Enterprise Architect - AI & Digital Platforms

Role Purpose

The Enterprise Architect is accountable for defining and overseeing the enterprise technology architecture within Apparel Group. This role ensures that business strategies, digital transformation efforts, and technology investments are in harmony. Acting as a strategic advisor to both business and technology leadership teams, the architect drives modernization, standardization, scalability, and fosters innovation across retail, e-commerce, supply chain, customer engagement, and corporate functions.

This position is instrumental in designing future-state architecture to support omnichannel retail, AI innovations, enterprise data platforms, and cloud transformation initiatives, while maintaining architectural governance and sustainable practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and uphold the enterprise architecture strategy, including target-state architecture and multi-year technology roadmaps aligned with business goals and transformation priorities.
• Collaborate closely with business leaders, transformation teams, and technology stakeholders to convert strategic plans into scalable technological and business capabilities.
• Define architecture principles, standards, frameworks, and governance models to guide organizational technology decisions.
• Lead architecture reviews for major initiatives ensuring compliance with enterprise standards, security, scalability, and strategic alignment.
• Drive application landscape rationalization by identifying consolidation opportunities, minimizing technical debt, and optimizing investments.
• Design enterprise integration architectures emphasizing API-first, event-driven, and reusable integration patterns across platforms.
• Work alongside data and analytics specialists to establish data architecture principles, governance policies, master data strategies, and AI-ready data infrastructures.
• Partner with digital, omnichannel, and customer experience teams to build solutions enhancing customer engagement, loyalty, personalization, and retail operations.
• Assess emerging technologies such as AI, Generative AI, automation, cloud services, and intelligent retail solutions, providing advice on their adoption and business value.
• Create technology reference architectures, capability maps, blueprints, and future operating models for key business domains.
• Lead architectural guidance for diverse systems including ERP, POS, e-commerce, supply chain, merchandising, CRM, HR, finance, and other corporate systems.
• Coordinate with solution architects, product managers, project leads, and vendors to ensure adherence to architecture standards and smooth execution of transformation projects.
• Identify and mitigate technology risks, architectural gaps, and dependencies to support business continuity and scalability.
• Champion cloud modernization and platform transformation initiatives aimed at enhancing agility, performance, security, and cost efficiency.
• Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership by delivering strategic insights on technology trends, architecture investments, and digital transformation prospects.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or an equivalent discipline; Master's degree preferred.
• Over 12 years of professional experience in technology leadership roles encompassing enterprise architecture, solution architecture, or digital transformation.
• At least 5 years’ experience in enterprise architecture or senior architecture leadership positions.
• Strong preference for backgrounds in retail, consumer goods, omnichannel, e-commerce, or large multi-brand enterprises.
• Solid understanding of frameworks like TOGAF.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform and modern integration architectures.
• Proven track record in leading large-scale transformation programs and technology modernization initiatives.

Preferred Expertise

• Retail ERP systems (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics)
• POS and store technology ecosystems
• E-commerce and omnichannel platforms
• CRM and loyalty management platforms
• Enterprise integration and API management solutions
• Data lakehouse and analytics platforms
• AI, Generative AI, and intelligent automation technologies
• Enterprise data governance and master data management
• Supply chain and merchandising systems

Key Competencies

• Enterprise architecture and technology strategy formulation
• Business capability modeling
• Leadership in digital transformation
• Deep knowledge of retail and omnichannel domains
• Effective stakeholder management and executive communication
• Architecture governance and compliance
• Evaluation of innovation and emerging technologies
• Strategic planning and creation of technology roadmaps
• Problem-solving and critical decision-making skills
• Ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority

Success Measurements

• Effective alignment between technology investments and business objectives
• Reduction in technological complexity and technical liabilities
• Increased standardization and reusability of platforms
• Successful implementation and delivery of transformation projects
• Improved scalability, resilience, and agility of enterprise systems
• Broad adoption of architectural standards and governance frameworks
• Enhancement of business capabilities using digital and AI-driven solutions