Director, Enterprise Architecture

Company: Bain & Company
Location: Schiller Park
Posted on: January 26, 2026

Job Description:

Description & Requirements What Makes Us a Great Place to Work We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the world’s best places to work. We are currently the 1 ranked consulting firm on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list and have maintained a spot in the top four on Glassdoor’s list since its founding in 2009. Extraordinary teams are at the heart of our business strategy, but these don’t happen by chance. They require intentional focus on bringing together a broad set of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills in a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hire people with exceptional talent and create an environment in which every individual can thrive professionally and personally. Who Youll Work With This team considers the full spectrum of people, tech, and process to help others at Bain achieve their goals. We aim to understand our partners in the business so well that our proposed architectures, apps, and automations really do improve their work lives. If you’re the sort of person who embraces change, who has an entrepreneurial spirit, and who friends and family still call for tech advice, this might be a great team for you. Where Youll Fit Within the Team The Director, Enterprise Architecture sits within the Tech Solutions Group and plays a critical role in driving the evolution of Bain’s business, data, technology architecture while fostering innovation. This role focuses on enabling seamless interoperability of high-value datasets across systems, driving strategic platform decisions, and designing robust technical frameworks to guide and govern design and development across the enterprise. This role will shape high-level system design and integration strategies to drive consistency and alignment across technology teams. Additionally, they will explore and evaluate emerging technologies, facilitate build vs. buy decisions, guide implementation, and partner with stakeholders to facilitate the delivery of impactful, future-focused solutions. Leveraging strong business acumen, the Director will ensure our data, technology, and innovation initiatives are aligned with firm priorities to solve some of our most complex challenges. The role also provides technical leadership, mentoring, and governance to other teams both within and outside TSG. What Youll Do Strategy and Alignment Develop and ensure the alignment of IT strategy and planning with the firms business goals and objectives Partner with business and technology leaders to define and maintain the enterprise architecture vision and strategy in alignment with business priorities Act as a bridge between business and technology, ensuring architectural decisions support strategic objectives and deliver business value. Promote shared infrastructure and applications to both optimize costs and improve information flows, ensuring projects do not duplicate functionality or diverge from business and IT strategies Develop an enterprise-wide blueprint for major domain interactions, highlighting crucial integration points and ensuring compatibility between current systems and new initiatives. Develop and communicate roadmaps for key architectural domains (data, application, infrastructure, security) to align stakeholders and guide execution. Architecture Design and Governance Design the cross-domain blueprint for the Enterprise, including capabilities, functions and services required. Establish and enforce architectural frameworks, principles, standards, and best practices to ensure consistency, scalability, and security across the enterprise Lead the design of high-level architectures to guide and govern design and development for core systems, integrations, and platforms, ensuring a cohesive and efficient technology ecosystem. Govern and review technology initiatives to ensure alignment with architectural standards and long-term strategies, while addressing risks and gaps. Data Integration and Interoperability Collaborate with data architecture teams to provide optimal information usage, integration, storage and retrieval across the enterprise to improve efficiency, promote transparency and enable business insight and advantage. Define strategies for data democratization and interoperability, breaking down silos and enabling seamless access and integration across teams and systems. Advise on design of APIs, integration layers, and scalable data architectures to support real-time data sharing and advanced analytics. Develop and maintain a high-level data capability map to document critical datasets, ownership, and opportunities for better connectivity. Innovation and Technology Assessment Collaborate with solutions and infrastructure architecture teams to provide strategic enterprise software/infrastructure that is scalable, adaptable and aligned with the changing business needs, and which drives innovation and value throughout enterprise projects. Conduct research and evaluate emerging technologies, identifying trends and opportunities that can drive business innovation and fill gaps in the existing technology stack. Assess and recommend new tools, platforms, and solutions by balancing technical feasibility with business impact. Drive proof-of-concept initiatives and collaborate with cross-functional teams to validate and implement new technologies. Other responsibilities, as needed Contribute to creation of playbook and other materials/artifacts that capture Enterprise Architecture strategy, progress, etc. Create and maintain a vision for the architecture team and roles, with potential to manage Enterprise Architecture professionals and their professional development Manage the risks associated with information and IT assets through the appropriate standards and security policies. About You 8-10 years of proven and progressive experience in IT 2 years of technical leadership in a large enterprise/professional services company Extensive experience managing a global team of varying levels and areas of technical expertise Experience defining strategy and operationalizing enterprise architecture practices by establishing standards, best practices, and maintaining EA tools to ensure consistent execution across the organization. Proven work experience as an Enterprise Architect or similar role Skills & Abilities Ability to define, articulate, and communicate a cohesive enterprise architecture strategy that aligns with organizational goals and priorities Exceptional ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, fostering understanding and support for architectural decisions Strong ability to influence for impact, including making a compelling business case Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to assess risks, identify gaps, and propose effective architectural solutions Strong collaboration skills to partner with cross-functional teams, business leaders, and technical teams to drive alignment and deliver impactful solutions Proven ability to quickly come up to speed on existing architecture, processes, and systems, and identify areas for improvement to drive immediate and long-term enhancements. Technical Knowledge Deep understanding of Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture best practices and frameworks, including their application across business, data, technology, and application domains Strong understanding of modern technology stacks, including cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), AI/ML technologies, and API ecosystems Expertise in designing horizontally integrated, scalable data architectures and strategies for data democratization, interoperability, and API development Proficiency in establishing, applying, and understanding governance frameworks, standards, and policies for architecture and technology initiatives Awareness of trends in enterprise technology, including innovation in data analytics, automation, digital transformation, and security best practices U.S. Compensation Information Compensation for this role includes base salary, annual discretionary performance bonus, 401(k) plan with an annual employer contribution based on years of service and Bain’s best in class benefits package (details listed below). Some local governments in the United States require a good-faith, reasonable salary range be included in job postings for open roles. For all other locations, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is commensurate with competitive geographic market rates for this role and will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to experience, education, licensure/certifications, training and skill level In Illinois, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $191,000 - $230,000 placement within this range will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to experience, education, licensure/certifications, training and skill level In Massachusetts, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $199,500 - $240,500 placement within this range will vary based on several factors including, but not limited to experience, education, licensure/certifications, training and skill level Annual discretionary performance bonus This role may also be eligible for other elements of discretionary compensation 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after 3 years of service and is 100% vested upon start date Bain & Companys comprehensive benefits and wellness program is designed to help employees achieve personal independence, protection and stability in the areas most important to you and your family. Bain pays 100% individual employee premiums for medical, dental and vision programs, offering one of the most comprehensive medical plans for employees without impacting your paycheck Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave and paid holidays Fully vested 401(k) company contribution Paid Life and Long-Term Disability insurance Annual fitness reimbursements

Keywords: Bain & Company, Naperville , Director, Enterprise Architecture, IT / Software / Systems , Schiller Park, Illinois