About the role

EXL is seeking a Data Solution Architect & RFP Response Lead with deep Banking & Capital Markets expertise to design secure & performant data architectures and own end-to-end RFP responses. The candidate will craft target-state blueprints (cloud/data/API/event-driven), embed regulatory compliance, build compelling narratives and orals, and partner with Sales, Security, Finance, and Delivery to win and land complex transformations.
Required: 15+ years Data Architecture, 10+ years FS domain, cloud/data/DevSecOps, hands-on RFP leadership, executive communication. Preferred: TOGAF, cloud certs, ISO 20022/payments or front-office trading platform experience.
The Data Solution Architect & RFP Response Lead is a dual-role function responsible for (1) designing secure, scalable, and regulatory-compliant data solutions across the Banking & Capital Markets value chain, and (2) leading end-to-end RFP/RFI/RFQ responses—including solution strategy, win-themes, pricing alignment, delivery model, and orals—working closely with Sales, Product, Delivery, Risk, Legal, and Partner Ecosystem teams.
You will shape data solution blueprints for banking data modernization, payments data transformation, data & analytics, digital channels data, risk data & finance data consolidation, and front-to-back office data flow, while driving a compelling, compliant, and differentiated response for complex procurement cycles.
Key Responsibilities
A. Solution Architecture (60%)
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Discovery & Architecture
o Lead client discovery, current-state assessments (business, applications, data, infra), and target-state reference data architectures (cloud/on-prem/hybrid) not application modernization.
o Define logical, physical, and integration data architectures with clear NFRs (scalability, resiliency, performance, latency, DR/RTO/RPO).
o Establish data architecture patterns (canonical models, data mesh/lakehouse, lineage, metadata, MDM, privacy-by-design).
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Domain-Specific Design
o Private Banking Data: core and digital banking, onboarding & KYC, loan origination & servicing, payments (RTGS/ACH/SEPA/SWIFT/ISO 20022), cards, fraud & AML, collections.
o Capital Markets Data: order management, trade capture, pricing & risk analytics, confirmations/settlements, collateral, market & reference data, regulatory reporting, surveillance.
o Risk & Finance Data: ALM, IFRS/CECL, Basel, liquidity/stress testing, reconciliations, controls automation.
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Cloud & Platforms
o Define target cloud data landing zones (Azure/AWS/GCP), multi-region setup, network segmentation, secrets management, observability (APM, logs, traces).
o Understanding of core banking and capital markets data / apps ecosystems: Temenos, Finastra, FIS, Fiserv, Mambu, Thought Machine, Calypso/Adenza, Murex, Broadridge, SimCorp—incl. integration and extension patterns.
o Understand API-led connectivity (REST/GraphQL, event streaming/Kafka), microservices, containers/Kubernetes, serverless where appropriate.
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Security, Risk & Compliance
o Concept of zero-trust principles; enforce access controls, encryption, tokenization, key management.
o Enforce compliance with SOX, GLBA, PCI-DSS, PSD2, MiFID II, EMIR, Dodd-Frank, GDPR/CCPA, and local regulations; define control mappings and evidence plans.
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Data Delivery Architecture
o Define DevSecOps toolchains, IaC (Terraform/Bicep/CloudFormation), CI/CD, automated testing, quality gates.
o Develop data migration cutover plans, data migration strategies, and rollback/DR drills.
Tools & Environment (Typical)
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Architecture: Draw.io, Visio, Lucid, Archi/ArchiMate.
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DevSecOps: GitHub/GitLab/Azure DevOps, SonarQube, Snyk, HashiCorp (Terraform/Vault), Jenkins, ArgoCD.
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Cloud & Data: Azure/AWS/GCP, Kafka, Spark, Databricks/BigQuery/Synapse/Snowflake, Redis, Postgres/Oracle, Elastic/Prometheus/Grafana.
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RFP Ops: SharePoint/Teams, Confluence/Jira, PowerPoint/Word, Adobe Acrobat, compliance trackers.
B. RFP/RFI/RFQ Response Leadership (40%)
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• Response Orchestration
o Own the response calendar, structure, and storyline: exec summary, problem framing, solution blueprint, value levers, delivery approach, and win themes.
o Run cross business / data team reviews, manage version control, and coordinate SMEs across products, security, delivery, legal, and finance.
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• Technical Content & Differentiation
o Author Data solution narratives, diagrams, SOW-aligned deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, and dependencies.
o Create data compliance matrices, data security questionnaires, data processing addendums, and data architecture risk assessments.
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• Commercials & Risk
o Partner with Finance to shape TCO, unit-rate models, milestones, and risk-adjusted estimates; surface trade-offs and options (Good/Better/Best).
o Align response with SLAs/OLAs, penalties/earn-backs, and regulatory constraints.
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• Presentations & Orals
o Build orals deck and demo strategy; coach speakers; handle deep-dive Q&A (security, latency, DR, data residency, vendor lock-in, licensing, roadmap).
Required Qualifications
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• 10–15+ years in Data Solution Architecture/ Data Engineering; 10+ years in Banking/Capital Markets domain / projects.
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• Proven leadership of >$10M programs or multi-tower data transformations.
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• Strong grasp of banking and capital markets data domain processes and leading COTS platforms.
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• Deep experience with cloud architectures (Azure/AWS/GCP), API/event-driven designs, data platforms, DevSecOps, and SRE/observability.
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• Hands-on with architecture frameworks (TOGAF/Zachman) and modeling (C4, ArchiMate, UML).
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• Familiarity with information security standards (ISO 27001, NIST), privacy, and regulatory regimes relevant to FS.
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• Demonstrated ownership of RFP/RFI responses end-to-end, including compliant templates, Q&A management, pricing alignment, and orals.
Preferred
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• Certifications: TOGAF, Cloud Architect (Azure/AWS/GCP), CISSP/CCSP, CFA/FRM/PRM (nice-to-have for capital markets).
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• Prior consulting/pre-sales experience with tier-1 banks/brokers/asset managers/market infra.
Core Competencies & Behaviors
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• Executive storytelling and persuasion; crisp written communications.
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• Systems thinking; ability to translate business outcomes to architecture decisions and NFRs.
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• Rigor & governance: risk identification, controls design, and defensible estimates.
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• Collaboration across Sales, Legal, Security, Finance, and Delivery.
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• Pragmatism: balance best-practice with legacy constraints and time-to-value.
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• Integrity & compliance-first mindset.
Key Deliverables
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• Current/Target Data Architecture Diagrams (context, integration, data flows).
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• Data Solution Blueprint (functional & non-functional), Transition/Migration roadmap.
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• Data Sizing & Estimation model for ETL/ Data modeling / Medallion Arch; Bill of Materials (cloud, licenses).
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• Security & Compliance plan (controls, evidence, RACI).
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• RFP Response Pack: Compliance matrix, assumptions, Q&A log, exec summary, win themes, SOW, staffing plan, commercials, orals deck.
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• Risk Register and Mitigation Plan.