Chief IT Architect

Job Posting:
JR102301 Chief IT Architect (Open)
Department:
UBalt OTS Staff Inst Support Admin, PM
Position Type:
Regular
Open Date:
11-09-2026
Close Date:
$130,000 - $180,000
Job Description:
Reporting to the deputy chief information officer, the chief IT architect provides leadership, guidance and support to the campus community by working collaboratively with business units and information technology (IT) disciplines across the university. This position contributes to the mission of the university by enabling exceptional student experiences through the selection and integration of technology, and by working on efforts that will improve efficiency and effectiveness of administrative and business operations. This position interacts regularly with OTS leadership and all OTS staff, as well as frontline transactional employees, business unit directors, and managers. The architect is responsible for IT architecture development, design, and analysis for the university. Advises OTS senior management on technology decisions to provide the best strategy. The architect monitors industry trends and is forward looking and thinking in advocacy of technology solutions.
This is a hybrid position that requires on-campus work at least one day per week, with the option to telework up to four days per week. Additional on-campus presence may be required periodically during the academic year to support university activities and operational needs.
Responsibilities
Technology Architecture and Strategy: Builds and maintains a framework for developing technology solutions that meet the university’s technology requirements and the needs of students, faculty and staff.
Organizes and leads skill development and educational sessions for OTS staff on emerging technologies
Designs secure technology solutions based on industry standards and best practices
Stays abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies
Evaluates and recommends new products and technologies
Documents architectural components and systems
Assesses technical concerns, ideas, and suggestions
Participates as an expert on UBalt and USM workgroups regarding cloud services, system architecture issues, and technology solution strategies
Analysis of University IT Needs and Solutions: Coordinates review, design, and implementation resulting in effective solutions that meet the needs and expectations of customers.
Reviews and provides feedback on all proposed technology purchases requested by the University community to that they meet UBalt’s established standards and methodologies, and advising for any compliance considerations
Documents university needs in order to define system requirements and specifications
Assesses benefit of architectural alternatives, and recommends solutions that provide the best solution for the university
Works with the community, external vendors, senior technical staff, peers in the university System of Maryland and other higher education institutions to obtain functional requirements, best practices and technology trends
Analyzes the scope and impact of proposed systems and integrations
Evaluates hardware and software, and suggests integration methods
Communicates system requirements to development teams
Provides technical leadership and support to implementation teams
IT Procurement review: Completes pre-procurement reviews of software, subscriptions that are submitted to the IT procurement review process.
Performs pre-procurement reviews of software, ensuring appropriate and effective use of technology and that it meets UBalt’s established framework and methodologies
Review procurements for compatibility with both USM and institutional Information Technology security and architecture policies and standards.
Change Management for Technology: Establishes and oversees a program to review, coordinate and communicate IT changes resulting in a stable technology environment with no unplanned or unexpected impacts to the user community.
Organizes and leads the university’s IT Change Control Board (CCB)
Ensures that all technology change requests follow approved change control procedures, and are accurately described and recorded
Reviews proposed technology changes for adherence to university architectural standards and policies, and the impact to the university community
Facilitates the discussion of proposed changes when necessary
Mentors team members regarding the role of change management within the organization and the protocols and procedures employed
IT Portfolio Management: Maintains an inventory of IT resources that supports data-driven decision making.
Maintains a configuration management database (CMDB) to assist in making data driven decisions
Participates in the project management process by providing initial technical reviews
Serves as a project team member on technology related projects
Provides analysis and reporting of the information relevant to university projects, initiatives, and compliance
Ensures CMDB accuracy by meeting with OTS managers twice per year and validating against the Office of Procurement records
Maintains accurate documentation of the current state of the IT environment
Information Security: Collaborates with the information technology security staff to develop, document and implement a security architecture and policy that supports the appropriate confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and information technology systems.
Incorporates security architecture into enterprise architecture planning and design
Provides guidance to the IT security staff by reviewing USM security policies for impact to university technology architecture
Provides guidance to staff pertaining to security issues
Provides backup support for information security tasks as necessary
Provides support for audit requirements and audit processes as necessary
Minimum Qualifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems or related field
Experience:
Five years of experience designing information and system architecture
Understanding of IT infrastructure and enterprise architectures
Knowledge of systems including network design and management, and server infrastructure
Preferred Qualifications:
Education: Master’s degree in computer science, IT engineering, or related field/discipline that informs and supports position responsibilities and duties
Experience:
Seven years of experience designing information and system architecture
Knowledge of systems including network design and management, server infrastructure, application and integration architectures, and enterprise data management paradigms
Advanced understanding of IT infrastructure and enterprise architectures
Experience with higher education IT systems
Familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Analytical Skills
Ability to determine big-picture implications from basic specifications
Demonstrated ability to translate complex requirements into forward-thinking functional architecture
Ability to be involved in simultaneous projects to assure they are delivered on-time and meet customer requirements
Ability to perform cost-benefit analyses of alternatives and assess risk
Ability to understand the legislative, regulatory, policy and procedure requirements regarding enterprise architecture and security, and to apply that knowledge to the university’s systems
Organizational Skills
Provides input for the development of project plans including tasks, timelines and dependencies
Exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills
Ability to track and document requirements and other information between multiple parties
Ability to schedule and prioritize tasks to meet project deadlines
Ability to work on multiple projects concurrently
Ability to develop, adopt, and implement technical standards, as well as integrate industry standards
Interpersonal Skills
Excellent communication skills
Demonstrated ability to successfully interact with multiple stakeholders with divergent interests to obtain common goals and objectives
Ability to work with clients (end users, business unit management, and senior

Skills
Project Management, Procurement, ERP, Documentation