Enterprise Architect Job Description and KRAs

An Enterprise Architect keeps a company's business goals and its technology estate pointed in the same direction. They map business capabilities to the applications, data and platforms behind them, set the technology standards every project must follow and plan the target architecture for the next three to five years. The role usually reports to the CIO or CTO in banks, insurers, large manufacturers, IT services firms and conglomerates. A good one reduces duplicate systems, prevents expensive one-off choices and makes investment decisions easier to defend.

Detail	For this role
Department	Information Technology
Level	Senior management
Reports to	Chief Information Officer
Direct reports	Solution Architect, Security Architect
Experience	15+ years in IT, including 5 or more years in solution or enterprise architecture across several business units

Enterprise Architect job description template

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Job title: Enterprise Architect

Department: Information Technology

Reports to: Chief Information Officer

Location: [City], [office, branch or site]

About the role

Key responsibilities

Build and maintain the business capability map, linking each capability to the applications, data stores and teams that support it.
Keep the application portfolio inventory current, with owner, cost, technology stack, contract end date and a keep, replace or retire decision for each.
Define the target architecture for three to five years and a phased roadmap that finance can fund year by year.
Publish technology standards for languages, databases, integration patterns, cloud usage and security, and maintain the approved products list.
Chair the architecture review board, and approve, return or grant time-bound exceptions for project designs that deviate from standards.
Assess major investment proposals, such as a new core system or an ERP replacement, on fit with the target state and total cost of ownership.
Identify duplicate systems after acquisitions or business expansion, and plan consolidation with the business owners involved.
Agree enterprise rules for data ownership, master data, access and retention with the security and data teams.
Track architectural debt such as unsupported software versions and end-of-life platforms, and put remediation into the annual plan.
Present architecture decisions and roadmap status to the CIO, the IT steering committee and business heads in plain business language.

Requirements

B.E. or B.Tech in Computer Science or IT, or MCA
TOGAF Standard certification from The Open Group
An MBA or executive management programme is an advantage
15+ years in IT, including 5 or more years in solution or enterprise architecture across several business units

KRAs and KPIs for a Enterprise Architect

Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.

Key result area	How to measure it
Portfolio rationalization	Applications retired or consolidated each year against the number agreed in the roadmap
Standards compliance	At least 90 percent of new projects cleared by the architecture review board without open exceptions
Roadmap funding	Priority target architecture items included in the approved annual IT budget
End-of-life risk	No production system on software past vendor end of support without an approved remediation plan
Decision turnaround	Architecture review decisions given within 10 working days of a complete submission
Business alignment	Roadmap reviewed with every business head at least twice a year, with outcomes recorded

Skills and tools

TOGAF or a similar architecture frameworkBusiness capability mappingApplication portfolio managementIntegration and data architectureCloud and on-premise platformsTotal cost of ownership analysisIT governanceInfluencing senior stakeholdersStructured writingLong-range planning

Tools used day to day: Archi or another ArchiMate modelling tool, LeanIX or a similar portfolio tool, Visio or Draw.io, Confluence, Excel for portfolio and cost models, PowerPoint.

Reporting line and career path

Moves up from: Solution Architect, Software Architect, Technical Architect
Next roles: Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, IT Head

Interview questions for a Enterprise Architect

How would you start an enterprise architecture practice in a company that has never had one?
The business wants a new CRM, but two divisions already run different CRMs. How do you reach a recommendation?
Explain a target architecture you built and how you got it funded.
When is it right to grant an exception to an architecture standard?
How do you show leadership that enterprise architecture is adding value?
Tell me about a business head who disagreed with your roadmap. What happened?

Managing a Enterprise Architect in ZeniaHR

AttendanceOffice based on the general shift, with a hybrid week where the company allows it. Architecture review board meetings and business workshops need the architect in person, so fix the office days in the work terms policy and let WFH requests cover the rest within the monthly limit.LeaveLeave is easy to plan for most of the year. The exceptions are the annual IT budget cycle, when roadmap items are argued and funded, and the week before a heavy architecture review board agenda.Performance and KRAsEnterprise architecture pays off over years, so use an annual review cycle with KRA-type goals for portfolio reduction, standards compliance and roadmap funding, each weighted. An ad hoc mid-year cycle helps reset priorities when the business strategy changes.

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Frequently asked questions

What does an enterprise architect do?

An enterprise architect aligns technology with the business plan across the whole company. They map which applications support which business capabilities, set technology standards, plan a multi-year target architecture, run the architecture review board and advise on large investments such as an ERP or core system replacement. Their work stops a company from buying duplicate systems or running unsupported software.

What is the difference between an enterprise architect and a solution architect?

A solution architect designs one solution for one project or client requirement. An enterprise architect looks across all projects and systems, sets the standards those solutions must follow and plans how the whole estate should change over several years. Solution architects often bring their designs to the enterprise architect or the review board for approval.

Is TOGAF necessary to become an enterprise architect?

TOGAF is not mandatory, but many Indian employers, especially banks, insurers and IT services firms, list it as preferred because it gives teams a shared vocabulary for architecture work. Real experience weighs more in interviews: running a review board, rationalizing an application portfolio or building a roadmap that actually got funded.