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LPL Financial is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer and a Fortune 500 fintech leader, supporting more than $1.2 trillion in assets through a modern technology platform that powers over 22,000 advisors. Technology is not just a support function at LPL — it is a primary growth engine.

As a Distinguished Architect for Trading & Investment Management Technology, you will operate at the intersection of business strategy, product innovation, and enterprise architecture — shaping the future of LPL's trading platforms across Broker Dealer, Advisory, and Models capabilities. This is a rare opportunity to define and drive architecture at enterprise scale while remaining deeply hands-on in crafting modern, cloud-native, API-first solutions that directly impact advisors and their clients across retail, self-directed, and private wealth trading — including emerging capabilities in blockchain-based assets and tokenized securities.

Job Overview

This role serves as a senior individual-contributor architecture leader within Trading & Investment Management Technology. The Distinguished Architect partners directly with the EVP/CIO and executive leadership to define target-state architecture across LPL's trading platforms while contributing to the broader enterprise architecture strategy.

The role blends strategic influence with deep technical engagement — guiding domain architects, shaping architectural standards, and ensuring business strategy, regulatory considerations, and trading industry best practices are translated into scalable, secure, and high-performance technology solutions.

Year One Expectations

Immerse yourself in LPL's business vision and strategy; develop a deep understanding of the trading and investment management domain, including internal and external actors, end-to-end dependencies, and regulatory landscape.
Partner with business and technology stakeholders to construct a Blueprint that articulates a 3-year, business-and-technology-aligned target-state and roadmap for trading platforms spanning Broker Dealer, Advisory, and Models.
Contribute broadly to LPL's solution architecture work and platform foundations — including API definition, framework and reusable asset identification — and identify synergies in business requirements that enable efficiency, enterprise reuse, and enhanced outcomes for advisors and clients.
Contribute to and evangelize the company's architecture strategy, principles, and processes across the enterprise.
Develop relationships with business and technology leadership and teams; establish feedback loops that enable continuous improvement for both the individual and the organization.

Key Responsibilities

The Distinguished Architect will be a highly technical, forward-looking, and innovative leader with a solid foundation in software engineering and deep expertise in trading technology. Key responsibilities include:

Architecture Leadership

Define and steward target-state architecture for mission-critical trading platforms, including Broker Dealer, Advisory, and Models capabilities, along with all upstream and downstream dependencies.
Partner with business, product, and technology leaders to align architectural strategy with enterprise priorities and funding decisions.
Guide and influence domain-aligned solution and data architects to maintain architectural coherence and quality across the trading domain.
Lead the effective application of enterprise architecture principles through a deep understanding of the architecture discipline, processes, concepts, and best practices.

Standards, Frameworks & Innovation

Establish and evolve architectural standards, principles, reusable assets, and frameworks that drive scalability, availability, security, performance, and quality across the enterprise.
Research, develop, and implement innovative solutions across the architecture to enable strategic objectives; serve as an expert for enterprise architecture tools, technology, and standards.
Monitor and apply emerging technologies — including AI/ML for predictive analytics, intelligent order routing, and anomaly detection; blockchain and distributed ledger technology for tokenized securities and on-chain settlement; and modern event-driven data platforms — to transform trading operations and advisor experiences.
Drive the adoption of AI-powered capabilities across trading workflows, including algorithmic trading assistance, real-time risk monitoring, portfolio rebalancing optimization, and natural language interfaces for advisors and clients.
Identify opportunities for enterprise reuse, efficiency, and improved business outcomes through architectural alignment and shared platform foundations.

Modernization & Strategy

Lead modernization initiatives including cloud adoption on AWS, API-first transformation, and migration from legacy monolithic trading systems to microservices and event-driven architectures.
Define architectural blueprints and best practices for mission-critical trading portfolios; lead continuous evolution of the supporting technology platform, including strategic technology decisions and integration strategies.
Champion Architecture as Code (AaC) practices — defining, versioning, and governing architecture models as code artifacts integrated into CI/CD pipelines — to enable automated compliance checks, drift detection, and living documentation across the trading technology estate.
Contribute to and drive common architectural standards across the enterprise that emphasize scalability, availability, security, performance, and quality.

Stakeholder Engagement

Interface with key business and IT leaders to understand priorities and deliver modern product architecture strategies and solutions that enable the company's vision and growth.
Proactively engage executive leadership to influence funding, priorities, and architecture change while engaging deep in the technology organization to communicate strategies and collaborate hands-on with solutioning.
Provide architectural and strategic consulting in the areas of external trends, best practices, and adherence to standards; present build-versus-buy evaluations clearly to the entire organization.
Lead and facilitate the creation of governing principles to guide information, technology, and solution decision-making across the enterprise.

What Are We Looking For?

We want strong collaborators who can deliver a world-class advisor and client experience. We are looking for people who thrive in a fast-paced environment, are client-focused and team-oriented, and execute in a way that encourages creativity and continuous improvement. Our ideal candidates act with integrity, pursue greatness, and are driven to help clients succeed.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
5 or more years of experience in trading technology domains, resulting in both trading business and technology expertise — including knowledge of retail, self-directed, and private wealth trading across equities, mutual funds, ETFs, options, annuities, and structured products.
Hands-on experience with major trading platforms and order management systems (OMS), execution management systems (EMS), and trading venue connectivity, including FIX protocol and market data infrastructure.
Experience designing and integrating AI/ML capabilities into trading platforms, including use cases such as intelligent order routing, predictive risk models, anomaly detection, and AI-assisted advisor tools.
8 or more years of experience designing enterprise-class solution and data architectures, including microservices, event-driven systems, and high-volume, mission-critical trading platforms.
Demonstrated experience designing and implementing strategic roadmaps along with the governance mechanisms to achieve them.
Hands-on experience developing architecture blueprints, systems diagrams, data models, process flows, data flows, and other key architecture deliverables.
Demonstrated experience leading major transformations from monolithic to cloud-native architectures, with focus on AWS.
Experience with Architecture as Code (AaC) practices and tooling — including defining, versioning, and validating architecture models programmatically using tools such as Structurizr, Backstage, ArchiMate, or equivalent DSL-based frameworks — to ensure architecture is treated as a living, auditable artifact alongside code.

Preferences

Master's degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
Expertise in pricing, market data, and order management systems across equities, mutual funds, ETFs, options, annuities, and structured products.
Experience with retail and self-directed trading platforms, including architecture patterns for high-throughput, low-latency order routing and execution.
Experience with blockchain platforms (e.g., Ethereum, Hyperledger, Solana) and their application to financial services use cases such as digital asset custody, tokenization, and on-chain settlement.
Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks and platforms (e.g., Amazon SageMaker, Bedrock, or equivalent) and experience embedding AI capabilities into financial services workflows.
Financial services experience, particularly in wealth management or broker-dealer environments.
AWS Solutions Architect certification.
Familiarity with regulatory standards relevant to trading and broker-dealer operations.

Core Competencies

Strategic systems thinking with the ability to translate business strategy into executable trading technology architecture; skilled at conveying technical solutions clearly and facilitating build-versus-buy evaluations with senior leadership.
Adept at defining IT vision and strategy, including cloud adoption roadmaps and identification of initiatives that lead to target-state architectures and outcomes.
Continuous learner, especially in emerging areas of technology including AI/ML, generative AI, modern work practices, and digital transformation in financial services.
Proficiency in Architecture as Code principles and tooling, with the ability to embed architectural governance into engineering workflows and treat architecture models as versioned, testable artifacts.
Demonstrated competency in innovative, strategic thinking, and leadership with strong abilities in relationship management.
Experience working and leading in matrixed, fast-moving environments; influence-based leadership in large-scale technology organizations.
Extensive experience working in large technology ecosystems with emphasis on integrating high-scale, high-volume, always-on, mission-critical trading systems — including OMS/EMS platforms, retail trading engines, market data feeds, and emerging blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.

Pay Range:

$188,902.00 - $314,768.00

Actual base salary varies based on factors, including but not limited to, relevant skill, prior experience, education, base salary of internal peers, demonstrated performance, and geographic location. Additionally, LPL Total Rewards package is highly competitive, designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play – such as 401K matching, health benefits, employee stock options, paid time off, volunteer time off, and more. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that LPL has to offer!

Company Overview:

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) is among the fastest growing wealth management firms in the U.S. As a leader in the financial advisor-mediated marketplace(6) , LPL supports over 32,000 financial advisors and the wealth management practices of approximately 1,100 financial institutions, servicing and custodying approximately $2.3 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets on behalf of approximately 8 million Americans. The firm provides a wide range of advisor affiliation models, investment solutions, fintech tools and practice management services, ensuring that advisors and institutions have the flexibility to choose the business model, services, and technology resources they need to run thriving businesses. For further information about LPL, please visit www.lpl.com.

At LPL, independence means that advisors and institution leaders have the freedom they deserve to choose the business model, services, and technology resources that allow them to run a thriving business. They have the flexibility to do business their way. And they have the freedom to manage their client relationships, because they know their clients best. Simply put, we take care of our advisors and institutions, so they can take care of their clients.

For further information about LPL, please visit www.lpl.com.

Join the LPL team and help us make a difference by turning life’s aspirations into financial realities. Please log in or create an account to apply to this position. Principals only. EOE.

Information on Interviews:

LPL will only communicate with a job applicant directly from an @lplfinancial.com email address and will never conduct an interview online or in a chatroom forum. During an interview, LPL will not request any form of payment from the applicant, or information regarding an applicant’s bank or credit card. Should you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact LPL’s Human Resources Solutions Center at (855) 575-6947.

EAC 5.19.26

LPL Financial

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Distinguished Architect, Trading Platforms and Technology