provide technical direction on Kubernetes, containerisation, DevSecOps, Infrastructureas-Code, observability, and platform engineering.

Client Consulting & Presales

• Engage customers to understand business objectives, technology challenges, and transformation priorities.

• Facilitate architecture workshops, solution discovery sessions, and executive-level discussions.

• Lead technical solutioning activities including proposals, RFP/RFI responses, architecture presentations, effort estimation, and Proof of Concepts (POCs).

• Provide strategic technology recommendations and act as a trusted advisor throughout the presales lifecycle.

Architecture Governance & Delivery Assurance

• Review architecture deliverables to ensure alignment with approved solution architecture, enterprise standards, and governance requirements.

• Identify architecture risks, technical dependencies, and implementation challenges while defining appropriate mitigation strategies.

• Provide architectural guidance during implementation to ensure solution integrity throughout development, testing, deployment, and production rollout.

• Conduct architecture reviews and design assurance activities to maintain solution quality, security, and operational readiness.

• Develop reusable architecture assets, reference architectures, design templates, and implementation guidelines to improve delivery consistency.

Requirements

• Minimum 15+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, Platform Engineering, Data Engineering, or Technology Consulting.

• At least 6+ years in senior architecture roles such as Principal Architect, Enterprise Architect, Solution Architect, or Technology Architect.

• Proven experience designing and delivering enterprise-scale transformation programmes across Applications, Cloud, Data, AI, and Banking technology domains.

• Experience working across consulting, presales, solution architecture, and enterprise delivery engagements.

• Experience collaborating with geographically distributed engineering teams across onsite and offshore delivery models.

• Strong domain expertise in Wholesale Banking, including Corporate Payments, Cash Management, Financial Markets, Trade Finance, Treasury Services, and Liquidity Management.

• Good understanding of enterprise banking platforms, transaction processing systems, payment ecosystems, and integration architectures.

• Experience implementing enterprise solutions across one or more Wholesale Banking domains.

• Strong understanding of banking operating models, regulatory requirements, enterprise integration, risk controls, and security considerations.

• Experience applying Data & Analytics to business use cases such as regulatory reporting, fraud detection, customer insights, liquidity analysis, and operational intelligence.

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, containerisation, DevSecOps, CI/CD, distributed systems, cloud platforms, modern data platforms, and AI ecosystems.

• Strong understanding of enterprise architecture frameworks, design patterns, security architecture, scalability, resilience, availability, and performance engineering.

• Experience producing enterprise architecture artefacts including solution blueprints, architecture roadmaps, integration strategies, and reference architectures.

• Strong consulting mindset with the ability to translate business requirements into practical enterprise technology solutions.

• Proven experience supporting technical presales, customer workshops, solution proposals, RFP/RFI responses, and architecture presentations.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and technical storytelling skills.

• Ability to influence both business and technical stakeholders through clear architecture recommendations and solution rationale.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work independently in complex enterprise environments.

• Strong expertise in at least two or more of the following areas:

          Microservices & Event-Driven Architecture

          Modern Data Platforms, AI/ML & Generative AI

          Multi-Cloud, Hybrid Cloud & Private Cloud Architecture

          Enterprise Integration & API Architecture

          Cloud-native Application Modernisation