Director, Platform Architect (Investment & Research Technology)

About the role

Schwab Asset Management is seeking a senior Investment & Research Platform Architect to lead the architecture strategy, modernization, and technology evolution of a front-office & Asset management research ecosystem supporting more than 50 applications across ETFs, Mutual Funds, and Separately Managed Accounts (SMA).

Key Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the target-state architecture for Investment and Research technology platforms.
• Develop architecture roadmaps aligned to business priorities, operating models, regulatory requirements, and enterprise standards.
• Lead architecture governance, design reviews, technology assessments, and modernization initiatives.
• Drive simplification of legacy platforms and adoption of scalable, cloud-native architectures.
• Establish architecture principles, integration patterns, reference architectures, and reusable platform capabilities.
• Support portfolio management, construction, optimization workflows, trade lifecycle management and execution processes, OMS/EMS platforms and market connectivity, investment research and quantitative analytics platforms, risk, performance, and attribution analytics, market, reference, and investment data ecosystems, research content, data distribution, and decision-support capabilities.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering, solution architecture, or enterprise architecture roles.
• Significant experience within Asset Management, Investment Management, Research, Trading, or Quantitative Technology environments.
• Proven track record leading large-scale platform architecture and modernization initiatives.
• Strong understanding of software delivery within Agile and product-centric organizations.
• Able to balance strategic architecture thinking with hands-on implementation leadership.
• Strong proficiency in Java (Spring Boot/Spring Cloud), .NET/C#, or Python.
• Deep expertise in microservices, event-driven architectures, API design, and distributed systems.
• Strong cloud architecture experience on GCP (preferred) or AWS.
• Experience with cloud-native technologies including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Strong understanding of data architecture, data engineering patterns, and analytics platforms.
• Experience with Snowflake, SQL Server, and modern cloud data platforms.
• Familiarity with DevOps toolchains including Git, Bitbucket, Bamboo, Jenkins, or equivalent platforms.
• Knowledge of AI/ML architecture patterns, model deployment, and governance frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with industry platforms such as Aladdin, Charles River, Bloomberg, FactSet, Refinitiv, Perform, or Vestmark.
• Knowledge of FIX protocol, market data platforms, trading workflows, and investment operations.
• Familiarity with quantitative research, risk, and performance analytics ecosystems.
• TOGAF, Google Cloud Architect, or similar architecture certifications.