Platform Architect, Personalized Indexing Technology

Title: Platform Architect, Personalized Indexing Technology

Location:

Charlotte, NC

Malvern, PA

Full time

Job Description:

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Lead the definition and evolution of application and platform architecture aligned with VPI business strategy, product roadmaps, and Vanguard technology standards.

• Drive key architectural decisions for cloud‑native systems, balancing scalability, resiliency, security, and cost.

• Develop and review architecture and design documentation for new capabilities and platform enhancements.

• Partner closely with product owners, engineering teams, and business stakeholders to ensure solutions meet functional and non‑functional requirements.

Hands‑On Engineering & Delivery

• Act as a hands‑on individual contributor, designing and building solutions across the VPI platform.

• Develop cloud‑native services on AWS, including microservices, APIs, and supporting infrastructure.

• Write production‑quality code primarily in Java and Python, with a strong focus on maintainability and performance.

• Contribute to data engineering and platform integration efforts supporting investment workflows, analytics, and operational processes.

• Help modernize and evolve existing systems while maintaining stability of critical production workloads.

Cloud & Platform Engineering

• Design and implement scalable infrastructure using AWS, including containerized workloads and Kubernetes.

• Build and operate microservices architectures leveraging messaging, caching, and asynchronous processing patterns.

• Partner with teams on infrastructure automation, CI/CD pipelines, observability, and operational excellence.

• Identify and resolve moderately complex production and platform issues, assessing risks and driving pragmatic solutions.

Collaboration & Vendor Evaluation

• Consult with other technology and product teams across Vanguard to ensure alignment and reuse where appropriate.

• Lead and participate in build vs. buy evaluations, including assessment of vendors, tools, and platforms.

• Provide technical guidance during vendor onboarding, integrations, and proof‑of‑concept efforts.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate in special initiatives supporting the growth and scalability of the VPI business.

• Contribute to continuous improvement of engineering practices, standards, and platform reliability.

Required Qualifications

• Strong engineering background with experience building investment platforms, financial systems, or large‑scale distributed systems. 8 years experience with Computer science or related degree.

• Demonstrated experience as a hands‑on architect or senior engineer delivering production systems.

• Proficiency in Java and Python.

• Experience designing and building cloud‑native architectures on AWS.

• Solid understanding of microservices architectures, including messaging, caching, and asynchronous processing.

• Experience with Kubernetes and container‑based platforms.

• Working knowledge of data engineering concepts and data‑intensive systems.

• Ability to operate effectively as an independent contributor while collaborating across teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with direct indexing, portfolio management, tax‑loss harvesting, or investment operations platforms.

• Familiarity with high‑volume, high‑availability financial systems.

• Experience modernizing legacy platforms into cloud‑native architectures.

• Strong understanding of operational concerns such as resiliency, monitoring, security, and cost optimization.

What Success Looks Like

• You are deeply engaged in building and evolving the VPI platform, not just advising.

• You help shape architectural direction while still contributing code.

• You move fluidly between infrastructure, application development, and business‑driven priorities.

• You enable VPI to scale safely and efficiently as the business continues to grow.

Special Factors

Sponsorship

Vanguard is offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.

To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.