Software Engineering Vice President (Fintech)

TL;DR

Software Engineering Vice President (Payments/Fintech): Leading the strategic technical direction for global payment infrastructure with an accent on high-throughput architecture, ISO 20022 migration, and real-time payment rails. Focus on designing scalable, resilient distributed systems and managing strict SLAs for millions of consumer transactions.

Location: Birmingham, United Kingdom

Company

A leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.

What you will do

• Lead the engineering and deployment of U.S. payment rails (ACH, RTP, FedNow, Zelle) and European SEPA standards.
• Drive the adoption of ISO 20022 messaging standards across all payment flows to ensure interoperability.
• Design and manage distributed, event-driven systems capable of processing high-volume transactions with sub-second latency.
• Define and guarantee strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for payment availability and settlement finality.
• Partner with Information Security and Fraud teams to integrate real-time risk scoring and AML/KYC checks.
• Define the 3-year technical roadmap for the New Payment Rails (NPR) team.

Requirements

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 6 years in a senior leadership role within Payments or Fintech.
• Deep, hands-on experience with the technical specifications of ACH, RTP, FedNow, Zelle, and SEPA.
• Expert knowledge of ISO 20022, SWIFT MT/MX, and JSON-based API payment protocols.
• Proven experience building high-scale systems on AWS, GCP, or Azure using microservices, Kafka, and distributed databases.
• Strong understanding of PSD2, Dodd-Frank, and global money transmitter licensing requirements.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.

Culture & Benefits

• Commitment to diversity and inclusion with numerous opportunities for professional and personal growth.
• Access to firmwide networks, training, and development opportunities.
• Comprehensive benefits including wellness, personal finance offerings, and mindfulness programs.
• Support for reasonable accommodations for candidates with special needs or disabilities.