The posting
Janney is hiring a Chief Architect to lead Enterprise Architecture for the firm – and to lead something newer and just as important: our push into applied AI and automation. You’ll set the technical standards and reference patterns that guide how Janney builds technology, and you’ll personally build and lead a small, high-caliber team of forward-thinking AI engineers who use AI to take on some of the firm’s biggest business challenges. This is a hands-on leadership role, and a highly visible one. You’ll work directly with senior business leaders across wealth management, brokerage, and operations – not as a gatekeeper they have to get past, but as a trusted advisor they bring in early because your input makes their ideas better. Think of yourself as running an in-house consultancy: business leaders bring you their hardest problems, and you and your team bring the technical judgment – increasingly, AI-powered judgment – to help solve them well. We’re looking for someone who is genuinely excited about what AI can do – not just conceptually, but hands-on, day to day – and who wants to build and lead a team that uses it responsibly to move the firm forward. What You’re Good At:
Driving Change – Identifying areas for enhancement and improvement and gaining organizational buy-in to implement those changes. Detail Oriented & Driven – Thorough and rigorous attention to all details. Ability to manage multiple high-touch projects simultaneously with precision and accuracy. Takes initiative and ownership in all aspects of role from logistics to processes and is unafraid to get their hands dirty and eager to learn. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work collaboratively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives.
What You’ll Do: Set Our Architecture Standards
Own and publish Janney’s reference architectures, technology standards, and build-vs-buy guidance, so that following the standard is simply the easiest way to get something built. Maintain our architecture pattern library as a living resource, retiring or updating patterns that teams aren’t actually using. Keep our technology reference model current and accurate, so architecture decisions are based on what we actually run today, not an outdated diagram. Lead our move from Azure DevOps to the Atlassian suite (Jira and Confluence) as the new home for architecture decision records, our pattern library, and backlog management – including managing the transition itself.
Guide Technology Investment Decisions
Own the architecture review for every request entering our technology portfolio intake process, deciding whether it follows an existing pattern, needs a documented exception, or can be met by something we already have – all within agreed service levels (5 business days for initial triage, 10 for exception review). Chair our exception review process and keep a clear record of those decisions so they can shape future standards. Represent architecture at the quarterly Portfolio Investment Council and monthly Portfolio Checkpoint, and act as the senior architecture partner to UX research, our data office, and security architecture during intake. Measure your own success by how often teams choose the governed path, not by how many requests you turn down. A high volume of exceptions usually means our standards need to catch up, not that teams are doing something wrong.
Lead AI & Automation as a Core Capability
Build and lead a small, high-caliber team of forward-thinking AI engineers – spanning AI Factory & Automation, Workflow Automation, and AI Security – focused on solving real, high-priority business problems with AI. Set Janney’s roadmap for applied AI and automation, and hold it to the same standards and rigor as any other major technology investment. Own our approach to AI security and responsible AI use – how we handle data, manage model and agent access, and put the right guardrails around new AI tools – in close partnership with our Data and our Information Security Office. Champion smart, secure, and productive use of AI across the firm, and make sure AI & Automation’s roadmap gets the same visibility as any other investment at the Portfolio Investment Council.
Bring in the Right Expertise, Wherever It Sits
Pull Solution Architects from Advisor Platforms, Client Platforms, Enterprise Platforms, Data Office, and Information Security Office onto individual initiatives, matching the right expertise to the problem instead of staffing every project the same way. Set the technical direction for each initiative and hold those architects to our enterprise standards, even though they report to their own engineering leaders day to day. Feed what you learn from each initiative back into the pattern library, so good judgment on one project becomes the standard for the next.
Build Real Relationships Across the Business
Get involved early – while a business problem is still being framed, not after a solution has already been decided. Build genuine depth in our business: advisor and client workflows, brokerage, clearing and custody, portfolio construction and performance reporting, and the regulatory environment that shapes what we can build. Stay current on the wealth management technology and vendor landscape, so build-vs-buy conversations start from real market knowledge. Be the person business leaders call before they’ve even written up a formal request, because they know your early input is worth waiting for.
Use AI in Your Own Work, Every Day
Use enterprise Claude (including Cowork and Code), enterprise ChatGPT, and potentially Microsoft CoPilot as everyday tools – for solution options and trade studies, vendor and market research, early prototypes and wireframes, and first drafts of architecture decision records. Own everything these tools help produce. A vendor scan, a wireframe, or a draft ADR is a starting point you and your team review and stand behind – never something passed along untouched.
What You’ll Bring: Required Qualifications:
10+ years of experience in enterprise or solution architecture leadership, including real ownership of governance – standards, patterns, and decision records – not just hands-on design work. Deep knowledge of wealth management and wealth technology: advisory and brokerage workflows, clearing and custody, portfolio construction and performance reporting, and financial planning platforms. You should be able to hold your own in a room of business stakeholders without a translator. A track record of being sought out by business and product leaders for early advice, not just approvals. Genuine, hands-on comfort with modern AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT – able to direct them through real design and analysis work, and know when to push back on what they produce. Experience leading a governance model that’s measured by adoption, not approval volume – comfortable being an advisor, not just a gatekeeper. Comfort leading a small, senior team, and staying personally involved in architecture and design work, not just directing others. Experience leading an applied-AI or automation team, including setting roadmap and security/control standards. A track record of leading through influence – getting strong work out of people who don’t report to you.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience building or overhauling a reference architecture and pattern library from a less mature starting point. Hands-on experience with the Atlassian suite (Jira, Confluence), ideally including migrating a team off Azure DevOps. Familiarity with the regulatory and supervisory environment for broker-dealers and registered investment advisors (data retention, entitlements, recordkeeping, exam readiness). Experience partnering with a dedicated data office or Chief Data Officer function. Direct, hands-on experience with enterprise deployments of Claude or ChatGPT, rather than only casual personal use. Broad familiarity across SaaS platforms (like Salesforce or ServiceNow), web engineering, and full-stack engineering – enough to know who to bring in for a given initiative.
This position requires the individual to work 3 days per week out of the Philadelphia, PA office. Why work for us? Benefits: Janney believes that its employees are the key to what makes a great company. Although work makes up a large portion of an employee’s life, we believe that a balance between work and non-work activities is essential to maintain quality performance and a positive work atmosphere. We offer a competitive package including Paid Parental Leave, generous Paid Time Off, eligibility for a $2,000 referral bonus and Professional Development Assistance Plan designed to help you make the most of your life at work and at home—today and in the future. Explore further. Janney is an award-winning full-service financial services firm committed to understanding our clients' needs and providing advice beyond investments. We are equally committed to building a diverse workforce and inclusive culture where employees can use their talents to thrive and grow professionally with the firm. People are our strongest asset. We recognize that when our team members thrive, our firm is more successful.
