Vice President, Chief Architect

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to eliminate the back row in education – and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporate partners, we are helping to unlock human potential.

What We're Looking For:

The Chief Architect role provides the overall technology architecture strategy to support 2U's business vision and growth objectives. Reporting directly to the CTO, this VP-level position is responsible for defining the enterprise-wide architectural framework, standards, and roadmap that will drive technological innovation across the organization. 

The Chief Architect works closely with a team of domain architects and collaborates cross-functionally with product, engineering, and business leaders to ensure our technology stack remains scalable, secure, and aligned with business goals. This role serves as the principal technical authority, balancing cutting-edge solutions with pragmatic implementation approaches to support 2U's evolving business needs in the education technology space. 

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with learning management systems, marketing technology, modern data platforms, the latest development frameworks, and emerging AI capabilities to help drive our market growth, platform consolidation, and global technology workforce transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Define and implement the enterprise-wide architectural vision, strategy, and roadmap that aligns with and enables 2U's business objectives and digital transformation initiatives.
• Work closely with domain architects across various technology disciplines (application, data, infrastructure, security, integration) to execute on the strategy.
• Lead architectural oversight for major initiatives, including platform consolidation across lines of business and technology solutions to grow market share.
• Partner with senior leadership to translate business strategy into architectural decisions that drive competitive advantage and operational excellence.
• Establish architecture governance processes, review boards, and standards to ensure consistency and quality across all technology initiatives.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends to identify opportunities for innovation and improved efficiency, with particular focus on AI capabilities including LLMs, RAG architectures, and machine learning.
• Provide technical leadership in evaluating strategic vendor solutions, partnerships, integration opportunities & buy vs. build decisions
• Architect solutions that effectively leverage open source technologies while meeting enterprise-grade requirements for security, scalability, and performance.
• Drive the creation and maintenance of enterprise architecture documentation, reference models, and patterns for use across the organization.
• Lead technology standardization efforts across global teams to enable efficient collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Leverage technology capabilities across 2U’s business segments to create bespoke solutions for corporate partners.
• Partner with InfoSec & SRE teams to design secure end-to-end solutions, evaluate threat surface area and develop mitigation plans aligned with best practices.

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field required.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in technology with at least 8+ years in architecture roles of increasing responsibility.
• Minimum 5 years of direct experience in education technology, with deep understanding of learning management systems such as Moodle, Canvas, and Open edX.
• 5+ years of experience in a senior architecture leadership role, preferably in SaaS, education technology, or similarly complex environments.
• 5+ years of experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), distributed systems architectures, modern development frameworks and data platforms (particularly Snowflake).
• 3+ years of experience in designing & delivering multi-tenant solutions with focus on data segregation & balancing isolation & cost-performance implications.
• 3+ years of experience working with Salesforce CRM including Apex custom development & enterprise integrations.
• Experience leading teams of senior technical architects.
• Demonstrable track record of successfully designing and implementing enterprise-level architectural transformations.
• Proven expertise in evaluating, adapting, and deploying enterprise-grade solutions based on open-source software.
• Experience architecting solutions leveraging modern AI capabilities, including LLMs, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), machine learning applications.
• Experience delivering AI-powered solutions for enterprise use cases such as content creation, customer service & marketing automation.
• Strong understanding of marketing technology stacks, including Google Search Ads 360 and Google Analytics.
• Prior experience working directly with C-level executives and translating business strategy into technology architecture.

Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:

• Strategic thinking with the ability to balance long-term vision with practical implementation across global technology teams.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Deep understanding of the open source ecosystem and ability to evaluate the sustainability and enterprise readiness of open source projects.
• Experience driving platform consolidation while maintaining business continuity.
• Collaborative approach to problem-solving with a focus on business outcomes, particularly market growth strategies.
• Comfort with ambiguity and ability to provide clarity in rapidly evolving business environments.
• Passion for education technology and its potential to transform learning experiences at scale.
• Experience leading geographically distributed teams through significant technological change and transformation.
• Expertise in balancing innovation with standardization to create efficient, scalable technology solutions.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to build credibility with senior leadership.

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Arlington, VA two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide over 40 million learners and counting with access to world-class online higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. #NoBackRow

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, U.S.benefits include: 

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match
• Free snacks and drinks in-office
• Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO
• Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break

The anticipated base salary range for this role is ($240,000 - $285,000), with potential bonus eligibility.  Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, budget for the position and cost of labor in the market in which the candidate will be hired.

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At 2U, we are committed to building and sustaining a culture of belonging, respect, and inclusion. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken to bring together an employee base that embodies diverse walks of life, ideas, genders, ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, abilities and other unique qualities. We strive to offer a workplace where every employee feels empowered by what makes us different, as well as by how we are alike. 

2U is committed to providing reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process. If you need assistance or accommodations, please reach out to us at: [email protected]. 

About 2U LLC

For more than a decade, 2U, Inc. has been the digital transformation partner of choice to great non-profit colleges and universities delivering high-quality online education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading global online learning platform, 2U provides over 45 million learners with access to world-class education in partnership with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporations. Our people and technology are powering more than 4,000 digital education offerings — from free courses to full degrees — and helping unlock human potential. To learn more: visit 2U.com.

About edX

edX is the education movement for restless learners and a leading global online learning platform from 2U, LLC. Together with the majority of the world’s top-ranked universities and industry-leading companies, we bring our community of over 45 million learners world-class education to support them at every stage of their lives and careers, from free courses to full degrees. And we're not stopping there — we're relentlessly pursuing our vision of a world where every learner can access education to unlock their potential, without the barriers of cost or location. Learn more at edX.org.

Learn more at https://2u.com/careers/
#NoBackRow

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans’ status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U’s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits and pay.