Payments Solution Architect

Location: Knutsford (candidates must live within one hour or be willing to relocate)
Day Rate: £552.50 per day (Inside IR35)
Onsite Requirement: 2–3 days per week (non-consecutive)

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Payments Solution Architect with deep expertise in ISO 20022 and Open Banking. The successful candidate will design, build, and integrate secure and scalable payment solutions, ensuring alignment with business requirements and industry regulation.

You will work closely with stakeholders and technical teams to define architectural blueprints, recommend technology stacks, and ensure seamless delivery of solutions for payment processing, tokenisation, and transaction authorisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate business objectives into detailed architectural designs for enterprise-grade payment systems
• Develop and maintain architectural frameworks, including data models, APIs, and distributed systems
• Oversee the integration of payment gateways and platforms with internal systems and external partners
• Provide technical leadership to development teams and enforce architectural best practice
• Ensure compliance with PCI and other financial regulatory requirements, embedding security-by-design
• Research and recommend emerging technologies, ensuring future-ready payment architecture

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong expertise in payment flows, authorisation, acquiring, card-present/CPOS and CNP processes, and tokenisation
• Proficiency in Java, Spring Boot, microservices, and cloud technologies (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• Experience with Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD), UML, and modern architecture design patterns
• Skilled in data modelling, common data frameworks, and data modelling tooling
• Proven ability to translate business needs into technical strategies and architecture roadmaps
• Strong stakeholder communication skills, able to collaborate across business and technical functions

Common Technologies & Tools

• Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Azure
• Programming: Java, Spring Boot
• Containerisation: Docker
• Modelling: UML
• Payments: APIs, payment gateways, POS systems