Lead Systems Architect – Portfolio & Capability Optimization

About this role:

Wells Fargo is seeking a Lead Systems Architect (Portfolio & Capability Optimization) to join the Technology Chief Operating Office (TCOO) Central Architecture team—a strategic, enterprise-facing group responsible for shaping and advancing technology strategy across the COO organization.

The Central Architecture team serves as a unifying force, bringing a centralized, cross‑domain perspective to technology decision‑making. By establishing strong architectural alignment and portfolio discipline, the team ensures that technology investments are intentional, scalable, and aligned with enterprise standards.

In this role, you will lead efforts to optimize technology portfolios and capabilities, drive application rationalization, and enable reusable AI and GenAI patterns that accelerate value across the organization. You will play a critical role in evaluating and shaping COO Technology investments—ensuring they are defensible, strategically aligned, and positioned to deliver long‑term impact.

If you are passionate about enterprise architecture, technology optimization, and influencing strategy at scale, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of COO Technology.

In this role, you will:

Portfolio & Capability Optimization

• Act as the central portfolio and capability optimization architect for COO Technology, providing cross‑domain architectural insight and decision support.
• Lead application portfolio assessment, rationalization, and lifecycle optimization, identifying opportunities to reduce redundancy, technical debt, and cost.
• Assess and guide technology investment alignment, including build‑versus‑buy decisions and portfolio trade‑offs, to ensure consistency with enterprise architecture standards and COO strategy.
• Define and track architecture health, risk, and portfolio performance metrics to enable data‑driven decision‑making and executive transparency.

AI / GenAI Enablement & Reuse

• Define and maintain a reusable capability view for AI‑enabled services, guiding reuse versus bespoke build decisions across COO portfolios.
• Establish and socialize reference architectures and patterns for AI‑enabled solutions, such as knowledge‑assisted workflows and agentic patterns.
• Partner with Cyber, Model Risk, and platform teams to ensure AI capabilities adopt enterprise guardrails, including data protection, resiliency, and policy‑aligned controls.
• Align domain roadmaps to enterprise AI platforms and shared services that enable governed experimentation, reuse, and standardized delivery.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of Architecture experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
• 5+ years leading medium to large‑scale architecture or portfolio optimization programs
• 3+ years of experience working with enterprise‑scale application portfolios, including assessment, rationalization, modernization, or migration initiatives
• 1+ years of experience integrating AI‑enabled capabilities into enterprise portfolios in a governed, scalable manner

Desired Qualifications

• Strong communication and stakeholder influence skills, including engagement with senior technology leadership
• Deep understanding of enterprise architecture principles, portfolio governance, and modernization strategies
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity and drive alignment in complex, federated environments
• Experience with architecture modeling and portfolio tools (e.g., Bizzdesign, ArchiMate, ServiceNow, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to assess platform health, risk, and readiness through structured portfolio evaluations
• Experience integrating emerging technologies, including AI‑enabled capabilities, into enterprise portfolios in a governed, scalable manner
• Experience shaping AI/GenAI reference architectures and reusable patterns in regulated enterprise environments
• Familiarity with AI safety and control concepts and how to embed them into architecture standards
• Ability to translate AI risk and control requirements into actionable architecture artifacts consumable by delivery and governance teams

Job Expectations

• This position is not eligible for Visa sponsorship
• This position offers a hybrid work schedule
• Relocation assistance is not available for this position
• Ability to travel up to 5% of the time

Job Posting Locations:

300 S Brevard St., CHARLOTTE, North Carolina 28202

Posting End Date: 

3 May 2026

*Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

We Value Equal Opportunity

Wells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit’s risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.

Candidates applying to job openings posted in Canada: Applications for employment are encouraged from all qualified candidates, including women, persons with disabilities, aboriginal peoples and visible minorities. Accommodation for applicants with disabilities is available upon request in connection with the recruitment process.

Applicants with Disabilities

To request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo.

Drug and Alcohol Policy

 

Wells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace.  Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.

Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:

a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.

b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.

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