Enterprise Architect - AI & Digital Platforms

Role Overview

The Enterprise Architect at Apparel Group will be accountable for defining and overseeing the company's technology architecture to ensure it aligns with the business's strategy and digital transformation efforts. This position acts as a strategic consultant to both business and tech leadership, spearheading modernization, standardization, scalability, and innovation across retail, e-commerce, supply chain, customer, and corporate domains.

Key Duties

• Develop and sustain a comprehensive Enterprise Architecture strategy, including future-state designs and multi-year technology plans that align with organizational goals.
• Collaborate with business leaders and technology teams to convert strategic plans into scalable business and technical solutions.
• Implement architecture principles, standards, and governance frameworks to steer technology-related decisions across the enterprise.
• Lead architectural evaluations for major projects ensuring compliance with standards, security, scalability, and strategic objectives.
• Promote application portfolio simplification by consolidating systems, reducing technical debt, and optimizing investments.
• Design enterprise integration architecture emphasizing API-first, event-driven, and reusable integration methods.
• Work alongside data teams to define data architecture principles, governance, master data management, and build AI-ready data platforms.
• Partner with digital and customer experience teams to design omnichannel retail solutions and foster customer engagement and personalization.
• Assess and advise on adopting emerging technologies like AI, Generative AI, automation, cloud services, and intelligent retail solutions.
• Create reference architectures, capability maps, and future operating models for critical business sectors.
• Provide leadership across systems including ERP, POS, e-commerce, supply chain, merchandising, CRM, HR, and finance.
• Coordinate with solution architects, project managers, and vendors for adherence to architectural standards and initiative success.
• Identify technology risks and architecture gaps and propose strategies for mitigation to maintain business continuity and scalability.
• Lead cloud modernization and enterprise platform transformation to enhance agility, security, performance, and reduce costs.
• Serve as a trusted adviser to executives by delivering insights on technology trends, architectural investments, and digital transformation directions.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related fields; Master’s preferred.
• Over 12 years of technology leadership experience including at least 5 years in enterprise architecture or senior architecture roles.
• Proven experience in retail, consumer sectors, omnichannel, e-commerce, or large multi-brand organizations is highly favored.
• Strong familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF.
• Experience with major cloud providers including Azure, AWS, or GCP and modern integration architectures.
• Track record of managing large-scale transformation programs and modernizing enterprise technologies.

Preferred Skillsets

• Expertise with retail ERP systems like SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
• Knowledge of POS and store technology ecosystems.
• Experience with e-commerce and omnichannel platforms.
• Familiarity with CRM and loyalty platforms.
• Proficiency in enterprise integration and API management.
• Experience with data lakehouse and analytics platforms.
• Insight into AI, Generative AI, and intelligent automation tools.
• Master data management and data governance capabilities.
• Understanding of supply chain and merchandising technology.

Core Competencies

• Enterprise architecture and technology strategic planning.
• Business capability modeling.
• Leading digital transformation efforts.
• Retail and omnichannel domain expertise.
• Stakeholder engagement and executive communications.
• Architecture governance adherence.
• Evaluating emerging technologies and innovations.
• Strategic roadmap creation and problem-solving.
• Influencing without direct authority.

Success Indicators

• Alignment between technology investments and business goals.
• Decreased complexity and reduced technical debt.
• Enhanced platform standardization and reuse.
• Successful rollout of transformation initiatives.
• Improved scalability, resilience, and agility enterprise-wide.
• Effective adoption of architecture standards and governance.
• Strengthened business functions through digital and AI-powered solutions.