Do you love working with stakeholders and finding the win-win? Are you passionate about shaping a strategic transformation agenda, driving execution, and leading change? Are you motivated by developing a technology team to become true experts? Do you love puzzles and problem solving? Are you interested in being part of a team that is working to transform and do things differently? If so, LPL Financial is the place for you!

LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) was founded on the principle that the firm should work for the advisor, and not the other way around. Today, LPL is a leader* in the markets we serve, supporting more than 18,000 financial advisors, 800 institution-based investment programs and 450 independent RIA firms nationwide. We are steadfast in our commitment to the advisor-centered model and the belief that Americans deserve access to personalized guidance from a financial advisor. At LPL, independence means that advisors have the freedom they deserve to choose the business model, services, and technology resources that allow them to run their perfect practice. And they have the freedom to manage their client relationships because they know their clients best. Simply put, we take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

Job Overview:

We are looking to hire an SVP, Data Foundation Cloud Platform Lead, one of the key technology management roles in the Data Technology organization under the direction of the EVP Data CIO. This position will lead the end-to-end implementation of a Cloud-only infrastructure from Development to Production, including environment builds, CI/CD pipelines, Automated Testing and a Production Support model.

The Data Foundation is a greenfield implementation, and for the next 12 months there is the opportunity to reinvent LPL’s development process and put it into practice in a contained way. We have a window during which Production, in the context of the Data Foundation, will not be visible to Advisors and Investors, but will process the daily production feeds that our current platforms consume (plus any improvements we make to those feeds). The objective is to run the Data Foundation production alongside our current platforms – every day and intraday – so that we can build trust in the data and the Data Foundation processes and calculations. In 2024, we will start to move Advisors and Investors across, so until then we have a window during which we can develop a proper development, testing, release and production support approach and infrastructure that we gain confidence in – whilst enjoying a lower bar for production consequences. Success in this program will deliver major productivity gains across the Firm and start to drive LPL away from the quarterly delivery and planning process, and open the door to rolling budgets.

We want to set up the Data Foundation environments, from Dev through to Production, such that code utilizes CI/CD and Automated Testing to progress through continuously from the sprints, without rigid quarterly releases and without rigid integration / hardening phases. A number of teams outside Data Technology will play a major part in this and we are also talking to AWS to provide people to help. This role will co-ordinate the overall efforts of these teams and providers.

In addition, the role will lead a number of other strategic initiatives, including their development teams, such as the Data Abstraction Layer. The Data Abstraction Layer is an API-driven platform that decouples sources of data from their consumers. It is a new build that delivers the enterprise data strategy to drive Authoritative Sources of Data and manages the transition to the Data Strategy.

This position will involve collaboration with Business Partners, Architects, Quality Assurance, Release Management, Infrastructure, Key Vendors, Product Owners and technology leads in the other 3 CIO functions to plan, design, develop and implement solutions for these needs.

Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership and guidance to technology teams based on business objectives and the strategic direction for Data Technology.
• Engage in design, architecture and scope discussions across a wide range of strategic initiatives to agree the solution and delivery approach.
• Work with stakeholders and your Data Technology platforms to agree the budget, skills and duration required to implement the agreed scope, and balance off demands across multiple strategic initiatives.
• Lead requirement analysis and design discussions with users, technical and business stakeholders and monitor all agile ceremonies with teams.
• Lead multiple Agile teams across business-driven demand and strategic architectural decisions
• Collaborate with other development teams, enterprise architecture and support teams to design, develop, test and maintain on premises/cloud platforms.
• Partner with various stakeholder teams across business units to develop positive relationships at all levels.
• Work collaboratively with various technology teams to deliver best in class solutions.
• Communicates status of technology product and backlog readiness to outside team members.
• Creates best practices for team members to follow to meet key objectives of the technology platform.
• Build a world-class team and provide clear and compelling direction and leadership. Ensure that your team have the growth potential and personal development goals to improve and succeed.
• Provide thought leadership and decisions on our target technology platforms in the Cloud and ensure that the architecture, DevOps, support model and security standards are in place to provide a resilient and high performing platform.
• Support your teams in developing best-practice to improve their productivity and effectiveness, using the latest technology where appropriate.
• Build new or extend data platform components as part of the LPL Data Foundation.
• Solution / Design may be custom or involve one or multiple development standards/technologies.
• Use appropriate tools to document and communicate designs. Evaluate system impacts beyond the scope of specified change.
• Define and Develop new AWS cloud based data abstraction layer based on requirements gathering and technical design. Development includes unit testing and may involve using one or multiple tools.
• Ensure the quality of developed and delivered applications.
• Assist with conceptual design and rough order of magnitude (ROM) level of effort estimations
• Ensure the necessary platform technical documentation is maintained in an appropriate manner.
• Work with technology teams and business teams to ensure operational readiness of systems.
• Provide periodic status updates to project leaders and managers.
• Provide mentorship / coaching to other data team members.
• Maintain current technical skills and develop new skills through formal and informal skills development regimens.
• Provide hands on technology leadership / People management.

What are we looking for?

We want strong collaborators who can deliver a world-class client experience. We are looking for people who thrive in a fast-paced environment, are client-focused, team oriented, and are able to execute in a way that encourages creativity and continuous improvement.

This role will provide access to the latest technologies and cutting-edge thinking in Data Technology and you will be working with other highly experienced and innovative leaders. We want you to relish this environment and bring your own ideas and experience to the team with confidence and positivity.

Requirements:

• Technology Lead with 12+ years of experience in designing and implementing complex systems within a Financial Services, or similarly complex environment.
• 6+ years of experience with Cloud Infrastructure, preferably AWS.
• 6+ years as a hands-on Data Engineer utilizing common ETL tools like Informatica, Talend or similar.
• 10+ years of experience with on premise and cloud based data integration tools and techniques as well as transforming legacy monolithic applications to a scalable and resilient architecture. Experience with cloud data lake and warehouse technologies.
• Experience developing applications using AWS Lambda/Glue/AirFlow/Teraform and other AWS native technologies.
• Experience with Snowflake and Aurora PostgreSQL.
• Experience with design and implementation of DevOps and CI/CD tools.
• Excellent understanding of IT architecture.
• Knowledge of professional software engineering practices & best practices for the full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations.
• Proficiency with at least one Object Oriented language (e.g. Java, Python, Ruby).
• Highly proficient in SQL and knowledgeable about data acquisition, ingestion and processing concepts.
• Product management expertise within an agile delivery framework.
• Bachelor’s degree.

Core Competencies:

• Is visible, vocal, and objective. Exemplary collaboration, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Superior skill and ability in multi-tasking and appropriate prioritization.
• Has technical vision and can drive best in class solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, both technical and non-technical.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Motivated and driven by achieving strategic technical solutions.
• Experienced builder of high-performing organizations and hiring top level talent to create balanced and cohesive teams.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze and break down components to identify a root cause.
• Strong project lead skills with ability to accurately estimate development and testing efforts, identify tasks on the critical path, and asses risk in the overall project.
• Strong customer focus, ownership, urgency and drive.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well in a team.
• Effective analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.

Technical Competencies:

• Capable of effectively planning, prioritizing and executing complex tasks utilizing wide ranging and large numbers of resources and tools.
• Experience working with AWS Cloud, .Net Core and open source technologies.
• Experience working with Snowflake, AWS S3, AWS Aurora PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MapR and Hadoop databases.
• Proven experience in On-Premise, AWS or Azure Cloud and Hybrid environments.
• Experience with Agile software development methodologies.

Preferences:

• Cloud Architecture certification preferred.
• 10-15 years financial services experience.
• Experience with data platforms on premises and the cloud.
• Scaled Agile (SAFe) certification (PO/PM) preferred.
• Database programming (NoSQL, SQL Server/Oracle/DB2).
• Knowledge of Metadata and Data Lineage.
• Experience working with Jira, Jenkins, GitHub / Bitbucket, TFS, Junit or Other Unit Test frameworks.
• Experience with Agile software development methodologies.

Why LPL?

At LPL, we believe that objective financial guidance is a fundamental need for everyone. As the nation’s leading independent broker-dealer, we offer an integrated platform of proprietary technology, brokerage, and investment advisor services. We provide you with a work environment that encourages your creativity and growth, a leadership team that is supportive and responsive, and the opportunity to create a career that has no limits, only amazing potential.

We are one team on one mission. We take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients. Because our company is not too big and not too small, you can seize the opportunity to make a real impact. We are committed to supporting workplace equality, and we embrace the different perspectives and backgrounds of our employees. We also care for our communities, and we encourage our employees to do the same. This creates an environment in which you can do your best work.

Want to hear from our employees on what it’s like to work at LPL? Watch this!

We take social responsibility seriously. Learn more here!

Want to see info on our benefits? Learn more here.

Pay Range:

$244,640-$366,960/year

The salary range is dependent on a number of factors, including the applicant’s skill, experience, and work location.

Why LPL?

At LPL, we believe that objective financial guidance is a fundamental need for everyone. As the nation’s leading independent broker-dealer, we offer an integrated platform of proprietary technology, brokerage, and investment advisor services. We provide you with a work environment that encourages your creativity and growth, a leadership team that is supportive and responsive, and the opportunity to create a career that has no limits, only amazing potential.

We are one team on one mission. We take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

Because our company is not too big and not too small, you can seize the opportunity to make a real impact. We are committed to supporting workplace equality, and we embrace the different perspectives and backgrounds of our employees. We also care for our communities, and we encourage our employees to do the same. This creates an environment in which you can do your best work.

Want to hear from our employees on what it’s like to work at LPL? Watch this!

We take social responsibility seriously. Learn more here

Want to see info on our benefits? Learn more here

Join the LPL team and help us make a difference by turning life’s aspirations into financial realities. Please log in or create an account to apply to this position. Principals only. EOE.

Information on Interviews:

LPL will only communicate with a job applicant directly from an @lplfinancial.com email address and will never conduct an interview online or in a chatroom forum. During an interview, LPL will not request any form of payment from the applicant, or information regarding an applicant’s bank or credit card. Should you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact LPL’s Human Resources Solutions Center at (800) 877-7210.