Senior Principal Architect - Originations

JOB DESCRIPTION

Why GM Financial Technology?

GM Financial is set to change the auto finance industry and is leading the path with embarking on tech modernization - we have a startup mindset, preserve our small company culture, in a public company environment with financial stability and intense growth over a decade long history. We are data junkies and trust in data and insights to advance our business objectives.

We take our goal of zero emission, zero collision, zero congestion and zero friction very seriously. We believe as the auto finance market leader we are in the driver seat to lead us in the GM EV mission to change the world. We are building global platforms, LATAM, Europe, China - our high performing talent needs a high performing leader. GMF is comprised of over 10,000 team members globally. Join our fin-tech culture within a Blue-Chip company where we are changing the way we use technology to support our customer and business.

RESPONSIBILITIES

About the Role:

As a technical leader and subject matter expert for assigned business unit, the Senior Principal will be a key influencer in the achievement of strategic alignment and provide a positive impact on business value. This leader will serve as the primary point of contact for IT Architecture in Canada, driving the modernization of our loan origination platforms and ensuring that solution designs align to enterprise architecture principles aligned to our North Star Architecture while enabling GM Financial's long‑term strategy.

The Senior Principal will work closely with leaders across GM Financial Canada, Originations, Operations, and Enterprise Architecture to identify high-impact initiatives that advance modernization goals. This person will bring deep expertise in loan origination, banking, and enterprise-scale solution architecture, serving as a trusted advisor and advocate for technical excellence. The person in this role is also expected to be an energetic, dynamic and innovative leader and influencer, acting as an avid promoter of process improvement to enhance productivity and performance of assigned business area. The Senior Principal is an established and recognized figure both internally and externally. This person will represent GM Financial in the broader community and serve as a de-facto ambassador for the organization. It will be important for the Senior Principal to maintain a strong network in the community and represent GM Financial well. This role represents GM Financial within the broader Canadian technical and business community and will maintain a strong external network.

• Lead the modernization of Canada's loan origination platforms, guiding the transition to future-state architectures that improve scalability, risk management, automation, and customer experience.

• Serve as the primary architectural authority for all technology initiatives within the Canada domain, ensuring consistency with enterprise architecture standards.

• Develop and validate large-scale solution architectures that span multiple business and technical domains across GM Financial.

• Provide deep subject matter expertise in loan origination systems (LOS), credit decisioning, underwriting workflows, dealer relationship platforms, and related ecosystem technologies.

• Partner with business and technology teams to define target-state architectures, architectural roadmaps, and domain-specific technology strategies.

• Drive alignment between Canadian modernization needs and global architecture investments.

• Business Partnership & Leadership

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders in the Canadian business unit by providing architectural insight and strategic guidance.

• Translate business strategies into actionable solution designs that balance risk, investment, sustainability, and speed-to-market.

• Lead cross-team architectural discussions and influence product, engineering, and operational decision-making.

• Provide coaching, mentorship, and architectural oversight to technical teams within the Canada domain.

• Collaborate closely with Domain Architecture peers to ensure enterprise-wide coherence across capabilities, data flows, integration patterns, and platform modernization.

• Anticipate and resolve architectural risks, dependencies, and design challenges across multiple systems and teams.

• Influence shared services, infrastructure, data, and security architectures that support the Canadian business.

• Promote standards, reusable patterns, and modern engineering practices across the enterprise.

• Reporting Structure: This role reports to the VP Architecture

• This role reports to: VP Architecture

• Experience with leading cross-functional and/or global initiatives from start to finish

• Advanced knowledge of business acumen and a deep understanding of business implications of decisions

• In-depth understanding of company values, mission, vision and strategic direction

• Comprehensive knowledge of GM Financial's business operations

• Recognized as an expert across the business unit

• Advanced relationship management skills and ability to influence others to achieve results by working across the business unit, being open to ideas and actively engaging and influencing others

• Proven skills in providing leadership through mentorship, influence, inspiration, collaboration and teamwork

• Exemplifies professional behavior in using logic, analysis and judgment when encountering challenges

• Strong ability to map long-term vision for the business unit and generate innovative ideas that create value

• Ability to maintain and grow strong working relationships and build trust with peers, cross-functional partners and related professional organizations

• Demonstrated ability to make smart decisions with a strong sense of urgency to accelerate continuous progression

• Extensive experience in loan origination platforms, including architecture of LOS systems, integrations with credit bureaus, fraud tools, decision engines, and workflow automation.

• Strong understanding of banking, lending, financial services, and ideally captive finance operating models.

• Experience architecting large-scale, multi-system enterprise solutions across multiple functional domains.

• Knowledge of Canadian financial regulatory considerations is a plus.

• Deep expertise in API‑driven architecture, event-driven patterns, cloud transformation, and integration strategy.

• 12+ years in related function(s) required

• 5-7 years of experience leading through mentorship in related field required

• 5-7 years of experience driving thought leadership and innovation across products required

• High School Diploma or equivalent required

• Bachelor's Degree or Associate Degree plus 2 additional years of relevant experience required

• Relevant certifications and/or licenses required