Principal Architect - Innovation Lab Architect

4 Days in the office from any of our locations in Johnston RI Iselin NJ Nashville TN. Westwood or Medford MA or Phoenix AZ and couple other locations

Role is not relocation eligible. 

Overview
We are looking for an Innovation Lab Architect / Lead Engineer to design build and manage the bank’s innovation lab environments. This includes both vendor‑managed platforms and internal cloud-based labs used for rapid experimentation with new technologies fintech partners and emerging solutions.

This role helps the bank safely and quickly test new ideas evaluate vendor capabilities and accelerate innovation across the organization.

• Lead the architecture setup and operation of our innovation labs and sandbox environments.
• Work with vendors to integrate and manage external lab environments.
• Build secure well‑governed environments for rapid testing prototyping and evaluation of new technologies.
• Partner with cybersecurity to ensure experimentation follows data and security standards.
• Work with engineering cloud data and product teams to support proof‑of‑concepts and pilot programs.
• Create reusable frameworks templates and onboarding guides to help teams use the labs effectively.
• Track lab usage experiment outcomes and value delivered to the business.
• Stay current on emerging technologies and provide recommendations to leadership.

• 8+ years of experience in engineering architecture or cloud environments.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS Azure or GCP).
• Hands‑on experience building or managing secure test/innovation environments.
• Understanding of data protection access controls and enterprise security.
• Strong technical communication and ability to work across engineering and business teams.

• Experience working with vendor-managed innovation platforms (e.g. NayaOne 1TX Digital SandBox).
• Background in financial services or exposure to regulated environments.
• Knowledge of API integration sandbox testing or fintech ecosystems.
• Familiarity with rapid prototyping or scripting languages (e.g. Python Node.js Shell).

Hours per Week: 40
Work Schedule: Monday–Friday

Pay Transparency 

The salary range for this position is $ 152000 - $ 192000 per year plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to the work location and relevant skills and experience.   

We offer competitive pay comprehensive medical dental and vision coverage retirement benefits maternity/paternity leave flexible work arrangements education reimbursement wellness programs and more. Note Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory paid sick or paid time-away policy of very local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens its parent subsidiaries and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age ancestry color citizenship physical or mental disability perceived disability or history or record of a disability ethnicity gender gender identity or expression genetic information genetic characteristic marital or domestic partner status victim of domestic violence family status/parenthood medical condition military or veteran status national origin pregnancy/childbirth/lactation colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making race religion sex sexual orientation or any other category protected by federal state and/or local laws. At Citizens we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit qualifications performance and capability.

Equal Employment and Opportunity Employer

Job Applicant Data Privacy Policy

Background Check

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the candidate successfully passing a background check which may include initial credit motor vehicle record public record prior employment verification and criminal background checks. Results of the background check are individually reviewed based upon legal requirements imposed by our regulators and with consideration of the nature and gravity of the background history and the job offered. Any offer of employment will include further information.

What We Do

As one of the oldest and largest financial services firms in the United States with a history dating back to 1828 we’re committed to providing solutions and expertise that support our customers clients colleagues and communities in what’s next on their own unique journey. We invest in the humans who build the logic ideas and innovations that bring new technologies to life. Investments in AI cloud computing machine learning and automation provide our engineers the tools that enable us to remain competitive and win in today’s environment. At Citizens we recognize that the journey to accomplishment is no longer linear and that individuals are made of all they have done and all they are going to do. Whether you’re considering banking with us or looking to work with us you’ll find a customer-centric culture and a supportive collaborative workforce at Citizens. You’re made ready and so are we. If you're ready to advance your career in technology and security learn more about opportunity's Citizens offers here: https://jobs.citizensbank.com/digital-transformation

Why Work With Us

We empower the colleagues that power our tech. With growth & upskilling opportunities and sought-after benefits plus a diverse culture of people and perspectives we help our colleagues achieve career goals. Because innovation can’t happen without the minds and hearts of our people. Technology is constantly evolving and we believe you can too.

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