Principal Blockchain Architect - Cybersecurity

Pay range: USD $243,400.00 - $365,100.00 / Year

Your opportunity

At Schwab, you're empowered to make an impact on your career and the future of digital finance.

We believe in the importance of in-office collaboration and fully intend for the selected candidate for this role to work on site in the specified location(s).

We are seeking a visionary and technically proficient Principal Blockchain Technology Architect to lead the design, development, and implementation of blockchain-based solutions within the financial services sector. This role will be instrumental in shaping our blockchain strategy, driving innovation, and ensuring secure, scalable, and regulatory-compliant architectures that support digital assets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Architecture & Design:
• Lead the end-to-end architecture of blockchain platforms, including consensus mechanisms, smart contract frameworks, and integration with legacy financial systems.
• Design scalable and secure distributed ledger solutions tailored to financial use cases such as payments, clearing and settlement, identity management, and asset tokenization.
• Technology Leadership:

• Evaluate and select appropriate blockchain protocols based on business requirements.
• Define technical security standards, best practices, and governance models for secure blockchain development and deployment.

• Collaborate with engineering teams to build and maintain secure blockchain infrastructure, APIs, and smart contracts.
• Ensure high performance, fault tolerance, and data integrity across blockchain nodes and networks.

• Implement robust security measures including cryptographic techniques, identity and access management, and secure key storage.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations (e.g., AML/KYC, GDPR, SEC guidelines) in blockchain implementations.
• Help implement holistic security measures across the cybersecurity program pertaining to the safe development and monitoring of digital assets.

• Stay abreast of emerging blockchain trends, technologies, and regulatory developments.
• Provide strategic guidance to executive leadership on blockchain opportunities and risks.

• Work cross-functionally with product, legal, compliance, and operations teams.
• Mentor junior architects and developers in blockchain principles and development practices.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in software architecture, with 5+ years in blockchain technologies
• Deep understanding of cryptographic principles, distributed systems, and consensus algorithms
• Proven experience designing and deploying blockchain solutions in financial environments
• Familiarity with smart contract languages and blockchain platforms
• Strong knowledge of financial services workflows and regulatory requirements
• Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills

• Experience with DeFi protocols, digital identity, and token economics
• Knowledge of cloud-native architectures and containerization (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)

• 401(k) with company match and Employee stock purchase plan
• Paid time for vacation, volunteering, and 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years of service for eligible positions
• Paid parental leave and family building benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Health, dental, and vision insurance