Senior Solutions Architect (Finance)

What You Will Be Doing Payments Architecture & Strategy - Define target-state payments architecture across card-present and card-not-present environments. - Design a multi-acquirer and multi-region connectivity strategy. - Evaluate PSP vs traditional acquiring vs hybrid models. - Establish tokenization strategy (network tokens, processor tokens, vault ownership). Orchestration & Routing Design - Architect a custom or vendor-based orchestration layer including: Intelligent routing (cost + performance optimization), Soft-decline retry logic, SCA exemption management, Failover strategies, High-value transaction handling. - Design an abstraction layer for adding new countries or acquirers. - Support non-standard rails (fuel cards, fleet cards, aviation-specific instruments). Regulatory & Scheme Compliance - Lead PSD2 / SCA / 3DS 2.x architecture. - Implement stored credential framework and MIT handling. - Ensure PCI DSS compliance scope optimization. - Maintain network compliance alignment with: Visa, Mastercard Aviation-Specific Payment Models - Architect integration for fuel card providers. - Design direct bill lifecycle (credit approval → billing → collections → settlement). - Support blended payment models (card + invoice + ACH). - Enable post-service adjustments and merchant-initiated transactions. Cross-Functional Alignment - Partner with Treasury on settlement flows, reconciliation, and FX strategy. - Collaborate with FBO operations for the CP payment experience. - Align with digital teams on wallet and customer portal architecture. - Lead vendor evaluations (Elavon, Adyen, Stripe, orchestration providers). Performance & Optimization - Drive authorization rate optimization. - Design reporting and analytics framework across acquirers. - Establish a monitoring and observability strategy. - Define KPIs: auth rates, decline recovery, SCA success, cost per transaction.

Requirements

• 10+ years in payments architecture, fintech, or financial infrastructure. - Experience with at least one of the following: a traditional acquirer (Elavon, Fiserv, Worldpay) - preferred, a global PSP (Stripe, Adyen), or building an in-house payment gateway - Deep knowledge of: CP + CNP flows, SCA / 3DS 2.x, Stored credentials & MIT, Multi-MID and cross-border setups - Experience with ACH, RTP, SEPA, or direct debit rails. - Exposure to commercial, fleet, or fuel card ecosystems strongly preferred. - Experience designing high-availability systems for 24/7 operations. Technical Depth Expected: - API-first design patterns - Microservices and event-driven architectures - High-availability and distributed systems design - Secure data architecture and encryption standards - Integration with PSPs, acquirers, gateways - AWS/Azure cloud-native architectures - Observability tools and monitoring frameworks Soft Skills: - Executive communication capability - Ability to translate regulatory complexity into product strategy - Vendor negotiation literacy - Systems thinking - Comfort operating in high-transaction, high-value environments

Nice to have

• Experience in aviation, travel, hospitality, or fleet payments. - Multi-country regulatory experience (EU + US). - Direct bill / B2B credit lifecycle experience. - Familiarity with PCI scope reduction strategies. - Experience leading payments transformation programs.