Estée Lauder Companies Technical Director, Capability Design Architect

Role & Responsibilities

• Author and govern multi-year master technical blueprints for ELC's flagship platforms, including Global SAP S/4HANA, global supply chain networks, and enterprise omnichannel integration engines, defining long-term technology roadmaps spanning multiple business capability L2 domain areas
• Solve deep technical friction and integration bottlenecks that span business capability L2 domain boundaries, ensuring end-to-end technical cohesion across disparate regional, brand, and functional software ecosystems
• Conduct high-level architectural cost-benefit analyses and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modeling for enterprise technology investments; identify structural technical debt and design systematic architectural retirement strategies
• Map complex multi-domain value streams using VSM and APQC frameworks, engineering high-speed data pipelines, event broker patterns, and lightweight APIs that streamline business execution across global markets
• Serve as the ultimate enterprise arbiter for Fit to Standard principles, establishing and enforcing rigid architectural standards that prohibit custom modifications within core technology landscapes and mandate side-by-side cloud extensibility
• Adhere to and enforce enterprise-wide API governance frameworks, microservice architecture standards, and integration patterns; design composable abstraction layers enabling rapid platform replacements and seamless vendor integration
• Possess deep code-level and configuration-level understanding of core transactional engines, cloud integration platforms (SAP BTP, MuleSoft, AWS), and enterprise databases, serving as the top technical escalation point for complex architectural defects
• Lead capability domain area innovation into disruptive technologies and composable software paradigms; author white papers and proof-of-concepts guiding ELC's long-term digital evolution
• Establish enterprise standards for architecture documentation, schema definition, and interface mapping, ensuring all global systems are represented in automated, living repositories
• Partner with VP-level Product Leads and Domain Directors to ensure product strategies align with enterprise technical architecture standards and cloud infrastructure roadmaps
• Perform mandatory architectural audits on multi-million-dollar vendor proposals, Statements of Work (SOWs), and system integrator designs, safeguarding ELC's intellectual property and ensuring high technical standards
• Serve as a permanent member and leader on the Enterprise Architecture Review Board, reviewing and approving major architecture variations, cloud migrations, and strategic core platform changes
• Drive experimental adoption and enterprise deployment of Generative AI tools, AI-assisted code generation, and automated architecture analysis systems within business capability domain areas
• Champion AI-assisted architecture workflows, training the engineering organization on using AI models to analyze legacy configurations, generate data schemas, and draft interface specifications
• Act as senior mentor to Principal, Senior Principal, and Director-level architects, building a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning without direct administrative burden
• Serve as Lead Master Architect in peer design, strategy, and architecture review sessions, role-modeling constructive technical debate and pressure-testing complex capability designs

Qualifications

• Industry-recognized mastery in designing large-scale enterprise architectures (TOGAF, Zachman) across hybrid multi-cloud systems, global ERPs, and high-throughput transaction engines
• Unrivaled technical authority in designing side-by-side extension patterns, event-driven architectures, headless integration layers, and enterprise API gateways that decouple legacy core engines
• Pioneer experience deploying cutting-edge Generative AI tools, custom agentic frameworks, and automated telemetry analytics to auto-generate interface specs, parse legacy codebases, and audit system health
• Exceptional ability to articulate complex technical concepts, trade-offs, and multi-year technology blueprints clearly to C-Suite executives, SVPs, and external technology boards
• Demonstrated experience and accountability for governing Finance architecture, ensuring integrated and consistent architecture spanning OneStream, Finance reporting and analytics, Real Estate, Finance data, and related Finance platforms
• Strong understanding of SAP S/4HANA Finance capabilities, including Universal Journal, Business Partner, Fiori, Central Finance, Advanced Financial Closing, Group Reporting, and S/4HANA simplifications
• Knowledge of global template design, chart of accounts, legal entity structures, posting models, document flows, statutory reporting, close processes, and SAP integration points with the broader Finance landscape
• Experience architecting integrated Finance solutions across SAP and non-SAP platforms, including planning, consolidation, reporting, analytics, external data extraction, workflow, and Finance service delivery platforms
• Ability to review and approve designs ensuring alignment with target Capability Architecture, including functional specifications, integration designs, configuration approaches, custom developments, data conversion strategies, and cutover plans
• Strong understanding of SAP security, segregation of duties, audit controls, compliance requirements, and data governance for Finance solutions

Skills

Experience

8+ years of progressively advanced experience in enterprise architecture, large-scale system design, and governance roles; extensive hands-on experience with SAP S/4HANA deployments and Finance architecture across multi-billion-dollar transaction systems; proven track record of leading enterprise-scale architectural transformations and mentoring senior technical leaders

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related technical discipline

Workplace

Compensation

The base compensation for this position ranges from USD 139,850 to USD 241,550 per annum.

Benefits

Health insurance coverage (medical, dental, and vision insurance), wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education-related programs, paid holidays and vacation time, highly competitive bonus program with possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results, participation in share incentive plan

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.