The Lead Director 6 Architecture, Client Experience owns the end0to0end architecture vision and execution for highly complex, enterprise0scale initiatives across Adjudication and Client Experience platforms, partnering closely with business leaders, product management, engineering, security, and enterprise architecture teams.

AI is an integral and mandatory component of all solution designs. The Lead Director will ensure that AI0assisted, data0driven, and intelligent capabilities are intentionally evaluated and embedded by default 6not added later 6across platforms, workflows, and developer experiences.

The Lead Director will establish and scale a technology incubation and innovation function, driving the identification, validation, and adoption of advanced architectures 6including AI/ML, Generative AI, agentic workflows, cloud0native platforms, event0driven integration frameworks, and intelligent automation.

This is a hands0on architecture leadership role requiring deep technical credibility, strong people leadership, and the ability to influence strategy while staying close to design and implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and mentor a team Architects, setting clear expectations for architecture quality, consistency, and outcomes

• Own architecture standards, guiding principles, and review processes, ensuring AI0first and automation0first thinking is applied consistently across all solution designs

• Provide hands0on architecture oversight, design reviews, and technical guidance for Tier01 and strategic initiatives, explicitly validating AI, data, and intelligence opportunities

• Drive reuse of platforms, patterns, shared services, and AI capabilities to reduce complexity and accelerate delivery

• Lead the development of end0to0end, AI0enabled solution architectures for highly complex, cross0domain PBM initiatives

• Ensure all solution designs evaluate AI assisted decisioning, Automation and intelligent workflows & Data driven insights and observability

• Perform and guide Buy vs Build vs Partner analyses, including AI platforms, models, and services, using qualitative and quantitative inputs to make defensible recommendations

• Develop and maintain reference architectures for cloud0native, event0driven, API0first, microservices0based, and AI0enabled solutions

• Partner with application, platform, and SRE teams to resolve architectural bottlenecks, including scalability, performance, resilience, integration, and operational intelligence

• Drive AI0first, automation0first architecture, reducing manual processes across development, operations, and business workflows

• Guide architects and teams in designing intelligent automation solutions, including: Agentic workflows, Event0driven orchestration

• Lead modernization initiatives focused on technical debt reduction, legacy optimization, and cloud migration, embedding intelligence into modernized platforms

• Ensure architectures incorporate security, observability, Responsible AI, and operational readiness by design

• Partner closely with business leaders, product management, engineering, data science, security, and EA teams to translate AI capabilities into business outcomes

• Present architecture strategies, AI prototypes, and emerging technology capabilities to executive leadership through compelling narratives and demos

• Coach and develop architects to be AI0literate, cloud0native, and business0aware technology leaders

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of overall design and development experience, including enterprise0scale solution architecture

• 7+ years of hands0on cloud architecture experience, primarily in Azure, with solid experience in GCP

• Deep expertise in software architecture patterns, including Domain0Driven Design, microservices, event0driven, and AI0enabled architectures

• Strong experience with enterprise integration platforms, including streaming technologies such as Kafka or Pulsar

• Proven ability to lead and influence architecture decisions across large, matrixed organizations

• Experience mentoring architects and driving AI and platform adoption at scale

• Strong ability to translate complex technical and AI concepts into business0relevant outcomes

Preferred Qualifications

• PBM or healthcare domain experience

• Hands0on experience with AI/ML platforms and Generative AI architectures

• Knowledge of healthcare data standards and regulatory considerations

• Expertise in SQL/NoSQL data stores, caching, and high0performance cloud0native systems

• Experience with design thinking and innovation frameworks

• Participation in open0source communities or industry forums

Education

Bachelor0s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field or equivalent experience, Master0s degree preferred

Pay Range

The typical pay range for this role is:

This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company0s equity award program.

Great benefits for great people

We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.

Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on .