Director, Technical Architecture

Why USAA?

At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values – honesty, integrity, loyalty and service – define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impactful.

The Opportunity

The Director of Technical Architecture — Digital will lead a team of highly skilled architects across Member Digital Platforms, Contact Center, Marketing, and Enterprise Applications & Services. They will ensure the architecture organization operates smoothly day‑to‑day, remove operational impediments, and manage administrative coordination so architects can focus on high‑value technical work. In addition, the Director will prioritize the personal and technical growth of direct reports—providing mentoring, performance development, career pathing, and hands‑on coaching to build a high‑performing, future‑ready architecture practice while translating strategy into consistent, high‑quality execution across the association’s mission areas (Member Value, Communications & Public Affairs, and Marketing).

We offer a flexible work environment that requires an individual to be in the office 4 days per week. This position can be based in one of the following locations: San Antonio, TX, Plano, TX, Phoenix, AZ, or Charlotte, NC, Chesapeake. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

What you'll do:

• Act as the primary operational lead supporting the entire Digital Architecture team—manage the architecture team’s daily operations, coordinate priorities, and ensure continuity of leadership and delivery.
• Operational leadership & smooth running: Oversee task assignment, sprint/workload coordination, resource allocation, and escalations to keep architecture workstreams on schedule and aligned with strategic objectives.
• Stakeholder management: Serve as a principal liaison to business, marketing, communications, and IT stakeholders to align architecture outcomes with mission priorities and drive consensus on tradeoffs and delivery plans.
• Lead, mentor/coach and grow a high-performing team of architects and technical experts; provide recruitment, performance management, and career development.
• Provide technical direction and oversight for infrastructure, application, integration, and contact‑center/voice architectures across cloud, hybrid, and on‑prem environments.
• Champion simplification and standardization to reduce redundancy, accelerate delivery, and improve maintainability.
• Ensure solutions are secure, resilient, and scalable; embed privacy, security, and regulatory compliance into architectural decisions.
• Establish and enforce documentation standards, architecture review practices, quality assurance, and governance.
• Oversee KPIs and KRIs to measure architectural effectiveness, operational health, member experience outcomes, and compliance.
• Manage departmental budgets, forecasts, and cost‑benefit analyses; ensure cost‑effective delivery of architecture services.
• Drive modernization initiatives including cloud adoption, microservices, containerization, platform engineering, and real‑time engagement platforms.
• Oversee vendor and partner relationships, including contract negotiation, service delivery oversight, and staff augmentation.
• Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends to keep architectures agile and future‑ready.

What you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field; OR 4 additional years of related experience in lieu of a degree.
• 8 years of experience in a broad range of technology functions, including 3 years’ experience as a practicing Architect supporting successful completion of multiple architecture lifecycles.
• 3 years of direct team lead or people management experience.
• Comprehensive understanding of architectural frameworks, methodologies, and technologies.
• Proven experience managing all phases of the technology lifecycle— from conception through deployment, including a strong understanding of architectural principles, design patterns, best practices and post-implementation support, ensuring successful project outcomes.
• Strong technical knowledge across infrastructure services, cloud platforms, application development, and integration.
• Demonstrated experience in cost-benefit