[Hiring] Principal Banking Technology & Solution Architect @Aequilibrium Software

Role Description

We are seeking an experienced, client-facing Principal Banking Technology & Solution Architect to advise Canadian credit unions on critical platform decisions, architecture modernization and complex technology migrations.

You will work directly with credit union CTOs, CIOs and transformation leaders as a trusted technical advisor. Our clients are navigating significant changes across digital banking, core banking integrations, enterprise data and analytics, payments, CRM and cloud platforms. Several are migrating away from Central 1 Forge while simultaneously modernizing other components of their technology landscape.

Your role is to help these institutions make informed technology decisions, manage architectural complexity and reduce delivery risk. This is a hands-on advisory role requiring strong architecture judgment, banking domain knowledge, vendor evaluation experience and the ability to translate technical complexity into practical executive recommendations.

Key Responsibilities

• Technology Strategy and Platform Selection
  • Lead structured evaluations of enterprise technology platforms, including data analytics, digital banking, CRM, payments and integration solutions.
  • Define business and technical evaluation criteria, requirements, architecture principles and vendor scorecards.
  • Assess products such as Microsoft Fabric, Snowflake, Fiserv and Finastra analytics solutions, as well as relevant digital banking platforms.
  • Facilitate vendor demonstrations, technical due diligence, reference checks and proof-of-concept evaluations.
  • Assess functional fit, interoperability, security, scalability, operational complexity, licensing and total cost of ownership.
  • Prepare decision papers, target architectures and recommendations for CTOs and executive steering committees.
• Enterprise and Solution Architecture
  • Assess current-state enterprise architectures and design pragmatic future-state architectures.
  • Evaluate integration dependencies across core banking, digital banking, CRM, payments, data warehouses, fraud systems and third-party services.
  • Define integration patterns, API strategies, data flows, architectural boundaries and transition roadmaps.
  • Review vendor solution designs, identify architectural gaps and challenge unsupported technical assumptions.
  • Provide architecture oversight across multiple vendors and implementation partners.
• Digital Banking and Forge Migration Advisory
  • Advise credit unions transitioning from Central 1 Forge to modern digital banking platforms.
  • Evaluate replacement capabilities, functional parity, integration requirements and migration dependencies.
  • Assess the implications of different platform versions, vendor configurations and customization approaches.
  • Support migration planning, technical readiness assessments and architectural risk management.
  • Work with delivery and QA leaders to define technical acceptance criteria and evidence-based go-live readiness.
• Data and Analytics Modernization
  • Lead assessments of legacy banking analytics and reporting environments.
  • Evaluate modern data warehouses, lakehouses, data integration platforms and banking-specific analytics products.
  • Define data migration approaches, data quality controls, governance, security and reporting continuity requirements.
  • Assess data integration with banking core systems, digital channels and enterprise applications.
  • Develop architecture recommendations that support future AI, advanced analytics and member personalization.
• Executive Advisory and Delivery Assurance
  • Build trusted relationships with CTOs, CIOs, business sponsors and technology leadership teams.
  • Communicate complex architecture and technology decisions in clear business language.
  • Work alongside project managers, delivery directors, business analysts, designers and QA leads.
  • Provide independent technical oversight without duplicating the responsibilities of existing implementation partners.
  • Identify emerging risks early and recommend practical mitigation options.
  • Produce concise architecture assessments, executive presentations, technical recommendations and implementation roadmaps.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in enterprise technology, solution architecture, technical consulting or banking technology delivery.
• Significant experience in banking, credit unions or regulated financial services.
• Demonstrated experience leading technology platform evaluations and vendor selections.
• Strong understanding of digital banking architectures, core banking integrations, APIs, data integration and cloud platforms.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms, including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Fabric, Snowflake or comparable technologies.
• Ability to evaluate architecture trade-offs across security, scalability, maintainability, cost and implementation risk.
• Experience working with multiple technology vendors and complex transformation programs.
• Strong executive communication, stakeholder facilitation and technical documentation skills.
• Ability to operate independently as a senior advisor across multiple client engagements.
• Based in Canada and available to work with Canadian credit union clients.

Highly Desirable Experience

• Direct experience with Central 1 Forge or Canadian credit union digital banking migrations.
• Familiarity with VeriPark, Intellect Design, Backbase, ebankIT, Plumery or comparable digital banking platforms.
• Knowledge of Fiserv DNA, RFS360 or other credit union core banking systems.
• Experience with Temenos analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Snowflake, Fiserv analytics or Finastra platforms.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, Power BI and enterprise data governance.
• Familiarity with Canadian financial services regulatory, security and privacy requirements.
• Experience with migration readiness, technical assurance, QA strategy and release governance.
• Previous experience as a CTO, Chief Architect, Principal Architect or senior technology consultant in a financial institution or consulting organization.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 90 days, the consultant should be able to:

• Lead at least one structured technology platform assessment and produce an executive-ready recommendation.
• Establish a current-state and target-state architecture for a credit union modernization initiative.
• Identify material integration, vendor dependency and migration risks for active client programs.
• Provide practical architecture guidance that improves decision quality and reduces avoidable delivery risk.
• Build trusted working relationships with multiple credit union technology leaders.

Engagement Model

This is a flexible, part-time or full-time consulting engagement depending on client demand. The successful candidate may support multiple Canadian credit union engagements concurrently, combining remote advisory work with occasional stakeholder workshops or on-site sessions.

Applicants should provide their relevant banking architecture experience, availability, preferred hourly consulting rate and examples of comparable technology selection or modernization engagements.