Solution Architect

At the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, employees come first - that's why we offer a highly competitive compensation and bonus package, and access to a comprehensive benefits program designed to meet the needs of our employees.

Interested in learning more about this job Scroll down and find out what skills, experience and educational qualifications are needed.

Collaborative, in-office operating model

Retirement program (401k and Pension)

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Lifestyle Spending Account

Competitive PTO plan

11 paid holidays per year

Who we are :

Our mission at FHLBank Chicago : To partner with our members in Illinois and Wisconsin to provide them competitively priced funding, a reasonable return on their investment, and support for their community investment activities.

Simply said, we're a bank for banks and other financial institutions, focused on being a strategic partner for our members and working together to reinvest in our communities, from urban centers to rural areas. Created by Congress in 1932, FHLBank Chicago is one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, government sponsored in support of mortgage lending and community investment.

What it's like to work here

At FHLBank Chicago, we bring people together. We are committed to a high performing, engaged workforce, and to supporting the communities we serve across Illinois and Wisconsin. Our Buddy Program pairs new hires with tenured employees to guide their onboarding. Our professional development and training opportunities through upskilling, mentorship programs, and tuition reimbursement allow employees to grow their career with us. Our collaborative, in-office operating model brings teams together to foster innovation, connection, and shared success. To support balance and flexibility, employees are provided an allocation of remote days to use as needed throughout the year.

What You'll do

The Solution Architect defines technology solutions that satisfy the needs of a particular business unit, function or process by analyzing business requirements, evaluating existing systems, and proposing optimal architectures to solve business challenges, acting as a bridge between business needs and technical capabilities. The Solution Architect partners with key business stakeholders, delivery teams, other Solution Architects and Enterprise Architecture to ensure that defined solutions meet the needs of the business while also aligning with enterprise technology strategy (the technology "North Star"), enterprise architectures, and documented patterns and standards.

How you'll make an impact :

Contribute to the success of business initiatives and significantly influence the strategic direction of technology projects

Enhance overall business efficiency and effectiveness

Ensure consistency and coherence across the Bank's technology landscape

What you can expect :

Business Domain Needs Analysis : Develop an understanding of relevant business functions and associated challenges, translate complex business requirements into technical solutions.

Solution Development : Propose architecture solutions to solve business needs, considering factors like cost, performance, scalability and reuse, operational efficiency and security in alignment with enterprise technology strategy and architectures, and documented patterns and standards.

Proof of Concept Development : Build prototypes and proof-of-concepts to validate solution feasibility.

Technology Selection : Work with business and technology stakeholders, technology vendors and implementation partners to ensure that technologies are selected, designed and implemented in alignment with Bank policies, standards, and enterprise architectures.

Documentation and Knowledge Transfer : Create architecture documentation that successfully describes a proposed solution, effectively communicate the solution to all stakeholders.

Technology Governance : Participate in technology governance processes, present proposed solutions to and gain approval by the Architecture Review Board (ARB). Act as technical approver as part of the Change Approval Board (CAB).

Solution Implementation Oversight : Guide delivery teams during implementation, ensuring alignment with the approved architecture.

Stakeholder Management : Collaborate with cross-functional teams to communicate technical concepts and address concerns.

Mentorship and Coaching : Provide mentoring and guidance to delivery team members and Architecture teammates on business domain knowledge as well as technical topics.

What you'll bring :

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent education or work experience

7+ years of experience in information technology roles, with 1-3 years experience in architecture roles (enterprise or solution architecture)

Demonstrated ability to communicate the complexities of technical programs

Experience modeling system diagrams, functional processes and interfaces between systems

Experience working in a financial institution is desirable

Experience working in a regulated industry is desirable

Experience with cloud computing services, particularly Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS certifications are a plus

TOGAF certification is desirable

Communication : Excellent oral and written communication, can effectively communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences

Leadership : Guide technical teams and facilitate decision-making

Influencing : Effectively build consensus, successfully motivate others to move forward with a proposed architecture solution

Technical Expertise : Deep understanding of relevant technologies (cloud computing, databases, networking, software development methodologies, domain driven design, event driven architecture)

Critical Thinking : Demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, analyzing available facts, evidence, observations and arguments to make sound conclusions and informed choices

Business Acumen : Thorough knowledge of supported business domains and processes

Innovation : Generate creative solutions that incorporate emerging technologies and business trends

Teaming : Work well with teammates across the organization, manage conflict and constructively resolve issues, adapt to and rally personnel around change

Interpersonal : Strength in rapport-building, listening and questioning

Self-Direction : Highly self-motivated, adept at managing own time and workloads, effectively prioritizes and executes on work, sets appropriate boundaries around role, actively negotiates with multiple stakeholders to adjust workload, works independently with minimal supervision, takes ownership of tasks and responsibilities

The Perks

At FHLBank Chicago, we believe in rewarding our high performing workforce. We offer a highly competitive compensation and bonus package, and access to a comprehensive benefits program designed to meet the needs of our employees. Our retirement program includes a 401(k) and pension plan. Our wellbeing program supports employees at work and in their personal lives : Our PTO plan provides five weeks of vacation for new employees and 11 paid holidays per year; our Lifestyle Spending Account provides an annual stipend for employees to support wellbeing activities; and our central downtown location at the Old Post Office provides easy access to public transportation and breathtaking views from our award-winning rooftop. Visit for additional details about our benefits. Step into a brighter future with us.

Salary Range :

$125,825.00 - $221,275.00

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. xmcpwfu Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors. In addition to the base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package which can be found here :