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Sr Data Architect - (Data & Analytics / Cloud/ AI)

BMO · Naperville, IL · $100,000–$220,000 a year · Full time

Posted Aug 28, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

You'd partner with business and technical stakeholders. How do you explain an architectural trade-off to a business sponsor?

What they are checking: Whether they can explain a technical trade-off in business terms, so a sponsor can make an informed decision without jargon.

What would you do

You'd develop conceptual, logical and physical designs using enterprise architecture tooling. How do you keep those artifacts current rather than stale by the time they are approved?

What they are checking: Whether they keep design artifacts current as work changes, because stale diagrams mislead the teams relying on them.

You'd lead architecture reviews and design governance against target-state architecture. How do you review a design without becoming a gate teams route around?

What they are checking: Whether they can run architecture reviews that help teams, because a review seen as a gate simply gets avoided.

A delivery team proposes something that works but is off the target architecture and they have a deadline. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they can balance a delivery deadline against the target architecture, and plan a path back if they bend.

This is based at the Warrenville Road office in Naperville with a deadline of September 27. What would you want to know about the current estate and the target state before you took it?

What they are checking: Whether the Naperville office and deadline work, and whether they ask smart questions about the current estate before committing.

About the work

This role provides architecture leadership across enterprise data and analytics initiatives. Walk me through an architecture you owned end to end.

What they are checking: Whether they have owned a data architecture from start to finish, because this role leads architecture across the enterprise.

You'd design scalable data platforms covering ingestion, transformation, storage, governance, analytics and machine learning workloads. Which of those have you designed, and which would be new?

What they are checking: Whether they can say honestly which parts of a broad data stack they know deeply and which they would learn.

You'd define end-to-end architecture across cloud and hybrid environments. How do you decide what stays on premises at a bank?

What they are checking: Whether they can reason about what stays on premises in a bank, weighing regulation, data sensitivity, cost and latency.

How do you design data governance into a platform rather than bolting it on?

What they are checking: Whether they build governance into the platform itself, because controls added afterward are expensive and easy to bypass.

What does designing for artificial intelligence workloads change about a data platform?

What they are checking: Whether they understand what AI workloads demand from data platforms, such as features, lineage, scale and fresh data.

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The full job description

As published by BMO.

Application Deadline: 10/25/2026 Address: 1200 E. Warrenville Road Job Family Group: Technology Position Summary Seeking an experienced Solution Architect to provide architecture leadership across enterprise Data & Analytics initiatives. The role will be responsible for defining end-to-end solution architectures, establishing technology standards, driving cloud data platform modernization, and ensuring secure, scalable, and compliant data solutions. The Solution Architect will work closely with business stakeholders, product teams, engineers, security teams, and enterprise architects to deliver strategic data capabilities that support analytics, reporting, AI/ML, and digital transformation objectives. Key Responsibilities • Define and govern end-to-end architecture for Data & Analytics solutions across cloud and hybrid environments. • Develop architecture blueprints, conceptual, logical, and physical solution designs using enterprise architecture tools such as iServer , LeanIX, Orbus Infinity, or equivalent. Having iServer is plus. • Lead architecture reviews, design governance, and solution assessments to ensure alignment with enterprise standards and target-state architecture. • Design and implement scalable data platforms supporting data ingestion, transformation, storage, governance, analytics, and AI/ML workloads. • Partner with business and technical stakeholders to translate requirements into architecture roadmaps and implementation plans. • Provide technical leadership across multiple DnA initiatives, identifying risks, dependencies, and optimization opportunities. Required Technical Capabilities Cloud Data Platforms • Experience with AWS services including: • S3, Redshift, Glue, Athena, Lake Formation • Lambda, Step Functions • IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager • EventBridge and data streaming services • Exposure with Microsoft Azure services including: • Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) • Microsoft Fabric Data Integration & Movement • Experience designing enterprise-scale ETL/ELT solutions. • Knowledge of file transfer and integration technologies: • Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions • API-based integrations (REST, SOAP) • Event-driven and streaming architectures • Experience integrating SaaS, on-premises, and cloud-based applications. Data Security & Governance • Expertise in enterprise data security and compliance practices. • Experience implementing: • Data encryption at rest and in transit • Key management solutions • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) • Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) • Data masking and tokenization • Data classification and retention policies • Audit, monitoring, and compliance controls • Familiarity with regulatory and governance frameworks such as CCPA, HIPAA, SOX, and internal security standards. Architecture & Design • Strong understanding of: • Data Lake, Lakehouse, and Data Warehouse architectures • Enterprise Integration Patterns • API-first architectures • Microservices and event-driven architectures • Real-time and batch data processing • Data Mesh and Data Fabric concepts • Experience documenting architecture artifacts, capability maps, application inventories, technology roadmaps, and reference architectures. Architecture Governance & Data strategy • Experience in presenting complex solution to Architecture Review Board or similar and getting approved. • Experience in getting Architecture Alignment from various stake holder. • Experience in simplifying complex data problem and strategy into solution. • Have understanding of Organization wide data domain, data flow like. Customer, account, products, transactions etc and how to make meaningful outcome on data. • Clear vision and thinking of Data driven decision. Key AI architecture areas • AI reference architectures and integration patterns, AI application design, AI security, governance, and responsible AI practices *We are specifically seeking a Solution Architect with data expertise , rather than a Data Engineer . Salary : $100,000.00 - $220,000.00 Pay Type: Salaried The above represents BMO Financial Group’s pay range and type. Salaries will vary based on factors such as location, skills, experience, education, and qualifications for the role, and may include a commission structure. Salaries for part-time roles will be pro-rated based on number of hours regularly worked. For commission roles, the salary listed above represents BMO Financial Group’s expected target for the first year in this position. BMO Financial Group’s total compensation package will vary based on the pay type of the position and may include performance-based incentives, discretionary bonuses, as well as other perks and rewards. BMO also offers health insurance, tuition reimbursement, accident and life insurance, and retirement savings plans. To view more details of our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.bmo.com/global/en/Total-Rewards About Us At BMO we are driven by a shared Purpose: Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. It calls on us to create lasting, positive change for our customers, our communities and our people. By working together, innovating and pushing boundaries, we transform lives and businesses, and power economic growth around the world. As a member of the BMO team you are valued, respected and heard, and you have more ways to grow and make an impact. We strive to help you make an impact from day one – for yourself and our customers. We’ll support you with the tools and resources you need to reach new milestones, as you help our customers reach theirs. From in-depth training and coaching, to manager support and network-building opportunities, we’ll help you gain valuable experience, and broaden your skillset. To find out more visit us at http://jobs.bmo.com/us/en BMO is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other legally protected characteristics. We also consider applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. BMO is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to BMOCareers.Support@bmo.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Note to Recruiters: BMO does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. Any unsolicited resumes sent to BMO, directly or indirectly, will be considered BMO property. BMO will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume. A recruiting agency must first have a valid, written and fully executed agency agreement contract for service to submit resumes.

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