Banking Principal Architect

Location:

Memphis (TN), Charlotte (NC), Raleigh (NC) or Birmingham, Alabama.

Full-time

Preferred Local

We are seeking an Open Banking Principal Architect to lead the enterprise architecture strategy, governance, and delivery of next-generation digital capabilities. This role will own the technology roadmap for Open Banking enablement (provider and consumer models), real-time data-sharing frameworks, and secure API ecosystems. The Principal Architect will guide solution teams across mobile, web, integration, security, and cloud, ensuring security-first design, data privacy, and regulatory compliance while balancing platform stability and modernization.

• 12-20+ years of experience in technology architecture, with strong experience in banking, Open Banking, or financial services.
• Deep expertise in Open Banking standards: FDX, data-sharing frameworks, consent architecture, customer identity.
• Strong experience building API ecosystems using Java/Spring Boot, API gateways, and API management platforms.
• Ability to architect solutions on modern cloud platforms (Azure AKS, AWS EKS, or similar).
• Experience with Apigee or similar integration modernization platforms.
• Broad knowledge of identity, fraud, cybersecurity, compliance, and risk controls.
• Experience with Kafka streaming, event-driven architecture, and real-time data processing.
• Proven track record architecting major technology transformation programs.
• Strong executive communication and business-case development skills.

• Programming — Must Have:
  Java (advanced), Spring Boot (3.x, reactive patterns), API design;
  Good to Have:
  Node.js, React.js
• Open Banking Standards — Must Have: FDX (hands-on), Digital Banking APIs;
  Good to Have: BIAN, ISO 20022, PSD2
• Open Banking Platforms — Must Have:
  Ninth Wave (hands-on/exposure);
  Good to Have:
  Plaid, Tink, MX, Finicity
• IDP & Security — Must Have: OAuth
  2.0, OIDC, mTLS with Okta/Ping/Azure AD/Forge Rock;
  Good to Have:
  Advanced tokenization and FPE
• Consent Management — Must Have:
  Consent & data sharing flows;
  Good to Have: GDPR/CCPA preference management
• Data Security — Must Have:
  Mandatory data masking, logging compliance, secure coding practices;
  Good to Have:
  Tokenization, format-preserving encryption (FPE)
• Cloud & Deployment — Must Have:
  Docker, Kubernetes, Azure AKS;
  Good to Have: AWS EKS, GCP GKE
• Ingress & API Gateway — Must Have: NGINX ingress controller, Azure API Management;
  Good to Have:
  Apigee, Mule Soft, Kong
• Event Streaming — Must Have:
  Kafka (producer/consumer, schema registry);
  Good to Have: MQ, Pulsar
• AI/Automation — Must Have: AI tools for development, testing, and code review;
  Good to Have:
  Prompt engineering, AI-assisted documentation
• Testing — Must Have:
  Unit testing (JUnit, Mockito), functional automation testing;
  Good to Have:
  Cucumber, Karate, Postman automation
• Code Quality & Security — Must Have:
  Sonar Qube, Veracode, static analysis, secure coding practices;
  Good to Have:
  Checkmarx, Fortify
• CI/CD & Dev Ops — Must Have:
  Jenkins, Bitbucket Pipelines, Azure Dev Ops;
  Good to Have:
  Git Hub Actions, Git Lab CI/CD
• Domain Knowledge — Must Have:
  Banking / Financial Services;
  Good to Have:
  Insurance, Fin Tech startups
• Soft Skills — Must Have:
  Strong communication, mentoring, technical leadership;
  Good to Have:
  Client-facing presentation skills