Drive the continued maturation of the Architecture discipline at Horace Mann, mentoring and guiding the architecture community.
Develop and maintain current, future, and transitional state architectures.
Create conceptual, logical, and physical architecture models and diagrams.
Define, document, and govern architectural decisions across programs and projects.
Develop and enforce architecture policies, standards, and processes in partnership with the Chief Architect and CIO.
Identify and establish new enterprise building blocks and reusable architectural patterns.
Set direction for integration services and enterprise-wide reusable design patterns.
Create or oversee the development of architecture artifacts supporting budgeting, planning, development, and operational support.
Formulate and review high-level design documents.
Guides architects and technical leads in aligning application development with architectural best practices.
Align application development practices with architectural standards and patterns.
Provide best-practice guidance in evaluating and selecting vendor products and technology platforms.
Lead risk identification and mitigation related to architecture decisions.
Collaborate with Solution Delivery Partners, architects, and technical leads to maintain current, target, and transition architectures.
Facilitate consensus across diverse technical and business teams.
Serve as a key contributor to strategic planning, roadmap development, and major program implementation.
Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to executive and non-technical audiences.
Prepare and present executive-level recommendations.
Lead analysts performing business architecture, design, development, and QA activities toward efficient processes and tool usage.
Establish best practices for architecture diagram development, governance, and repository management.
Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in a related technical field or equivalent experience.
6–9 years of relevant experience in architecture or related technical leadership roles.
Experience working within an Enterprise Architecture framework (e.g., TOGAF).
Fluency in modern architecture practices including cloud-native and AI-enabled design.
Expertise in creating architecture artifacts and diagrams (e.g., Visio, draw.io).
Strong analytical, planning, organizational, and technical skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including technical writing.
Broad knowledge of development languages, AI, Data platforms, Integration patterns, Infrastructure, Networking, and Security.
Experience in risk management and executive-level presentations.
Demonstrated ability to lead across organizational boundaries and drive consensus.
Experience in the Insurance sector (Property & Casualty (P&C) and Life & Annuity (L&A) domains, including underwriting, policy administration, claims, billing, and ecosystem integrations) strongly preferred.