Principal Application Architect (Enterprise AI, Fintech)

TL;DR

Principal Application Architect (Enterprise AI, Fintech): Define and drive long-term architectural vision for large-scale digital payments platform supporting payments, data, and AI capabilities with an accent on scalability, resilience, regulatory compliance, and innovation. Focus on establishing architecture principles, leading governance forums, shaping multi-year AI roadmaps, overseeing complex platform designs, and ensuring ethical AI adoption at scale.

Location: Onsite in Belgrade, Cluj-Napoca, Krakow, Larnaca, Lodz, Lublin, Riga, Sofia, Varna, Warsaw, Wroclaw or Remote in Bulgaria or Poland

Company

Global IT consultancy building mission-critical enterprise platforms in payments, data, and AI across multiple regions.

What you will do

• Define and own enterprise-wide application and AI architecture strategy.
• Establish architecture principles, standards, and operating models across domains and teams.
• Lead architecture governance and alignment across programs and portfolios.
• Shape multi-year technology and AI roadmaps aligned with business goals.
• Advise executives on investments, trade-offs, and risks; oversee designs for payments, data, and AI platforms.
• Drive platform evolution focusing on APIs, reuse, security, resilience, and ethical AI; mentor architecture community.

Requirements

• Extensive experience leading architecture for large-scale enterprise cloud platforms, preferably AWS.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, microservices, event-driven architecture, platform engineering, data/AI including ML/LLM systems.
• Proven experience defining enterprise architecture standards, governance, and operating at principal level influencing organization-wide decisions.
• Experience leading cross-functional global teams in fintech/payments/financial services with strong regulatory/compliance understanding.
• Exceptional communication of complex concepts, executive presence, and decision-making balancing speed, risk, and value.

Nice to have

• Experience leading enterprise AI transformations.
• Knowledge of TOGAF or platform operating models/internal developer platforms.
• Background in large-scale digital transformations.

Culture & Benefits

• Vacation as per laws of your country; encouraged to take proper rest.
• Health insurance assistance for you and family.
• Sick pay: 10 days without doctor's note, then per local laws.
• Time off for state holidays per official calendar.
• Pleasant environment with corporate parties and get-togethers.
• Comfort service for technical/everyday work issues; benefits vary by region/contract.