Principal, Technical Support Architecture & Service Strategy

Principal, Technical Support Architecture & Service Strategy

Apex Fintech Solutions (AFS) powers innovation and the future of digital wealth management by processing millions of transactions daily, to simplify, automate, and facilitate access to financial markets for all. Our robust suite of fintech solutions enables us to support clients such as Stash, Betterment, SoFi, and Webull, and more than 20 million of our clients' customers.

Collectively, AFS creates an environment in which companies with the biggest ideas in fintech are empowered to change the world. As a global organization, we have offices in Austin, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Portland, Belfast, and Manila.

If you are seeking a fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment where you'll have the opportunity to make an immediate impact, and you have the guts to change everything, this is the place for you.

AFS has received a number of prestigious industry awards, including:

• 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 Best Wealth Management Company - presented by Fintech Breakthrough Awards
• 2021 Most Innovative Companies - presented by Fast Company
• 2021 Best API & Best Trading Technology - presented by Global Fintech Awards

Apex Fintech Solutions is seeking a Principal, Technical Support Architecture & Service Strategy to lead the strategic design of our technical support ecosystem as we transition to 24x7 operations, expand into international markets, and scale to support exponentially higher trading volumes. This is a forward-looking, business-aligned role responsible for designing support capabilities ahead of business growth—not reacting to it. Partner with Sales, Product, Strategic Partnerships, and Executive Leadership to translate business strategy into actionable support models, capacity plans, and operational readiness.

The support architecture you design directly impacts customer retention, regulatory compliance, sales win rates, and our ability to execute on growth strategy in a competitive clearing environment.

Support Strategy & Architecture Design

• Translate business roadmap (new products, markets, customer segments) into support requirements and capacity models
• Design tiered support models and SLA frameworks for diverse customer types (retail investors, advisors, broker-dealers, institutional)
• Architect 24x7 global support coverage (follow-the-sun model: US, EMEA, APAC)
• Build support readiness plans for product launches, market expansions, and new account types before go-live
• Support a multi-year support strategy: reactive → proactive → predictive → self-service

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Sales: Embed in sales process for large deals; define support requirements in contracts; participate in RFPs
• Product: Join product development early; conduct support impact assessments; establish launch readiness criteria
• Strategic Partnerships: Design support models for white-label partners and channel integrations
• Relationship Management: Partner with RMs on concierge support for top-tier clients; establish QBRs

Capacity Planning & Resource Optimization

• Build predictive demand models: forecast support volume based on customer growth, market events, product launches
• Design headcount planning and hiring strategies (US, nearshore, offshore; FTE vs. contractor vs. BPO)
• Optimize cost-to-serve through automation, self-service deflection (target: 30-50%), and process efficiency
• Implement workforce management tools to optimize scheduling and reduce overstaffing/understaffing

Technology & Tooling Strategy

• Influence the support technology roadmap: ticketing (Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud), phone, chat, CRM, WFM
• Contribute and influence the firm's self-service portal and implement AI chatbots for Tier 0 deflection
• Build analytics infrastructure: support KPIs (CSAT, NPS, FCR, AHT, SLA compliance), executive dashboards, predictive analytics
• Integrate support tooling and knowledge centers with trading platform, account data, and business systems

Operational Excellence & Customer Experience

• Establish quality assurance frameworks and performance management for support teams
• Own knowledge base strategy and documentation standards (runbooks, FAQs, video tutorials)
• Implement Voice of Customer (VoC) programs: surveys, NPS, sentiment analysis, customer advisory boards
• Drive continuous improvement through process audits, Lean methodologies, and root cause analysis
• Position support as competitive differentiator through testimonials, case studies, and benchmarking

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field (or equivalent work experience) required
• 10+ years in technical support/service delivery; 5+ years in leadership roles managing 50+ FTEs
• 8+ years in financial services operations (clearing, brokerage, fintech); deep understanding of trade lifecycle, settlements, corporate actions
• Proven track record scaling support organizations (2x-5x growth) and designing tiered support models
• Experience with 24x7 global support operations and follow-the-sun coverage models
• Experience leading organizational transformations: 24x5 → 24x7 transition, geographic expansion, technology migrations

Required Skills/Abilities

Strategic & Architectural Skills

• Service design expertise: customer journey mapping, service blueprints, capability modeling
• Capacity planning: demand forecasting, staffing models, cost-per-ticket analysis, ROI modeling
• Cross-functional partnership: Sales enablement, product launch readiness, partnership support design
• Change management: led major transformations (outsourcing, M&A integration, CRM migrations)

Technical & Analytical Skills

• Expert knowledge of support platforms: Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, Intercom
• Comprehension of Workforce management (WFM) tools. Such as: NICE, Verint, Calabrio
• AI/automation: chatbots, knowledge management systems
• Strong analytical skills: Excel/Google Sheets (advanced), SQL (preferred), statistical analysis
• ITIL or similar service management framework; Lean/Six Sigma methodologies

Leadership & Communication

• Built and led high-performing global support teams (US, nearshore, offshore)
• Executive presence: present to C-suite, decision makers, clients, regulators
• Influence without authority: build coalitions, drive organizational change
• Business acumen: translate support metrics into business impact (retention, revenue, NPS)

Financial Services Knowledge

• Regulatory landscape: FINRA, SEC, MSRB, GDPR, CCPA
• Market structure: trading hours, extended hours, market volatility
• B2B (broker-dealers, RIAs) and B2C (retail investors) support experience

Work Environment

• This job operates in a hybrid, office environment 3 days per week.

#IT #mid-senior #full-time #LI-SD1 #APEX

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

We offer a robust package of employee perks and benefits, including healthcare benefits (medical, dental and vision, EAP), competitive PTO, 401k match, parental leave, and HSA contribution match. We also provide our employees with a paid subscription to the Calm app and offer generous external learning and tuition reimbursement benefits. At AFS, we offer a hybrid work schedule for most roles that allows employees to have the flexibility of working from home and one of our primary offices.

Apex Fintech Solutions is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Our hiring practices ensure that