Solution Architect, Investment Technology

OUR COMPANY BACKGROUND & CULTURE

UPP is the first pension plan of its kind in Ontario's university sector, proudly serving over 44,000 members across six universities and eighteen sector organizations. Our purpose is to bring greater retirement peace of mind to the university sector by investing with integrity and serving members with care. As a sector-wide plan designed for growth, our doors are open to all Ontario universities. 

UPP is recognized as one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2026. Together, we're a team of progressive thinkers and agile doers operating within a fast-paced culture of collaboration and respect. We believe in bringing smart and capable people together to create, solve, and grow with a clear shared vision and values of integrity, inclusivity, ingenuity, and impact.

Our culture is intentionally welcoming and purposefully rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation (EDI&R). We believe diverse teams, perspectives, and lived experiences contribute to better decisions and a better workplace.

As a pension plan, UPP approaches investing through a long-term lens to generate and safeguard value. Our commitment to investing responsibly accounts for material risks that impact our investment portfolio to generate sufficient risk-adjusted returns to meet the pension needs of our members.

Join us in building a bright future for our members, our organization, and each other.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a Solution Architect, specialized in the Investment services vertical, with diverse technology and business experience and a proven background of hands-on Architecture and Engineering.

Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Architecture and Engineering, the Solution Architect will partner with key Finance and Investment teams to collaboratively engage, model and drive solutions across the organization from intake to delivery. As a technology leader, you will be extremely motivated, hands-on, subscribe to a continuous learning mindset, and apply new business practices and leading technologies to your work. You also possess deep experience in medium-to-large enterprise-level complex technology environment(s).

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced architect to join a team of high performing professionals to make a great impact.

This role is based in downtown Toronto under a hybrid work policy, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely and in-office (approximately two days per week in-office).

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Solution Architect will be responsible for a variety of duties, including but not limited to the following:

• Define and lead strategic technology initiatives for Financial Services and Investment teams
• Work closely with Investment teams to connect strategic goals to business outcomes through practical and fit-for-purpose architectures and solutions
• Ensure that the solution architectures delivered by projects are fit for purpose and adhere to sound IT practices and to UPP principles and standards
• Design and lead implementation of enterprise solutions for UPP Investment teams
• Design and integrate cloud-centric architectures
• Enable business insights via analytics utilizing robust and scalable cloud platforms (SaaS & PaaS focus)
• Provide innovative approaches and new solutions that are cloud based, secure and right-sized for the organization
• Perform review of technologies through a consistent solution review process for assessing, integrating, and implementing vendor solutions for functional and non-functional requirements
• Perform periodic security controls and compliance reviews of vendors and applications including SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, NIST and CAIQ reports
• Lead solution delivery teams and vendors with overall design direction, advisory and governance practices to minimize complexity and enable effective delivery of business outcome
• Define and manage technology guidelines and practices to accelerate decision making and deliver quality solutions
• Research and understand industry trends and their applicability to support architectural plans and strategies for the enterprise
• Effectively communicate technical decision-making processes and solution designs to various audiences
• Contribute to UPP's reputation as a respectful employer, partner, and participant in the financial sector

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 10 years of experience in architectural design and implementation of enterprise software
• Minimum 5 years of experience designing and implementing enterprise solutions for Financial Services / Investment clients
• Experience with leading discussions and assessing multiple solution alternatives to both meet business requirements and impact to operations
• Experience with Workflow, Automation, CRM, portfolio management, risk management, accounting and investment applications and platforms such as Bloomberg, E-Front, Charles River, Maximizer, Axioma, SS&C, etc.
• Proven technical leadership experience with both internal and managed service provider teams
• Ability to effectively identify emerging technologies, trends, standards, and products that have a strong potential to better enable UPP business units
• Expert knowledge across technology architecture domains and practices (Web Apps, Data & Analytics, etc); capable of driving from strategy to architecture to design & implementation
• Expert knowledge of software development practices, application release and deployment, and automated testing, including source code control, build / package, environment configuration and monitoring
• Knowledge of relational database technologies such as MSSQL, Oracle, PostgresSQL; Object-oriented programming languages such as C#, Java, C++

ATTRIBUTES

• Proven leadership skills, with ability to drive results while cultivating a culture of collaboration and teamwork
• Self-motivated with a hands-on attitude
• A lifelong learner with keen interest in learning, applying new business practices, and leading technologies
• A strong communicator both in written and verbal communication
• Strong commitment to innovation and continuous improvement
• Pro-active problem solver
• Ownership mindset
• Commitment to excellence

LIFE AT UPP

Do work that matters. We are duty-bound to serve our members' interests, and it's a responsibility we don't take lightly. That's why we've ingrained sustainability in our work from day one—to ensure our members have a resilient future to retire into, both today and for generations to come.

Stronger together. Collaboration is how UPP was born, and it's how we work with each other and our partners day in, day out. No one at UPP is just a number (even if they are excellent at math) and every win is a shared win.

Grow every day. You'll have the opportunity to work on unique, once-in-a-career projects that maximize your skill set and probably teach you some new ones—at any stage in your career.

Prioritize wellness. At UPP, wellness takes many forms. Ultimately, it's about ensuring our people are cared for in the ways that matter to them. Check out some highlights of our inclusive employee-focused benefits program including:

• Defined benefit pension plan
• Flexible hybrid work model
• Paid time off – vacations, personal days and wellness days
• Work remotely up to eight weeks/year
• Comprehensive group benefits including medical, dental, vision, etc.
• Extended paramedical and mental health service coverage
• Health care and lifestyle spending accounts
• Fertility treatments, paid parental leave, and gender affirmation coverage
• Education Assistance program

This posting will remain open for a minimum of seven (7) days and will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applications are received or finalist candidates have been identified. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used to support certain stages of the recruitment process, including sourcing, screening, and assessment. All hiring decisions involve human review and intervention by UPP employees.

UPP enthusiastically welcomes applications from all qualified applicants and especially invites people with lived experience as an Indigenous person, a person with a disability or as a member of another Human Rights Code protected group that faces barriers to employment to apply. Our goal is to create a barrier-free experience for every candidate throughout the recruitment process.

UPP respects your privacy. For information on how UPP handles the personal information you provide during the application process, please see our Job Applicant Privacy Statement.