Director of Architecture
Desert Financial Credit Union
Phoenix, AZ · Posted October 9, 2026
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Where Phoenix, AZ ranks
Where Phoenix, AZ placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #3Best cities for government jobs185 openings · of 26
- #3Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Southwest64 / 100 · of 15
- #4Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest265 jobs · of 38
- #4Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Southwest692 openings · of 33
- #4Cities hosting the most business conferences in the Southwest31 conferences · of 16
- #5Best cities for manufacturing and industrial jobs505 openings · of 100
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among computer and information systems managers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for computer and information systems managers: 16% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Who We Are
SwitchThink Solutions is a fast-growing technology company supporting our parent organization, Desert Financial Credit Union, and more than 175 external credit unions nationwide. Our solutions are built on the Correlation Keystone Platform and complemented by managed services, cloud hosting, disaster recovery, business intelligence, and AI offerings.
Our clients trust us. We have maintained zero customer churn for eight years and consistently earn strong client advocacy, with an NPS of 84. Our employees are equally committed, bringing a collaborative, team-oriented mindset and a shared passion for excellence. Backed by the financial strength of Desert Financial Credit Union, we offer stability alongside meaningful growth opportunities.
What you will do here
The Director of Architecture & Engineering provides leadership and direction for technology architecture and engineering across SwitchThink Solutions, ensuring technology platforms and solutions are intentionally designed, engineered, standardized, and delivered in alignment with business objectives and client needs. This role is responsible for establishing architectural direction, guiding solution design, overseeing engineering execution, and ensuring solutions are fully built and aligned with approved architectural and engineering standards prior to transition into operational support models.
Operating within a managed services provider environment serving regulated credit union clients, the Director of Architecture & Engineering partners closely with the Chief Technology Officer and peer technology leaders to balance innovation, risk management, scalability, security, and operational sustainability across shared platforms and client environments.
Architecture & Engineering Strategy and Direction
Define and maintain enterprise and domain architecture and engineering roadmaps aligned to business strategy, client requirements, and regulatory considerations.
Translate technology strategy into architectural principles, engineering standards, and target state designs.
Provide architectural input into long-term technology planning, platform modernization, and new service offerings.
Plan and Build Delivery Leadership
Own the end-to-end Plan and Build lifecycle for new technologies, platforms, and major initiatives.
Provide architectural leadership and engineering execution to ensure solutions are designed, built, tested, and production ready.
Review and approve solution designs and engineering approaches across infrastructure, cloud, application, data, and integration domains.
Partner with delivery teams to address architectural risks, design gaps, implementation challenges, and technical tradeoffs prior to operational transition. Teams to address architectural risks, design gaps, and tradeoffs.
Architecture & Engineering Governance and Standards
Establish, maintain, and enforce architectural & engineering standards, patterns, and design guidelines.
Provide final approval for solution designs, engineering approaches and platform changes.
Partner with security and risk teams to ensure architectural designs align with regulatory, audit, and compliance expectations while supporting secure and resilient service delivery for our clients.
Ensure architecture governance enables efficient delivery while managing technical risk and complexity.
Leadership and Team Management
Lead and develop the Architecture & Engineering team through coaching, mentoring, and performance management.
Set clear priorities and expectations across planning, design, and delivery functions.
Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Cross-Functional Collaboration and Advisory
Partner with Infrastructure, IT Service Operations, Engineering, Security, Product, and Account Management leaders to ensure architectural alignment.
Ensure clean handoff of fully aligned engineered solutions into Operations.
Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and support client-facing architectural needs as required.
What you will need:
Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field ( preferred) OR e quivalent combination of education and experience required.
8+ years progressive experience in technology or architecture roles across infrastructure, cloud, application, and integration domains required.
5+ years leadership experience guiding senior technical professionals or architecture teams required.
Experience leading architecture within complex, multi-platform or multi-client environments required.
Enterprise and solution architecture expertise across infrastructure, cloud, platform, application, and integration domains required.
Strong understanding of resiliency, security, disaster recovery, and regulatory requirements in financial services required.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and make sound architectural decisions required.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills required.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level communication required.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, client-focused MSP environment required.
Experience in financial services, credit union, or other regulated industries preferred.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.
For additional information about our organization, careers, and benefits visit: http://www.switchthink.com/careers.
Work Location: Phoenix AZ
Work Type: Hybrid (In office 2 days per week)
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