LPL Financial

LPL Financial is #1 independent broker dealer in US, a fortune 500 company, with assets under custody and advisory assets greater than 1.4 trillion USD. It’s a fast-growing fintech firm (NASDAQ: LPLA) with greater than 22,000 advisors and more than 1000 institutional wealth managers leveraging LPL’s technology platform and business services.

At LPL, technology resources are about 35% of total company’s resource pool, clearly demonstrating that technology is not only supporting our business, but it is truly powering growth and investments. It is exciting time to be part of LPL technology as we are leveraging latest and greatest technology and innovation to empower future growth of the firm.

Why Should You Join the Data Technology Team at LPL Financial?

At LPL Financial, we are in a transformational journey marked by a relentless commitment to innovation and excellence. Our mission is straightforward yet impactful: to empower financial advisors with the most advanced tools and insights, enabling them to offer personalized, efficient, and seamless experiences to their clients.

Central to this mission is our Data Technology team, which is tasked with developing a next-generation data platform that will fundamentally redefine the financial landscape. By leveraging cloud-based technologies, we're not just adapting to the future—we're actively creating it.

This is a pivotal position that sits at the very heart of our strategy and operations. As we make significant investments in our key data assets and platforms, this role emerges as the cornerstone of our mission to revolutionize the way financial services are delivered and experienced by our clients. It's a chance to make a significant impact—not just within our company, but in the broader financial industry and in the lives of millions of investors.

This role offers the thrilling opportunity to work with the latest technologies in cloud computing, big data, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. You will lead the exploration and integration of these technologies, keeping our platforms at the cutting edge in the financial industry.

Job Overview:

This is a newly created position to join one of the largest independent broker-dealers as Chief Data Architect for LPL Technology. The Chief Data Architect will work directly with the CIO of Data Technology, the Chief Data Officer, and their leadership teams and drive definition of the target-state architecture across several technology domains that develop and maintain our platforms and experiences. This role will also be a key contributor to driving the broader enterprise architecture strategy across the organization. As the highest authority in this domain, the Chief Data Architect will drive execution and wield significant influence over LPL’s data strategy.

This role will dual report into CIO of Technology Modernization & Enterprise Architecture and CIO of Data Technology. “Be great at data” is LPL’s stated firm strategy and this role is seen as a critical leadership position across technology, product, and business organization and it will have multiple stakeholder relationships in each area.

Responsibilities

As a Chief Data Architect for LPL Technology, you will be entrusted with a range of critical responsibilities that are pivotal to our mission and our strategic outcomes.

• Architectural Visionary: Develop and execute a comprehensive roadmap for transforming LPL Financials’ data infrastructure, with a focus on execution and engineering delivery excellence. Lead the creation of a cohesive data ecosystem using Cloud technologies for batch and real time data ingestion & processing, analytics and machine learning for our mission critical advisor and client facing applications. Your vision will encompass creating systems to provide that are not only functional but excel in performance at high volume, security, and scalability, ensuring the resiliency continuous availability of our services.
• Transformation Leader: Spearhead complex, enterprise-wide transformation projects with a strategic and results-oriented approach, ensuring our technology stack remains at the industry's cutting edge and is capable of evolving with our business needs.
• Strategic Collaborator: Work closely with business, product, and technology leaders to align our strategic vision with the architectural roadmap, translating advisor/client needs into groundbreaking technical solutions.
• Technical Mentor and Guide: Serve as an industry expert for enterprise architecture tools, technology, and standards while providing architectural and strategic consulting in the areas of external trends, best practices and adherence to standards. Inspire and lead a team of talented data architects, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Regulatory Excellence and Security: Your expertise will guide us in not only meeting but exceeding regulatory requirements, ensuring that our clients' data is secure and their trust in us is well-placed. Your strategic vision will navigate the complexities of data regulation, turning potential constraints into opportunities for innovation.
• Advisor & Investor Experience Champion: Engage directly with financial advisors to understand their needs, driving technological solutions that enhance their ability to serve clients effectively and efficiently.
• Technology Evaluation and Adoption: Evaluate and select technologies and platforms that facilitate execution and engineering delivery excellence, while enabling seamless integration with external software providers. Drive the adoption of industry best practices for data architecture, leveraging practitioner-level experience with domain-driven design.

What Are We Looking For?

We are seeking experienced visionaries with

Requirements:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, with AWS certification highly regarded.
• At least 15 years of experience in software engineering and architecture, focusing on data technology and cloud solutions, including a proven track record of leading significant successful transformation initiatives in complex environments.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in data architecture and engineering delivery, with at least 5 years in a Chief Data Architect role.

Technical Competencies

• Proven leadership in executing transformative projects, with a strong command of modern cloud-based data processing, analytics, and AI/ML, utilizing the AWS technology stack.
• Skilled in crafting robust data ecosystems optimized for high-volume, real-time operations, employing relational databases such as RDS, NoSQL, along with advanced data technologies like Snowflake and BI tools such as Tableau.
• Proficiency in architecting Event-Driven solutions encompassing event brokers, streams, and serverless functions to sophisticated event processing and analytics using container and orchestration technologies including but not limited to AWS Kinesis, Kafka, AWS Lambda.
• Adept in formulating and enforcing Master Data Management (MDM) strategies, data governance frameworks, handling metadata, and fostering clear data lineage processes to uphold data integrity and regulatory compliance.
• Deep understanding of modern workplace practices including Domain-Based Design, DevSecOps, Continuous Delivery, and Agile methodologies, with an emphasis on Lean principles.
• Deep knowledge and experience across both operational (OLTP) and back office (OLAP) data systems and architectures, including a working knowledge of both normalized and dimensional data modeling approaches and applications.
• Experience with architectures to deliver critical reference data to applications with low latency at enterprise scale, including appropriate use of caching and data grid patterns and technologies.
• Familiarity with API management solutions and the transition to an API-first approach

Core Competencies

• A commitment to nurturing a culture of perpetual learning and skill enhancement, advocating for technological modernization and adherence to extensive non-functional requirements (NFRs), such as scalability and seamless integration practices.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of working with leadership to demystify complex data concepts into tangible plans and strategies, underlining the importance of cloud adoption pathways and pinpointing initiatives that resonate with the intended architectural and business aims.
• A zealous and constant learner, keen to delve into the latest technological advancements, modern workplace practices, and the finer points of digital transformation.
• A pledge to promote a climate of innovation and excellence, advocating for perpetual improvement and the integration of data science to guide strategic choices.
• Experience within the financial sector, especially in wealth management, securities, and trading, is preferred.

Pay Range:

$241,280-$361,920/year

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!

Why LPL? 

At LPL, we believe that objective financial guidance is a fundamental need for everyone. As the nation’s leading independent broker-dealer, we offer an integrated platform of proprietary technology, brokerage, and investment advisor services. We provide you with a work environment that encourages your creativity and growth, a leadership team that is supportive and responsive, and the opportunity to create a career that has no limits, only amazing potential.

We are one team on one mission. We take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

Because our company is not too big and not too small, you can seize the opportunity to make a real impact. We are committed to supporting workplace equality, and we embrace the different perspectives and backgrounds of our employees. We also care for our communities, and we encourage our employees to do the same. This creates an environment in which you can do your best work.

Want to hear from our employees on what it’s like to work at LPL? Watch this!

We take social responsibility seriously. Learn more here

Want to see info on our benefits? Learn more here

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.