Java Application Development Architect - Senior Vice President

Location: Chennai, India

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly skilled and visionary C14 Application Development Architect to join our CitiRisk Credit Technology team. This pivotal role involves providing strategic architectural leadership, defining technical roadmaps, and driving the implementation of cutting-edge, resilient, and scalable software solutions that leverage best-in-class technology stacks and advanced AI tools. The architect will be instrumental in evolving the CitiRisk Credit system to manage Citi's exposure to financial institutions, governments, and corporates more effectively. This role offers the unique opportunity to shape the future of credit risk technology by designing critical systems that provide an integrated and intelligent view of trades, collateral, and market data from numerous sources. This role requires significant hands-on involvement, with coding responsibilities exceeding 50% of the time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Architectural Strategy & Design:
  • Define and champion the architectural vision, strategy, and roadmap for the CitiRisk Credit system, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards and business objectives.
  • Lead the design of robust, scalable, high-performance, and secure credit risk applications, employing modern architectural patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven architectures, serverless).
  • Develop architectural blueprints and guidelines for integrating cutting-edge AI/ML capabilities and advanced analytics into credit risk management workflows.
  • Develop rapid Proof-of-Concepts (POCs) to establish technical feasibility and evaluate new architectural approaches.
  • Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the system to monitor and ensure architectural effectiveness and performance.
• Technical Leadership & Governance:
  • Provide expert technical guidance and mentorship to development teams and other architects, fostering a culture of architectural excellence and innovation.
  • Conduct comprehensive architectural reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure adherence to design principles, best practices, and security standards.
  • Drive the adoption of modern software development practices, including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and agile methodologies within the architecture.
• Innovation & Emerging Technologies:
  • Proactively research, evaluate, and integrate emerging technologies, frameworks, and AI/ML tools (including GenAI, machine learning frameworks, data science platforms) to enhance Citi's credit risk management product offerings.
  • Lead initiatives for leveraging cloud-native platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and modern data integration/streaming technologies for optimal system performance and scalability.
  • Demonstrable hands-on expertise in Java and related technologies such as Spring Boot, REST API, and microservices architecture is essential for this role.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Collaborate effectively with technical architects, product development teams, and other key stakeholders to translate complex functional and non-functional requirements into clear, actionable architectural designs and technical specifications.
  • Communicate architectural vision, technical decisions, and progress to both technical and non-technical audiences, influencing strategic direction and gaining consensus.
• System Evolution & Performance:
  • Oversee the continuous evolution and optimization of the CitiRisk Credit system for maximum resilience, performance, and maintainability, ensuring it meets current and future business demands.
  • Identify and mitigate architectural risks, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, stable, and compliant credit risk solutions.

Qualifications:

• Experience:
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
  • 15+ years of progressive experience in software development, with at least 7+ years hands on Java development & enterprise architectural leadership role (e.g., Principal Architect, Enterprise Architect, Chief Architect).
  • Strong experience in the financial services industry, particularly in credit risk, market risk, or a related trading/risk domain, with a deep understanding of financial products and risk methodologies.
• Technical Expertise:
  • Proven deep understanding of software architecture patterns, data structures, algorithms, and system design for large-scale, distributed applications.
  • Extensive hands-on experience and architectural leadership in modern tech stacks and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), including microservices, APIs, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and serverless computing.
  • Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing AI/ML tools ( such as Devin, Co-Pilot etc) for software development
  • A deep understanding of runtime environment, performance optimizations and memory management
  • Proficiency with various databases (SQL and NoSQL) and complex data integration/streaming technologies.
  • Strong background in CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and automated testing frameworks.
• Leadership & Communication:
  • Exceptional problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills, with the ability to define technical solutions for complex business problems.
  • Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences and influence strategic decisions.
  • Ability to inspire, lead, and mentor technical teams in architectural best practices.
• Regulatory & Compliance:
  • Familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance standards within financial technology.

What We Offer:

• The opportunity to drive the architectural direction of a critical enterprise system at Citi, leveraging a cutting-edge tech stack and innovative AI tools.
• A highly collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment where your architectural contributions will directly impact Citi's global risk management capabilities.
• Challenging and high-visibility projects that will push your technical boundaries and provide significant exposure to complex financial systems and strategic initiatives.
• Competitive compensation package and benefits.