Sr. Director, Business Solutions Architecture

Starr Insurance Companies is a leading insurance and investment organization, providing commercial property and casualty insurance, including travel and accident coverage, to almost every imaginable business and industry in virtually every part of the world.

Cornelius Vander Starr established his first insurance company in Shanghai, China in 1919. Today, we are one of the world’s fastest growing insurance organizations, capable of writing in 128 countries on 6 continents.

The Sr Director, Business Solution Architecture is a senior level position that blends deep expertise in business analysis, business systems analysis, and solution architecture to drive transformative change for our Insurance Property & Casualty (P&C) and Specialty lines platforms. This role is accountable for providing strategic direction and tactical leadership in designing functional solutions that bridge the gap between complex business challenges and technical execution.

Acting as a key liaison among business stakeholders, developers, QA teams, and other cross-functional partners, the Sr Director leads a team of Business Analysts (BAs), Business Systems Analysts (BSAs), and Product Owners. The incumbent is responsible for orchestrating the development of comprehensive, well-structured artifacts - including functional flows, solution architectures, and business/functional requirements—which serve as the backbone for product delivery through all stages of the SDLC.

The ideal candidate will bring a proven track record of success in insurance technology, with a specific focus on P&C and specialty insurance processes. They will demonstrate exceptional leadership capabilities, fostering an environment of collaboration, mentorship, and professional growth within their team. Critical to this role is the ability to understand both macro-level business objectives and detailed operational workflows, translating them into practical, scalable, and innovative solution designs.

This role requires a high degree of business acumen, technical fluency, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while driving clarity and consensus among diverse stakeholder groups. By championing best practices in solution architecture and business analysis, the Sr Director, Business Solution Architecture will have a measurable impact on the quality, efficiency, and agility of our technology solutions, ensuring alignment with overarching business goals and industry standards.

Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the principal solution architect and thought leader for large-scale insurance technology initiatives.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Business Analysts, Business Systems Analysts, and Product Owners, providing direction and support to maximize team effectiveness.

• Collaborate with business leaders, product owners, SME’s, and technology teams to surface business challenges and opportunities.

• Analysis & Solutioning

• Perform end-to-end business analysis and business systems analysis for new or enhanced solutions in P&C and specialty insurance.

• Develop functional flows, process models, business architecture diagrams, and templated requirements documents that are consumable by development, QA, and business teams.

• Ensure artifacts are methodically organized, clear, and facilitate understanding across stakeholder groups.

• Architecture & Requirements

• Architect functional solutions addressing the needs of underwriting, claims, policy administration, billing, reinsurance, and related insurance operations.

• Translate business needs into system capabilities, leveraging deep domain expertise to prescribe best-fit functional architectures.

• Build and maintain libraries of solution templates, requirements documentation, and architectural standards.

• SDLC Contribution

• Provide key deliverables and documentation that drive all phases of the SDLC, ensuring alignment with agile and/or waterfall methodologies as appropriate.

• Act as the bridge between technical teams and business users to define, refine, and validate requirements.

• Oversee impacts and dependencies across systems and processes, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise strategic goals.

• Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and maintain best practices for solution architecture, requirements gathering, and documentation.

• Champion continuous improvement across solutioning and business analysis functions.

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of insurance industry trends, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration or related field.

• 12+ years of experience in insurance technology, with significant exposure to P&C and specialty lines.

• 8+ years of solution architecture, business analysis, or business systems analysis experience, ideally with progressive responsibilities.

• Proven experience translating complex business requirements into effective solution designs and requirements.

• Demonstrated expertise in insurance domain processes (underwriting, claims, policy admin, billing, regulatory, etc.).

• Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience leading diverse teams of BAs, BSAs, and Product Owners.

• Stakeholder management experience, with proven ability to build consensus and navigate competing priorities.

• Experience with architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, Zachman), requirements management tools, and modeling techniques (e.g., BPMN, UML).

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to present complex solutions in a clear, organized manner.

• Experience in SDLC methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) and delivering high-quality artifacts to cross-functional teams.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive consensus across business and technical stakeholders.

Preferred:

• Relevant insurance industry certifications (e.g., AIC, CPCU)

• Experience with core insurance platforms (Guidewire, Duck Creek, Majesco, etc.)

• Exposure to digital transformation, cloud migration, or data analytics initiatives in insurance

Starr is an equal opportunity employer, which means we'll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We offer first class training and development opportunities to all employees. Our aim is to grow our own talent and bring out the best in people.