Senior Payment and Cards Solution Architect - Contract

Role Overview We are looking for a highly experienced Senior Payment & Cards Solution Architect with deep expertise across the Cards and Payments ecosystem , including Issuing, Acquiring, ATM/POS Switching, ISO 8583 and ISO 20022 . The successful candidate will be responsible for defining end-to-end solution architecture for complex Cards and Payments initiatives, working closely with business, technology, product, infrastructure, security and delivery teams. Key Responsibilities Define and own end-to-end solution architecture for Cards and Payments platforms and transformation initiatives. Design scalable, secure and resilient solutions across Card Issuing, Acquiring, ATM and POS environments . Architect solutions involving payment switches, card management systems, payment gateways and banking platforms . Design and review transaction flows covering authorisation, routing, clearing and settlement . Provide architecture leadership for ISO 8583 and ISO 20022 messaging, mapping, transformation and system integration. Define integration architecture between payment platforms, core banking systems, digital channels and external payment networks. Develop solution architecture documents, integration designs, interface specifications, system interaction diagrams and technical roadmaps . Evaluate existing payment architecture and recommend modernisation, migration and optimisation approaches. Ensure architecture meets requirements for high availability, scalability, performance, security and resiliency . Work closely with engineering and delivery teams throughout design, development, testing, certification, migration and production implementation. Conduct architecture and technical design reviews and provide guidance to development and integration teams. Collaborate with business stakeholders, product teams, vendors, payment networks and technology teams to translate requirements into appropriate technical solutions. Identify architecture risks, dependencies and technical constraints and recommend appropriate solutions. Provide technical leadership for complex Cards and Payments transformation programs. Mandatory Experience & Skills Overall Delivery Experience: 10+ years in complex banking/payment technology environments. Cards Domain: 10+ years of strong Cards and Payments experience. ATM/POS Switching: 10+ years of deep experience in ATM/POS switching and transaction processing. Issuing & Acquiring: 10+ years of extensive experience across card Issuing and Acquiring platforms. Strong knowledge of the end-to-end card transaction lifecycle , including authorisation, clearing, settlement, reconciliation and exception handling. Proven experience designing enterprise-scale payment solutions and integration architectures . Strong understanding of real-time transaction processing and payment routing. Experience working with high-volume, highly available and mission-critical payment platforms. Strong knowledge of API, middleware and system integration concepts. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical teams and senior business stakeholders. Preferred Experience Experience with leading Card Management Systems and Payment Switching platforms . Experience integrating with major card schemes and payment networks. Knowledge of EMV, tokenisation, payment security and PCI DSS . Experience with payment platform modernisation and legacy-to-modern architecture transformation. Exposure to API/microservices, event-driven architecture and cloud/hybrid architectures within banking environments. Experience managing complex payment platform migrations and cutovers. Strong experience with payment messaging standards and transaction flows -ISO 8583 / ISO 20022:. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related discipline. Architecture, cloud, payments or relevant professional certifications would be advantageous. Employment Type Contract