Solutions Architect – AI & Software Architecture, Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) — Tech Practice

About Us
Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.

Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.

Job Description

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Software/Solutions Architect with a strong background in software engineering and expertise in Artificial Intelligence to join the Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) Tech Practice.

This role is primarily focused on helping clients define technology strategies, assess current-state architectures, design scalable target-state solutions, and guide implementation across digital transformation initiatives. The ideal candidate combines deep software architecture expertise with practical experience designing and enabling AI-powered solutions, including generative AI, agentic systems, automation platforms, and enterprise AI architectures.

The successful candidate will act as a trusted advisor to clients and internal teams, bridging business objectives, engineering execution, and emerging AI capabilities to deliver scalable, secure, and future-ready solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & Technology Consulting (80%):

• Assess client technology landscapes, software platforms, integration architectures, and operating models.
• Design target-state architectures for digital products, enterprise platforms, cloud modernization initiatives, and payment-related solutions.
• Define architecture principles, technology standards, integration strategies, and implementation roadmaps.
• Lead solution architecture activities across the full lifecycle, from discovery and assessment through implementation guidance.
• Produce architecture artifacts including solution blueprints, application architecture diagrams, integration specifications, and technical recommendations.
• Advise clients on cloud adoption, microservices, APIs, event-driven architectures, platform engineering, DevSecOps, and modernization strategies.
• Provide technical leadership across complex transformation programs involving multiple vendors and technology partners.
• Facilitate architecture governance, design reviews, risk assessments, and technical decision-making.
• Partner with product, engineering, security, data, and operations teams to ensure successful solution delivery.
• Act as a trusted advisor to client executives, business stakeholders, and technology leaders.

AI Architecture & Solution Enablement (20%):

• Design enterprise AI architectures leveraging LLMs, retrieval systems, agentic workflows, AI orchestration platforms, and automation capabilities.
• Define scalable patterns for GenAI applications, RAG solutions, knowledge management, workflow automation, and AI-assisted experiences.
• Provide architecture guidance for AI platform selection, model integration, governance, observability, security, and responsible AI practices.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify opportunities to create business value.
• Collaborate with AI engineers and developers to translate architecture designs into production-ready solutions.
• Establish architecture patterns and best practices for enterprise AI adoption.
• Support prototyping and proof-of-concept activities when required.

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, solution architecture, or enterprise architecture.
• Proven experience designing and delivering large-scale software solutions in enterprise environments.
• Strong background in software development with hands-on experience in modern application development practices.
• Expertise in software architecture patterns, distributed systems, APIs, microservices, integration architectures, and cloud-native solutions.
• Experience with public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Understanding of AI and GenAI architectures including:
  • LLM-based applications
  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
  • Agentic AI architectures
  • Vector databases
  • AI orchestration frameworks
  • AI security and governance
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to executive and non-technical audiences.
• Strong consulting, stakeholder management, and presentation skills.
• Fluent English required. Spanish and/or Portuguese preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in payments, banking, fintech, digital commerce, or financial services.
• Experience designing enterprise AI platforms or AI Centers of Excellence.
• Familiarity with AI evaluation frameworks, observability, monitoring, and model governance.
• Experience implementing enterprise integration patterns and large-scale modernization programs.
• Knowledge of security, privacy, compliance, and Responsible AI practices.
• Experience leading architecture workstreams in consulting or client-facing environments.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

A successful candidate is:

• An architect first, engineer second.
• Someone who has spent years building software and understands what good engineering looks like.
• Comfortable discussing architecture with CIOs, CTOs, and enterprise architects.
• Able to challenge vendors and implementation teams on design choices.
• Excited by AI, but focused on applying it responsibly to solve real business problems.
• Equally comfortable producing executive architecture recommendations and reviewing detailed technical designs.

Visa is an EEO Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.