Director Platform Architect, Data & Database Solutions

Posted:
1/7/2026, 1:20:12 AM

Location(s):
Illinois, United States ⋅ Chicago, Illinois, United States ⋅ Austin, Texas, United States ⋅ Texas, United States

Experience Level(s):
Expert or higher ⋅ Senior

Field(s):
Software Engineering

Workplace Type:
Hybrid

WHO WE ARE

Apex Fintech Solutions (AFS) powers innovation and the future of digital wealth management by processing millions of transactions daily, to simplify, automate, and facilitate access to financial markets for all. Our robust suite of fintech solutions enables us to support clients such as Stash, Betterment, SoFi, and Webull, and more than 20 million of our clients' customers. 

Collectively, AFS creates an environment in which companies with the biggest ideas in fintech are empowered to change the world. As a global organization, we have offices in Austin, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Portland, Belfast, and Manila.

If you are seeking a fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment where you'll have the opportunity to make an immediate impact, and you have the guts to change everything, this is the place for you. 

AFS has received a number of prestigious industry awards, including:

  • 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 Best Wealth Management Company - presented by Fintech Breakthrough Awards

  • 2021 Most Innovative Companies - presented by Fast Company

  • 2021 Best API & Best Trading Technology - presented by Global Fintech Awards

ABOUT THIS ROLE

As Platform Architect for Data & Database Solutions, you will lead the design and implementation of cloud-based solutions that form the foundation of our data platform. This role requires deep technical expertise in GCP technologies combined with strategic thinking to translate complex business requirements into scalable, sustainable architectural solutions. You will drive critical initiatives that shape how our organization leverages data, working closely with stakeholders across the business to ensure our technology strategies align with organizational objectives. Your work will directly impact our ability to deliver secure, compliant, and high-performing data solutions that meet the rigorous standards of the fintech industry while supporting our clients and enhancing our data platform capabilities.

Duties/Responsibilities:

· Define the database architecture roadmap spanning on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, ensuring alignment with business objectives and product requirements

· Select and standardize DBMS technologies, architectural patterns, and tooling for OLTP and OLAP use cases across the organization

· Lead capacity planning initiatives and design scaling strategies including partitioning, sharding, and multi-region/high-availability architectures

· Develop logical and physical data models, entity-relationship diagrams, and schemas that appropriately balance normalization and denormalization requirements

· Establish comprehensive data governance standards covering naming conventions, versioning, lineage tracking, and retention policies with supporting documentation

· Optimize database performance through query tuning, indexing strategies, caching mechanisms, and execution plan analysis; conduct load testing and benchmarking

· Implement high-availability solutions including replication, backup/restore procedures, and disaster recovery strategies with clearly defined RPO/RTO targets

· Instrument and monitor database health, capacity utilization, and SLA compliance; lead incident response efforts and conduct thorough postmortems

· Enforce security controls including encryption at rest and in transit, comprehensive auditing, RBAC/IAM policies, and data access governance

· Collaborate with security and compliance teams to ensure adherence to GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, FINRA, and other industry-specific regulatory requirements

· Introduce and maintain CI/CD practices for database changes utilizing migration tools such as Liquibase, Flyway, or Alembic

· Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management using Infrastructure as Code tools including Terraform and CloudFormation

· Establish guardrails for schema evolution, implement change review processes, and define rollback strategies

· Advise engineering teams on schema design principles and query optimization best practices; conduct thorough design reviews

· Mentor database administrators and software engineers; develop training programs and maintain comprehensive internal documentation

· Evaluate emerging technologies and conduct proofs of concept with detailed cost/performance analyses to inform strategic decisions

Education and/or Experience:

· Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related technical field

· Minimum 12 years of progressive experience in technology solutions, development, and architecture

· At least 10 years of experience leading complex system integration projects with focus on cloud data migration, data integration, data modeling, and performance tuning

· 7+ years of experience leading strategic digital transformation initiatives in enterprise environments

· 4+ years of management experience overseeing multiple concurrent projects

· Minimum 2 years of experience leading multidisciplinary teams across different functions and geographies

Additional Skills/Abilities:

· Deep expertise in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) products and services with demonstrated ability to design comprehensive cloud-based solutions

· Proven leadership capabilities with strong communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with technical teams and business stakeholders

· Demonstrated ability to navigate complex and ambiguous situations while maintaining focus on strategic objectives

· Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and drive consensus across diverse groups

· Track record of delivering solutions that adhere to regulatory requirements and industry standards without compromise

· Experience working in collaborative environments with commitment to professional conduct and team-oriented culture

· Ability to mentor and develop technical talent while maintaining a continuous learning mindset

Work Environment

  • This job operates in a hybrid, office environment 3 days per week.

#engineering #mid-senior #full-time #LI-LN1 #APEX

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Our Rewards

We offer a robust package of employee perks and benefits, including healthcare benefits (medical, dental and vision, EAP), competitive PTO, 401k match, parental leave, and HSA contribution match. We also provide our employees with a paid subscription to the Calm app and offer generous external learning and tuition reimbursement benefits. At AFS , we offer a hybrid work schedule for most roles that allows employees to have the flexibility of working from home and one of our primary offices.

Salary Range

$148,800-$186,000

The annual base salary range for this position is noted above. Exact compensation offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and office location.

EEO Statement

Apex Fintech Solutions is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Our hiring practices ensure that all qualified applicants receive fair consideration without regard to these characteristics.

Disability Statement

Apex Fintech Solutions is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace for all candidates, including those with disabilities. We are dedicated to ensuring equal employment opportunities and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, please submit your request via the Candidate Accommodation Requests Form. We will work with you to provide the necessary accommodations to ensure your full participation in our hiring process.