Architectural Associate Jobs in Edison, NJ (NOW HIRING)

Role Summary
At T. Rowe Price, the mission of the Enterprise Architecture (EA) function is to empower the firm to achieve its strategic objectives through the optimal use of technology. The EA function will align technology with business capabilities to enable effective strategy execution and business transformation. By monitoring and adopting emerging technologies, EA will drive technology enabled innovation and keep the firm ahead of industry disruption.

We are at an inflection point. Artificial intelligence is reshaping every dimension of asset management - from investment research and portfolio management to client engagement, and operational efficiency.

As Enterprise AI Architect, you will be at the forefront of firm-wide AI activation, as part of the Enterprise Architecture team and working directly with the Chief Architect, to define, govern, and accelerate AI adoption across a complex, global institution. You will translate ambitious enterprise strategy into concrete architectural blueprints, ensuring that AI initiatives are coherent, scalable, secure, and aligned with our fiduciary obligations.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the architectural foundations of an AI-forward firm from the ground up.

Why This Role Matters:

The Enterprise Architecture team serves as the connective tissue between technology capability and business strategy execution. With AI emerging as the defining technology of this era, the team requires a dedicated architect who brings both the depth to evaluate frontier AI systems and the breadth to integrate them into our global enterprise technology and data estate.

You will operate across three horizons simultaneously:

• Now - Guiding and accelerating in-flight AI initiatives, establishing guardrails and patterns for responsible deployment.
• Next - Designing the target-state AI architecture that integrates with our cloud enabled app and data stack, and our evolving digital workplace solutions.
• Beyond - Scanning the frontier, evaluating emerging capabilities (agentic AI, MCP-based orchestration, multimodal reasoning, quantum-AI convergence), and identifying strategic bets for the firm.

Responsibilities

AI Architecture & Strategy:

• Define and maintain the firm's Enterprise AI Architecture, spanning model infrastructure, data pipelines, orchestration layers, integration patterns, and governance controls.
• Develop reference architecture for agentic AI systems and multi-agent workflows, establishing standards for orchestration frameworks, tool use, and model-context protocols (MCP) across business domains.
• Develop AI reference architectures for accelerating priority investment front-to-back office use cases.
• Drive integration of AI capabilities with core data platform and content platform, leveraging retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), MCP, etc. to unlock the firm's proprietary data assets.
  

Governance & Risk:

• Design and operationalize the AI governance framework, covering model risk management, explainability standards, bias monitoring, data lineage, and regulatory compliance (existing and emerging AI-specific regulation).
• Establish, evolve model evaluation and selection criteria for frontier and open-weight models, balancing capability, performance, cost, latency, etc.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, and Risk to embed AI risk controls into architecture review processes.
• Define data privacy and security patterns for AI workloads, including prompt injection defenses, PII handling, and sovereign data requirements.
  

Enterprise Alignment & Stakeholder Leadership:

• Translate business strategies from investment management, distribution, finance, and operations into AI architecture requirements and roadmaps.
• Guide Architecture Review Board (ARB) evaluations for AI-related proposals, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards, principles, and strategic direction.
• Produce executive-grade artifacts - technology radars, strategic assessments, vendor evaluations, and architectural decision records (ADRs.
• Serve as an AI thought leader and trusted advisor, building AI literacy and architectural confidence across technology and business leadership.
  

Technology Scanning & Innovation:

• Operate a continuous technology scanning practice, monitoring frontier AI developments (foundation models, agentic frameworks, AI infrastructure) and distilling insights for senior leadership.
• Evaluate and pilot emerging AI capabilities in a structured proof-of-concept framework, with clear criteria for progression from exploration to production.
• Maintain relationships with leading AI vendors, cloud hyperscalers, research institutions, and peer firms to benchmark capability and strategy.
  

Team, Collaboration & Community:

• Mentor and coach architects and engineers on AI design patterns, responsible AI practices, and architectural thinking.
• Contribute to the development of the Enterprise Architecture practice, including standards, templates, and capability-building programs.
• Represent the firm in external architecture and AI forums, industry working groups, and partner communities.
  

Qualifications
Required:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics or related fields, 10+ years in technology architecture roles, with at least 3-5 years focused on AI/ML architecture in large, complex enterprise environments.
• Deep, hands-on command of the modern AI stack: LLM APIs and fine-tuning, vector databases, RAG architectures, embedding pipelines, prompt engineering, and agent orchestration frameworks (LangChain, AutoGen, or equivalents).
• Practical exposure to agentic AI architecture, multi-agent coordination, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) or similar tool-use frameworks.
• Proven experience with enterprise data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, or comparable) and integrating AI capabilities on top of them.
• Strong understanding of cloud-native architecture on AWS, including relevant AI/ML services, e.g. Bedrock, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality architecture artifacts - reference architectures, technology radars, ADRs, capability assessments.
• Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, and experience operating within Architecture Review Boards.
• Excellent communication skills: the ability to synthesize complex technical topics into clear, actionable narratives for non-technical stakeholders.
  

Preferred:

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, or a related field, with a strong focus or specialization in AI.
• Experience in financial services - asset management, investment banking, or fintech - with an understanding of investment workflows, data governance, and regulatory obligations.
• Knowledge of AI governance frameworks, model risk management guidelines, and emerging AI regulations.
• Familiarity with emerging AI-adjacent technologies: quantum computing implications for AI, blockchain/DLT, etc.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States (e.g., H1-B visa, F-1 visa (OPT), TNvisaor any other non-immigrant work status)

FINRA Requirements
FINRA licenses are not required and will not be supported for this role.

Work Flexibility
This role is eligible for hybrid work, with up to three days per week from home.

Base Salary Ranges

Please review the job posting for the location of this specific opportunity.

$174,000.00 - $297,000.00 for the location of: Maryland, Colorado, Washington and remote workers
$191,000.00 - $327,000.00 for the location of: Washington, D.C.
$218,000.00 - $350,000.00 for the location of: New York, California

Placement within the range provided above is based on the individual's relevant experience and skills for the role. Base salary is only one component of our total compensation package. Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus, which is determined upon company and individual performance.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At T. Rowe Price, our associates are our greatest asset. We thrive because our company culture is built on inclusion and because we sustain a work environment where associates can bring their best selves to work every day. The backgrounds, talents, and experiences of our global associates allow us to embrace new ideas and perspectives that move our business priorities forward and enable us to deliver strong client outcomes. Here, you can expect equal opportunity and fair and consistent treatment for all.

Benefits

T. Rowe Price is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity of thought, gender, and race. We believe our continued success depends upon the equal treatment of all associates and applicants for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, mental or physical disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or any other classification protected by country, federal, state, or local law.