Name and job title: Lou Coglianese, chief architect, enterprise architecture

Company and location: Capital One, Falls Church, Va.

How he got the job: Coglianese worked at IBM for 20 years; he then did software architecture research and stints with consulting firms before Capital One lured him with its information-based business strategies. "IT is the central nervous system here," he says. "We use IT to rocket the business forward."

Skills required: Competence with architecture styles, patterns and their implications; an understanding of performance-based estimates and capacity planning; knowledge of the benefits of new technologies; a good working knowledge of many programming languages, servers, databases, networks and system operations. "You must understand how each aspect will work in the context of the entire system," Coglianese says.

Training needed: Coglianese says his training in math and chemical engineering has been useful, but he also credits exposure to a range of systems, from "classic IT operations" to sophisticated systems for aircraft operation, radar processing and marine automation. As he identifies skills he may need in emerging technologies, Coglianese expects to gain them via Capital One's IT University.

Job and salary potential: Coglianese declined to discuss salary specifics. However, he notes that Capital One offers many performance-based incentives on top of salary and benefits. "You are in a position to make an impact, to show a benefit to the business, so you can take advantage of the perks," Coglianese says. Recruiters estimate salaries for senior software architects range from $90,000 to $150,000.

Advice: Coglianese recommends that aspiring architects gain as many skills and as much knowledge as possible. "You have to be able to work at the top; you have to be able to work at the bottom," he says. Further, he urges architects to learn to express their architectures in formal designs so they're easy to analyze and evaluate.