Executive Director, Application Architecture
The Options Clearing Corporation, Chicago, IL, United States
* Organizational mandate to define and enforce architecture standards at a SIFMU, with real consequences when they are not followed* Executive sponsorship and a leadership team that treats architecture as a strategic function, not a compliance gate* The opportunity to shape how OCC's application portfolio evolves through one of the most significant technology transformation programs in the organization's history
OCC is consolidating its architecture function under a unified, clarity-of-accountability model. The Executive Director of Application Architecture leads the team responsible for shaping OCC's technology strategy across applications, integrations, APIs, tech stack selection, and software design patterns.* Develop and maintain Solution Design documentation standards in collaboration with the rest of the OTSI team* Enforce design patterns and architectural guardrails across teams delivering on both legacy and greenfield systems* Establish non-functional requirements standards: performance, scalability, fault tolerance, observability as first-class architecture concerns* Coordinate with Platform Architecture to ensure application designs reflect infrastructure reality and operational constraints* Serve as the primary architecture partner to Engineering, Product, Financial Risk* Management, and Quantitative Risk Management* Collaborate with Security, QA, and Governance/Risk to ensure architectural decisions satisfy regulatory requirements including Regulation SCI and CPMI-IOSCO principles* Engage with Product Owners, Technology Leads, and senior leadership to translate business requirements into durable architectural strategies* Provide architecture input and review for vendor selections, technology evaluations, and major program decisions* Demonstrated experience defining and enforcing application architecture standards at organizational scale across complex, multi-system portfolios* Deep hands-on background in application architecture — APIs, integration patterns, distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and microservices* Experience with both legacy/brownfield modernization and greenfield cloud-native development* Strong working knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, and quality gate enforcement as architecture concerns* Ability to lead through influence as well as authority — building alignment across Engineering, Security, QA, and Governance without losing the ability to make hard calls* Excellent communication skills — able to represent architecture decisions to executive leadership and translate strategy into actionable standards for development teams* Experience in financial services, particularly regulated environments (SIFMU, clearinghouse, exchange, or bank)* Familiarity with Regulation SCI, CPMI-IOSCO, or equivalent financial market infrastructure regulatory frameworks* Hands-on experience with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures on AWS or equivalent* Experience with scaled agile frameworks (SAFe) in large enterprise delivery programs* Familiarity with AI-assisted development practices and their implications for architecture and standards* A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work* Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education* Student Loan Repayment Assistance* Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely* Generous PTO and Parental leave* 401k Employer Match* Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision* The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.* In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.* We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on* All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.### What We OfferA highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Some of these components include:A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote workTuition Reimbursement to support your continued educationStudent Loan Repayment AssistanceTechnology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotelyGenerous PTO and Parental leaveCompetitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision**OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer**OCC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. OCC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, marital status, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.Numerous studies have shown that people from certain groups are less likely than others to apply to jobs if they believe they do not meet 100% of the requirements.We encourage everyone to review our open positions and apply if you think your experience may be a match, even if you do not meet all of the qualifications. Your perspective may be an element we need to continue building innovative solutions to support the markets and market participants we serve.If you need a disability related accommodation for any part of the application process, please email talentacquisition@theocc.com.The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.### BenefitsA highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Some of these components include:* A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work* Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education* Student Loan Repayment Assistance* Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely* Generous PTO and Parental leave* 401k Employer Match* Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and visionVisit
for more information.### Compensation* The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.* In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.* We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on* All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not #J-18808-Ljbffr
OCC is consolidating its architecture function under a unified, clarity-of-accountability model. The Executive Director of Application Architecture leads the team responsible for shaping OCC's technology strategy across applications, integrations, APIs, tech stack selection, and software design patterns.* Develop and maintain Solution Design documentation standards in collaboration with the rest of the OTSI team* Enforce design patterns and architectural guardrails across teams delivering on both legacy and greenfield systems* Establish non-functional requirements standards: performance, scalability, fault tolerance, observability as first-class architecture concerns* Coordinate with Platform Architecture to ensure application designs reflect infrastructure reality and operational constraints* Serve as the primary architecture partner to Engineering, Product, Financial Risk* Management, and Quantitative Risk Management* Collaborate with Security, QA, and Governance/Risk to ensure architectural decisions satisfy regulatory requirements including Regulation SCI and CPMI-IOSCO principles* Engage with Product Owners, Technology Leads, and senior leadership to translate business requirements into durable architectural strategies* Provide architecture input and review for vendor selections, technology evaluations, and major program decisions* Demonstrated experience defining and enforcing application architecture standards at organizational scale across complex, multi-system portfolios* Deep hands-on background in application architecture — APIs, integration patterns, distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and microservices* Experience with both legacy/brownfield modernization and greenfield cloud-native development* Strong working knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, and quality gate enforcement as architecture concerns* Ability to lead through influence as well as authority — building alignment across Engineering, Security, QA, and Governance without losing the ability to make hard calls* Excellent communication skills — able to represent architecture decisions to executive leadership and translate strategy into actionable standards for development teams* Experience in financial services, particularly regulated environments (SIFMU, clearinghouse, exchange, or bank)* Familiarity with Regulation SCI, CPMI-IOSCO, or equivalent financial market infrastructure regulatory frameworks* Hands-on experience with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures on AWS or equivalent* Experience with scaled agile frameworks (SAFe) in large enterprise delivery programs* Familiarity with AI-assisted development practices and their implications for architecture and standards* A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work* Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education* Student Loan Repayment Assistance* Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely* Generous PTO and Parental leave* 401k Employer Match* Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision* The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.* In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.* We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on* All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.### What We OfferA highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Some of these components include:A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote workTuition Reimbursement to support your continued educationStudent Loan Repayment AssistanceTechnology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotelyGenerous PTO and Parental leaveCompetitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision**OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer**OCC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. OCC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, marital status, religion, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.Numerous studies have shown that people from certain groups are less likely than others to apply to jobs if they believe they do not meet 100% of the requirements.We encourage everyone to review our open positions and apply if you think your experience may be a match, even if you do not meet all of the qualifications. Your perspective may be an element we need to continue building innovative solutions to support the markets and market participants we serve.If you need a disability related accommodation for any part of the application process, please email talentacquisition@theocc.com.The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.### BenefitsA highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Some of these components include:* A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work* Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education* Student Loan Repayment Assistance* Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely* Generous PTO and Parental leave* 401k Employer Match* Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and visionVisit
for more information.### Compensation* The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.* In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.* We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on* All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not #J-18808-Ljbffr