Solution Architect, VCA Implementation Services, 24-Month Fixed-Term

You will be a key driver in our client's tech programme for Cards experiences, responsible for designing and delivering secure, scalable, and compliant solutions that enable seamless customer experiences. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to architect innovative systems across different workstreams of the programme, covering payments innovation, fraud prevention and loyalty, leveraging modern technologies and best practices to support the bank's strategic objectives.

Highlights of your role include:

• Drive architectural design for strategic digital initiatives in our client's Cards programme, working within their established governance frameworks to ensure solutions align with enterprise standards and business goals.

• Develop and implement API strategies and event-driven integrations to support extensibility and interoperability across platforms.

• Architect end-to-end solutions for payments innovation, fraud-prevention and loyalty, with a focus on scalability, security, and compliance.

• Present and champion architectural designs within governance forums, ensuring traceability and alignment to enterprise architecture principles, while remaining open to feedback to continuously improve solutions.

• Foster collaboration across technology and business teams to maximise reuse and accelerate delivery of high-impact solutions.

• Translate business requirements into solution options and provide the recommendations.

• Produce high quality architecture artefacts including but not limited to diagrams, interface design and architecture decision records etc.

• Collaborate closely with engineering leads in the programme, working together to bridge the gap from solution architecture to detailed designs, providing the technical leadership to ensure architectures are realised and are deliverable.

Key Requirements

• Extensive experience in financial services architecture, ideally within the cards domain and customer-facing digital experiences.

• Demonstrated ability to operate within established enterprise architecture governance frameworks, navigating decision processes collaboratively.

• Proven expertise in designing enterprise solutions using APIs (Java Microservice), Gateways (Kong gateway), event streaming (Kafka).

• Deep understanding of API security including Network security, Gateways, OAuth TLS, encryption etc.

• Understanding of API Mesh and Event Mesh and other loosely coupled and decoupled integration patterns.

• Understanding of digital channels and their integrations including Mobile apps and web app and third party integrations.

• Strong stakeholder engagement at multiple levels. Demonstrated ability to influence, collaborate and negotiate with stakeholders to inform their decision making.

• Understanding of identity, CIAM and digital security.

• Ability to solve a complex business problem with a pragmatic solution.

• Hands-on experience with modern cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure).

• Familiarity with BIAN standards and API governance. Interest in modern data architectures.

• Highly aware of cybersecurity threats, Identity, and security standards and technologies

• Exposure to open banking, digital identity verification (eKYC), and Agile delivery methodologies.

• Experience with the container technologies and container orchestration platform (e.g. Kubernetes, Openshift, EKS and AKS)

• Relevant certifications (e.g., TOGAF, AWS Certified Solutions Architect).

Note, you're not expected to have 100% of these skills. If you have most of the skills required and this role sounds exciting to you, we'd love to hear from you!