At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design of innovative card processing solutions in a dynamic environment.
- Company: Join a leading firm in banking and payments with a focus on cutting-edge technology.
- Benefits: Competitive contract rate, flexible working arrangements, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Work in a fast-paced, collaborative setting with global teams and exciting challenges.
- Why this job: Make a significant impact on large-scale card systems while collaborating with top industry experts.
- Qualifications: 15+ years in software engineering with expertise in card processing and cloud-native architecture.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 £ per year.
We are seeking two highly experienced Senior Solution Architects with deep expertise in card processing platforms to drive architecture and design across a large-scale commercial cards ecosystem.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and deliver end-to-end solution architecture for card-based systems, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture principles and platform roadmaps.
- Translate business requirements (BRDs) into solution designs, decomposing into MVPs, epics, and detailed technical stories.
- Design and implement scalable, resilient, and secure architectures across distributed systems.
- Define integration patterns (REST APIs, messaging, event-driven architecture) across internal platforms and external partners.
- Provide hands-on architectural leadership to engineering teams, ensuring design consistency and adherence to standards.
- Govern solutions through architecture review boards, ensuring compliance with security, data, and infrastructure standards.
- Identify and mitigate technical risks, including performance, scalability, and security concerns.
- Collaborate with vendors and third parties to define interoperability models and integration contracts.
- Contribute to technology strategy, including cloud adoption, modernization, and legacy transformation initiatives.
- Promote adoption of modern engineering practices including microservices, API-first design, and domain-driven design.
Required Experience
- 15+ years of experience in software engineering and solution architecture, with a strong focus on banking and payments systems.
- Deep domain knowledge of card processing systems (e.g., authorization, clearing, settlement, dispute management).
- Proven experience designing high-throughput, low-latency transactional systems.
- Experience operating within large-scale, matrixed enterprise environments.
- Strong background in cloud-native architecture (AWS, Azure, or GCP), including relevant certifications.
- Demonstrated ability to handle complex, ambiguous technical problems and translate them into structured solutions.
- Strong stakeholder engagement across business, engineering, and infrastructure teams.
Technical Skills
- Architecture & Design: Microservices, event-driven architecture, domain-driven design (DDD), layered architecture.
- Integration: RESTful APIs, OpenAPI specs, messaging systems (Kafka, MQ), asynchronous processing.
- Cloud & Infrastructure: Cloud-native design, containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines.
- Data: Distributed data systems, RDBMS/NoSQL, data modelling, data consistency patterns.
- Security: Secure-by-design principles, IAM, encryption, threat modelling, regulatory compliance.
- Resilience: High availability, fault tolerance, disaster recovery, observability (logging, monitoring, tracing).
- Channels: Experience designing across web, mobile, API gateways, and backend orchestration layers.
- Legacy Integration: Exposure to mainframe systems (desirable but not essential).
Additional Capabilities
- Strong focus on cybersecurity and secure architecture practices.
- Experience designing mission-critical systems with strict uptime and performance SLAs.
- Ability to mentor engineers and architects, driving technical best practices and governance.
- Comfortable working across global teams with distributed stakeholders.
Card Solutions Architects - Contract role - Sheffield - Immediate employer: StrategicsIQ Ltd
This highly respected travel company offers an exceptional working environment where employees can thrive in their careers. With a strong focus on collaboration and support, the company provides excellent opportunities for growth, flexible working arrangements, and a variety of benefits including travel perks and a pension scheme. Located in a vibrant area, this role as an Inbound Travel Quotation Executive allows you to engage with diverse clients and suppliers while crafting unforgettable travel experiences.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Card Solutions Architects - Contract role - Sheffield - Immediate
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with folks in the industry. Attend meetups, webinars, or even just grab a coffee with someone who’s already in the game. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or a personal website showcasing your projects and achievements. This is your chance to shine and demonstrate your expertise in card processing systems and architecture.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to solution architecture. Think about how you’d tackle real-world problems and be ready to discuss your thought process. We want to see how you think on your feet!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive and engaged with our platform.
We think you need these skills to ace Card Solutions Architects - Contract role - Sheffield - Immediate
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Card Solutions Architect. Highlight your experience with card processing platforms and any relevant projects you've worked on. We want to see how your skills align with our needs!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you're the perfect fit for this contract role. Share specific examples of your past work that demonstrate your expertise in solution architecture and your ability to tackle complex problems.
Showcase Your Technical Skills:Don’t forget to highlight your technical skills, especially those related to cloud-native architecture and integration patterns. We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, so make sure we see your strengths clearly!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from us!
How to prepare for a job interview at StrategicsIQ Ltd
✨Know Your Architecture Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the architecture principles relevant to card processing systems. Brush up on your knowledge of microservices, event-driven architecture, and domain-driven design. Being able to discuss these concepts confidently will show that you’re not just familiar with them, but that you can apply them effectively.
✨Translate Business Needs into Technical Solutions
Prepare to demonstrate how you can take business requirements and turn them into actionable solution designs. Think about examples from your past experience where you’ve successfully decomposed complex requirements into MVPs and technical stories. This will highlight your ability to bridge the gap between business and technology.
✨Showcase Your Stakeholder Engagement Skills
Be ready to talk about your experience working with various stakeholders, including engineering and infrastructure teams. Share specific instances where you’ve collaborated with others to define integration patterns or interoperability models. This will illustrate your ability to communicate effectively across different teams.
✨Highlight Your Risk Management Experience
Discuss how you’ve identified and mitigated technical risks in previous projects, especially concerning performance, scalability, and security. Providing concrete examples will demonstrate your proactive approach to architecture and your understanding of the importance of secure and resilient systems.
