[Hiring] Senior Director, Enterprise Architecture @Foot Locker

Role Description

The Senior Director, Enterprise Architecture (EA) leads a modern, AI-driven and execution-oriented enterprise architecture capability. This role focuses on translating business and technology strategy into working guardrails, reusable platform patterns, and measurable outcomes. The emphasis is on hands-on, practical architecture that accelerates delivery, reduces risk and complexity, and embeds architectural thinking directly into product and engineering workflows.

What Success Looks Like (Outcomes)

• Enterprise Architecture is embedded in delivery, not operating as an ivory-tower or documentation-only function.
• AI and platform decisions are standardized through enterprise reference architectures and paved roads.
• Architecture standards, guardrails, and decisions are enforced through automation and AI-enabled governance.
• Measurable improvements are realized in delivery rework reduction, modernization velocity, solution quality, cost optimization, and risk reduction.

Responsibilities

• AI-Driven Enterprise Architecture
  • Define and evolve the enterprise AI architecture across user experience, governance, agent orchestration, verification and safety, models and LLMOps, data and knowledge, and runtime layers.
  • Establish responsible AI, security, privacy, observability, and cost controls as architectural defaults across platforms.
  • Partner with engineering and product leadership to ensure AI solutions are scalable, reusable, governed, and enterprise-safe.
• Executable Enterprise Architecture
  • Drive adoption of executable EA practices where architecture is machine-readable, automatable, and enforceable.
  • Establish architecture-as-code and policy-as-code patterns using version-controlled standards, ADRs, and automated CI/CD checks.
  • Shift governance left into delivery pipelines, reducing reliance on manual review boards.
• Applied Architecture & Delivery Enablement
  • Work hands-on with product and engineering teams on priority initiatives.
  • Participate directly in roadmap planning, backlog refinement, solution design, and architectural tradeoff discussions.
  • Ensure modernization efforts leverage standard cloud-native, API-first, and event-driven patterns.
• Standards, Guardrails & Architecture Community
  • Own enterprise architecture standards delivered as practical assets: templates, reference implementations, and guardrails.
  • Operate architecture through an inner-source model that encourages contribution from architects and engineers.
  • Lead and mature the architecture community of practice to drive consistency, reuse, and continuous learning.
  • Establish architecture governance frameworks and ensure adherence to security, privacy, and regulatory standards such as SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA.
  • Lead architecture governance forums and define principles, standards, and best practices to ensure consistency and compliance.
• Landscape Optimization & Value Realization
  • Use architectural insight and AI-driven analysis to identify cost, risk, and simplification opportunities.
  • Establish transparency into application lifecycle, dependencies, and modernization readiness.
  • Translate architecture insights into tangible financial and operational outcomes.

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in enterprise, platform, solution, or domain architecture roles within large-scale, complex organizations.
• Demonstrated leadership in AI-driven architecture, including enterprise AI platforms, generative AI, LLM-based systems, RAG, embeddings, prompt orchestration, or agent-based solutions.
• Strong understanding of modern AI system architecture, including model lifecycle management, LLMOps/MLOps, knowledge architectures, and human-in-the-loop decision patterns.
• Proven experience defining and operationalizing enterprise guardrails such as architecture standards, reference architectures, and automated governance.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms, data ecosystems, and modern integration patterns (API-first, event-driven, domain-oriented).
• Ability to translate AI and architecture tradeoffs into business outcomes including cost optimization, risk reduction, and delivery acceleration.

Leadership & Interpersonal Skills

• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior stakeholders without formal authority.
• Build and mentor a high-performing architecture team, fostering innovation, collaboration, and alignment across the enterprise.
• Ability to translate complex technical, architectural decisions and trade-offs effectively to technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executive leadership.
• Collaborative, pragmatic, and delivery-oriented leadership style.
• Strong mentoring, coaching, and architecture community-building mindset.

Benefits

• The annual base salary range is $200,000 - $265,000.
• This role is also eligible to receive short and long term incentives that align with individual and company performance.
• Salary will be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.
• Foot Locker Benefits include:
  • Employee Discount
  • Paid Time Off
  • Medical | Dental | Vision Coverage
  • 401(k) | Roth 401(k)
  • Stock Purchase Plan
  • Life Insurance
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Opportunities for Advancement
  • Tuition Reimbursement for Qualified Courses
  • Strong Company Culture
  • Employee Resource Groups