Job Description

Do you have a passion for children and education? Would you like to positively impact families in need of help? We want to speak with you!

Step Up For Students empowers families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children.

Step Up For Students empowers families to pursue the most appropriate learning options for their children. We unite communities to provide scholarships that open doors to a stronger future. With this support, students can choose the right learning environment and access resources to reach their full potential.

Our culture is rooted in two core values:
• Everyone is an asset
• Every event is an improvement opportunity

These values guide how we work together and continuously improve. We expect every team member to bring these principles to life in their daily work.

The Director, Enterprise Standards & Systems Architecture (SUFS) is responsible for defining, governing, and evolving the enterprise architecture vision and technology roadmap across the SUFS platform. This executive leader serves as a recognized technology expert, bringing deep expertise in modern software engineering, cloud-native architectures, emerging technologies, platform engineering, and industry best practices.
Operating as both a strategic leader and hands-on technologist, the Director provides architectural leadership for the SUFS platform and its critical business applications, with a strong focus on designing scalable, resilient, secure, and high-performing systems and services deployed on public cloud platforms.

This role is accountable for establishing and maintaining enterprise architecture standards, ensuring alignment with the broader technology strategy, and driving the adoption of modern architectural patterns that support business growth, innovation, and operational excellence. The Director will ensure that platform and application architectures are designed for scale, stability, security, and high availability while enabling future flexibility and technology modernization.

Reporting directly to the Chief Information Officer, this leader will partner closely with technology, product, and business stakeholders to future-proof the SUFS technology ecosystem and deliver reliable, enterprise-grade solutions that advance organizational objectives.

Location: Remote (United States)

Key Responsibilities:
• Defining and developing an end-to-end enterprise application and systems architecture blueprint.
• Defining architectural standards for development teams including compliance to defined service level agreements for availability, performance and capacity requirements.
• Ensuring continued technology modernization based on product and market evolution.
• Ensuring delivered solutions are compliant to Enterprise architecture standards and
meet/perform to technical and functional/non-functional requirements.
• Ensuring continued compliance to SUFS industry application, access and change control security standards.
• Providing deep technical hands-on support to development, deployment and operations teams.
• Consulting as required with clients and partners to ensure frictionless integration into the SUFS platform.
• Be an enigmatic technology leader who successfully gains respect of technology as well as business stakeholders.
• Be a visionary to help lead SUFS Enterprise Architecture and solutions to the next phase of desired growth.
• Be proud to have ownership role in helping build up SUFS overall architecture practice.
• Play critical role in SUFS technology and platform evaluation efforts via RFI/RFP in partnership with external third-party evaluators.
• Ability to absorb new information very quickly and provide architectural/best-practice guidance.
• Ability to provide hands-on and lead-by-example mentoring to rest of team.
• Build and lead an Enterprise Standards & Systems Architecture team across the following interrelated disciplines
◦ Data Architecture
◦ Systems Architecture

Qualifications:
• Demonstrated success and a proven track record in professional/life experience in specific job functions, projects, or industries. Military service can substitute for professional experience and/or formal education requirements.
• 7+ years leading architecture discussions, decision making, and collaborating with other architecture teams in the enterprise.
• 3+ years of relevant large-scale enterprise transformation experience as relates to architecture is preferred.
• Deep understanding and experience designing and developing cloud native network
• architectures and application development methodologies.
• Deep expertise in one or more the following technology areas: Cloud Native Solution Architecture, Scaled application development, Cloud Native Site Reliability Engineering, Network Architecture & Engineering and AI/ML modeling.
• Hands-on experience architecting and developing large sophisticated transactional systems with high volume and high-performance requirements.
• Proven understanding of software engineering best practices and a passion for transforming how we build and operate software.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with executive leadership, product management leaders/teams, architects and technical leads for individual products and applications and challenge decisions made with a focus on critical business objectives.
• Demonstrate knowledge of DevOps tool chains and Azure DevOps experience is a plus.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert to the organization for SUFS end-to-end software, cloud, and data architecture, including MS/Azure.
• Demonstrate leadership ability to back decisions with research and the "why," and articulate several options, the pros and cons for each, and a recommendation.
• Maintain overall industry knowledge on latest trends, technology.
• Define optimal design patterns and solutions for high availability and disaster recovery for applications.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, systems analysis or a related study, or equivalent.
• Past experience in successful digital transformation efforts in a bi-modal multi-year
transformation journey

You’ll Stand Out If You Have:
• ITIL/TOGAF/Equivalent certification preferred.
• Master's preferred.

Key Competencies:
• The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in cloud-native platform and application development technologies supporting scaled financial, healthcare or ecommerce.
• The position requires strong leadership and the ability to lead from the front and rear as well as collaborate effectively across multiple teams with a group of high performing individuals.

Interview Process:
• Veriff Identity Verification
• Recruiter Video Interview
• Chief of Staff to CIO Video Interview
• Chief Information Officer Video Interview
• Peer Video Interviews

Why you’ll love working here:
• Award-Winning Culture:
We’ve been named one of the Best Companies to Work For four years in a row by Florida Trend and Workforce Research Group and honored as one of the Healthiest Companies by Florida’s First Coast Worksite Wellness Council. Fast Company recognized us as one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators—proof that we foster an environment where big ideas and bold thinking are encouraged.
• Comprehensive Benefits:
Enjoy medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus HSA, FSA, and Lifestyle Spending Accounts. We also offer a competitive 401(k) with company match to help you plan for the future.
• Flexibility & Work-Life Harmony:
Remote work options and unique time-off programs—including 14 paid holidays, Care and Parental Leave, and our Flexible Leave policy.
• Growth & Development:
From mentorship programs to management training and professional development opportunities, we invest in your career journey every step of the way.
• Supportive Professional Environment:
Our dedicated coaching team is here to help you succeed, and employee-led committees give you a voice in shaping our workplace. Collaboration isn’t just encouraged, it’s how we work.

Working Conditions and Equipment Use:
• Work is performed indoors in a typical office environment - not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
• Valid driver’s license and proof of insurance may be required, depending on role responsibilities.
• Must be able to lift up to fifteen (15) pounds.
• Frequent use of office machines to include telephone, computer, and printer.

Step Up For Students is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity & inclusion in the workplace.