ServiceNow

Sr. Dir., Architecture and Technology

ServiceNow$254K — $380K *
Enterprise Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 14+ years in solutions architecture or technical leadership with hands-on solution design
  • 7+ years leading architecture or engineering teams in large-scale environments (companies with $5B+ revenue)
  • Proven experience delivering architecture artifacts that shape significant investment decisions
  • Expertise in structured vendor evaluations and POCs with measurable success criteria
  • Deep understanding of integration architecture patterns, microservices design, and data flow modeling
  • Familiarity with data governance and privacy requirements as architectural constraints
  • Experience designing and launching commercial or enterprise SaaS/PaaS applications
  • Proficient in AI/Gen AI transformation and integration within enterprise systems.

Responsibilities

  • Lead a global team of Solutions Architects to define architecture and technology stack
  • Own solution architecture across the Connected Customer Experience domain
  • Produce architecture decision records (ADRs) with detailed documentation
  • Conduct design reviews with clear criteria for assessments
  • Manage end-to-end integrations during M&A activities for the CCx platform
  • Lead proof of concept (POC) activities with rigorous scoping and evaluation
  • Drive alignment between solution design and business needs across cross-functional teams

Benefits

  • Health plans including flexible spending accounts
  • 401(k) Plan with company match
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
  • Matching donations program
  • Flexible time away plan and family leave programs
  • Flexible work personas that include remote options
Full Job Description
Sr. Director, Solutions Architecture & Technology ServiceNow is seeking a high energy, high EQ executive leader who thrives in a highly cross-functional, rapid velocity environment and has a passion for driving scale, transforming culture, and designing end to end technology solutions for customers and employees who are serving our customers. Our value drivers are to: • Wow customers and employees with digital experiences they cannot live without. • Create unified, innovative experiences that empower people to feel effective and valued - by bringing together a connected design, a product mindset, and innovative technology. • Deliver delightful employee experiences powered by Gen AI that accelerate ServiceNow's journey to become the defining enterprise software company of the 21st century. • Co-creating, using, and highlighting our own products to do it. As the Sr. Director, Solutions Architecture, you will lead a global team of Solutions Architects, work closely with product managers, engineers, and business leaders to define the architecture, technology stack, and integration points for enterprise systems, applications, and platforms. You will work across the Connected Customer Experience (CCX) organization and Enterprise Architecture teams to design the overall solution and technical architecture for SNU, Developer ecosystem, Support and Success organizations to enable the best-connected experience for our customers. What you Will Own Solution Design & Architectural Governance Your team's core output is solution architecture that engineering teams can execute and executives can confidently fund. This requires more than design fluency - it requires defensible decision-making with business consequences attached: • Own solution architecture across the CCX domain - including integration architecture, data flows, platform-native patterns, and microservices design. • Produce architecture decision records (ADRs) that document not just what was decided, but what was rejected and why. Every significant design decision should be traceable. • Lead design reviews and technical assessments with clear criteria - not subjective feedback. Pass/fail should be apparent before the review, not after. • Surface systemic risks before they reach production. Bottlenecks and failure modes belong in your architecture artifacts, not in incident retrospectives. • Partner with Enterprise Strategy to consume roadmap direction and feed back implementation-level constraints that affect strategic planning. M&A Integration • Understand the footprint of the CCx platform and lead integrations E2E, from evaluation, assessment to production Vendor Evaluation & POC Leadership When the business needs to validate a vendor or test a new capability, your team leads the proof of concept - from scoping through recommendation. This is one of the highest-leverage activities this role owns, and it requires rigor that vendor sales cycles are designed to undermine: • Define POC scope documents before any vendor engagement begins. Scope must include: business hypothesis being tested, success criteria with measurable thresholds, constraints (time, cost, integration boundaries), and explicit exclusions. • Design POCs that test the assumption most likely to fail - not the vendor's best-case demo scenario. If a capability cannot be validated under realistic conditions, the POC has not done its job. • Produce vendor evaluation outputs that are decision-ready: structured comparison against criteria, risk assessment per option, and a clear recommendation with rationale. 'It depends' is not an output. • Maintain an evaluation framework your team can reuse - so each successive POC builds institutional knowledge rather than starting from scratch. • Ensure POC documentation is complete enough that a team member who was not involved can understand what was tested, what was found, and what was decided. Cross-Functional Execution & Stakeholder Influence Solutions architecture sits at the intersection of engineering, product, and business leadership. You regularly influence without authority - and your credibility depends on the quality of your team's outputs: • Drive alignment between solution design and business requirements across product managers, engineers, and business leaders. • Translate complex technical decisions into business-framed options for senior stakeholders - not technology summaries, but choice architectures with tradeoffs. • Evaluate and recommend technology stacks, vendor solutions, and integration strategies with quantified risk and cost assessments. • Maintain a working partnership with Enterprise Strategy - surfacing implementation constraints early enough to shape their planning, not after commitments are made. Qualifications What We're Looking For Required Experience • 14+ years in solutions architecture, enterprise architecture, or technical leadership - including hands-on solution design and delivery, not just oversight. • 7+ years leading architecture or engineering teams in large-scale, cross-functional environments ($5B+ revenue companies). • Demonstrated experience delivering solution architecture artifacts that directly shaped build/buy/configure decisions or platform investments - with traceable outcomes. • Experience leading structured vendor evaluations and POCs - including writing POC scope documents, defining measurable success criteria, and producing decision-ready recommendations. • Deep fluency in integration architecture patterns, data flow modeling, microservices design, and platform-native solution development. • Familiarity with data governance and privacy requirements (GDPR, CCPA, or equivalent) as architectural constraints - not just compliance considerations. • Experience designing and shipping commercial or enterprise SaaS/PaaS applications - including platform decisions that affected product roadmap. • Demonstrated experience leading AI or Gen AI transformation within a technical practice - not just deploying AI tools, but changing how the team designs and delivers. • Hands-on experience with AI/ML integration in enterprise systems - you have architected systems that use AI, not just described how AI could be used. You understand where AI creates leverage and where it introduces risk. • Experience with ServiceNow platform architecture and products. • Experience leading architecture in Agile delivery environments - including maintaining architectural integrity under sprint-cycle pressure. • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field. Executive Leadership Capabilities Beyond experience, we are looking for specific thinking and leadership patterns that are harder to develop: • Strategic problem framing: You define problems before proposing solutions. When given a business challenge, your first move is to reframe it at the right level of abstraction - not jump to technology. • Quantified risk articulation: You express architectural risk in business terms: cost of delay, probability of failure, revenue impact. 'This is a high-risk approach' is not sufficient. • Executive communication under pressure: You can defend architectural decisions to skeptical senior executives without becoming defensive or deferential. You change positions based on logic, not authority. • AI transformation leadership: You have a theory of change for how AI reshapes solution architecture. You can articulate what the team needs to stop doing as clearly as what it needs to start doing. For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $254,500 - $380,000, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location. Additional Information Work Personas We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow provides cloud-based solutions that define, structure, manage, and automate services for enterprise operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and other countries. The company offers service management solutions, including incident, problem, change, request, and cost management as well as service catalogs; and IT, HR, facilities, and field service management solutions. It also provides IT operations management solutions covering service mapping, delivery, and assurance solutions; business management solutions such as financial management, project portfolio suite, vendor performance management, and performance analytics as well as governance, risk, and compliance; and application development services.

ServiceNow Careers

Join the dynamic team at ServiceNow, a global leader in digital workflow solutions, where innovation and leadership converge to shape the future of work. At ServiceNow, we offer more than just job opportunities; we provide a platform for professional growth and a chance to be part of a culture that values diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career journey with ServiceNow and contribute to the world’s leading enterprises' digital transformation. Our team is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies that improve how people work. With ServiceNow, you will use your skills to impact businesses and industries profoundly, driving efficiency and innovation.

Join Our Market-Leading Team

ServiceNow is not just another technology company. We are a team that thrives on diversity and leadership, fostering an inclusive environment that promotes growth and development. Our commitment to diversity training ensures that every team member can achieve their potential.

Innovative Work

ServiceNow is home to more than 10,000 dedicated professionals who lead the charge in digital workflows and enterprise solutions. As part of our team, you will engage in projects that merge technology with practical applications, creating revolutionary products that advance how services are delivered and managed.

Career Development

At ServiceNow, your career trajectory is filled with boundless opportunities. We support your growth with robust training programs, leadership development courses, and access to global challenges. Whether you are looking for an internship, full-time position, or leadership role, ServiceNow equips you with the tools to excel.

Be Part of a Great Team

Working at ServiceNow means being part of a community that values teamwork and innovation. Our collaborative environment encourages networking and sharing ideas, making our workplace vibrant and dynamic. The benefits of joining ServiceNow extend beyond comprehensive health and wellness; they include fostering professional connections and friendships that last a lifetime.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, ServiceNow offers a range of employment options to suit your career goals. From internships that provide real-world experience to full-time positions that challenge you to leverage your expertise, we are committed to hiring the best talent.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. At ServiceNow, we look for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players. Explore the possibilities that await you at a company that is committed to your professional success.

Keep Up to Date

Stay ahead with career tips, insider perspectives, and industry-leading insights you can put to use today—all from the people who work here.

Job Alert Emails

Customize your subscription to receive job alerts, the latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Discover the exciting and rewarding career opportunities that await at ServiceNow.

ServiceNow Careers

Empowering professionals to achieve more, ServiceNow is where careers are future-proofed, and ambitions are realized. Join us in our journey of growth and innovation.
Learn more about ServiceNow
Size
16,881 employees
Market Cap
$76.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$118.5 million
Founded
2004
5 Year Trend
+33.5%
Revenue
$4.5 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at ServiceNow

More Enterprise Technology Jobs

Find similar Sr. Dir., Architecture and Technology jobs: