Principal Architect – HR Technology

• Sydney Location / Hybrid Working Arrangements 
• Complex Corporate HR Domain SME Essential 

About the role 

This is a high-profile, business-facing leadership opportunity within Westpac Solutions, partnering closely with People (HR), Corporate Affairs & Community leadership teams and senior technology stakeholders. 

We are seeking a hands-on technology leader with deep senior solution architecture subject matter expertise in the Human Resources and People Technology domain. This role requires someone who can shape strategy, influence investment decisions and remain close to the practical solution design choices that enable delivery. 

Your focus will be on ensuring technology investments are aligned to Westpac's strategy and deliver sustainable business value, with a significant focus on modern HR platforms, workforce data, employee experience, Data & AI, simplification, modernisation and responsible innovation. 

Importantly, this is not a purely advisory, governance or roadmap role. You will lead a team of Solution Architects while staying actively engaged in architecture decisions, solution design, technology selection, integration patterns and delivery trade-offs across complex enterprise platforms. 

What matters most …

We need a senior hands-on architecture leader who has deep HR domain expertise, understands complex People Technology ecosystems and can lead practical, production-grade solution architecture outcomes in a large enterprise environment. 

 Key responsibilities 

• Partner with senior People, Corporate Affairs & Community stakeholders and the wider technology community to build trusted relationships and influence strategic outcomes. 
• Provide hands-on solution architecture leadership across HR technology, employee experience, workforce platforms, workforce data, Data & AI and enterprise integration landscapes. 
• Develop, maintain and communicate domain execution roadmaps aligned to Westpac's technology strategy and investment priorities. 
• Lead architecture direction for modern HR ecosystems, including core HR, talent, learning, workforce management, employee experience, analytics and related integration patterns. 
• Drive simplification, modernization and technical debt reduction across legacy and current-state platforms in line with Westpac's progressive modernization strategy. 
• Provide architecture governance and assurance through standards, principles, reference designs, reusable patterns and design reviews. 

Support business requests and investment decisions through architecture impact assessments, roadmap reviews and pre-project budget guidance. 

• Lead discovery, evaluation and technology selection activities, including experimentation and practical application of Data & AI opportunities. 
• Develop solution architectures, architecture artefacts, patterns and designs that meet strategy, security, compliance, privacy and risk requirements. 
• Uplift architecture and engineering capability across the portfolio through coaching, practical patterns, reusable approaches and modern delivery practices. 
• Lead and develop a team of Solution Architects through coaching, development planning, performance conversations and career growth. 

What do I need? 

Senior architecture and technology leadership 

• Significant senior solution architecture experience gained within a large, complex enterprise environment, ideally in financial services or another highly regulated industry. 
• Proven experience operating as a Principal Architect, Lead Solution Architect or senior architecture leader with accountability for complex domain architecture outcomes. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead architects while remaining hands-on and close to solution design, technology decisions and delivery execution. 
• Strong experience working with established architecture frameworks such as TOGAF or equivalent. 
• Advanced stakeholder management and influencing capability, supported by strategic thinking and systems-level problem solving. 
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for executive, business, delivery and engineering audiences. 
• A pragmatic, outcomes-focused approach to decision-making, balancing risk, cost, value, compliance and delivery realities through collaboration. 

Deep HR domain and People Technology expertise 

• Deep senior solution architecture subject matter expertise across Human Resources, People Technology, workforce, talent, payroll, learning, employee experience or related corporate domains. 
• Strong understanding of modern HR technology ecosystems, business processes, data flows, integration patterns and platform dependencies. 
• Experience architecting solutions across enterprise People platforms such as Oracle HCM, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors or equivalent HR technology platforms. 
• Practical understanding of workforce data, employee lifecycle processes, identity and access considerations, privacy obligations and security requirements associated with People systems. 
• Proven ability to partner directly with HR and People leaders to shape technology strategy, prioritise investment and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Data & AI capability 

Demonstrated experience architecting and implementing Data & AI-enabled solutions in enterprise environments, moving beyond proof-of-concept into scalable production-grade delivery. 

• Strong understanding of Data & AI platforms, frameworks and tooling, including machine learning platforms, GenAI services, MLOps pipelines, model lifecycle management and integration patterns.
• Proven experience designing best-practice Data & AI architectures, including data pipelines, model deployment patterns, observability, security, governance and responsible AI considerations. 
• Hands-on experience guiding teams through Data & AI solution design, implementation trade-offs and integration into existing enterprise platforms. 
• Strong awareness of Data & AI risk, compliance, privacy and security requirements, with the ability to embed these into architecture standards and reference designs. 
• Experience uplifting team capability in Data & AI engineering, architecture patterns and modern delivery practices to build sustainable long-term capability. 

Ideal candidate 

The ideal candidate is a technology leader who remains close to the technology. You are equally comfortable engaging executive stakeholders on investment strategy as you are reviewing architecture options, challenging solution designs and guiding engineers through complex implementation trade-offs. 

You bring deep HR domain architecture credibility built through years of delivering complex enterprise solutions across People Technology ecosystems. You understand how workforce platforms, employee data, integration layers, risk controls, security obligations and user experience come together to support a modern HR function. 

Most importantly, you know how to turn strategy into practical delivery outcomes and have successfully led modernization, Data & AI or platform transformation initiatives in complex organisations. 

Why join us?                     

We’re obsessed with becoming our customers' #1 banking partner for life and we’re looking for people who are passionate about helping us achieve that goal. In return, we’re committed to making Westpac the best place to work in the country. 

Here are just a few of the ways we’re already doing that: 

• Special offers on banking products and discounts from top brands, including generous employee-only mortgage rates! 
• Flexible work arrangements to help you achieve a greater work/life balance, and a variety of leave options including Culture, Lifestyle and Wellbeing leave. 
• Tailored learning and development opportunities to help grow your career within the bank. 
• Lots of opportunities to ‘give back’ to the Community by getting involved in our many volunteering initiatives. 

Create your future today! 

To get started, simply click on the APPLY or APPLY NOW button. 

We’re all about creating a supportive and inclusive community. We welcome everyone – no matter your age, gender, background, or abilities. We also provide additional support to welcome our veterans, Indigenous Australians and neurodiverse community. 

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, you can find out more information and additional contact details by visiting the "People with Disability and/or needing Accessibility Requirements" page on our website.