Head of Payments Architecture

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Position: Senior Payments Architect

Experience Required: 18+ years

Location: Jersey City, NJ (onsite/hybrid depending on business needs)

Domain: Global Payments / Financial Services

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Payments Architect to lead the architectural vision, design, and implementation of Citi's next-generation payments infrastructure. This role requires a seasoned professional with deep expertise in global payments systems, modern architecture patterns, and regulatory compliance frameworks.

The Payments Architect will work closely with the Head of Payments, senior stakeholders, product managers, and engineering teams to evaluate Citi's current payment platforms, identify gaps, and propose scalable, secure, and high-performing solutions aligned with global payment trends.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture Leadership

• Define the end-to-end payments architecture strategy, ensuring scalability, resiliency, and global adoption.
• Evaluate existing systems and recommend modernization strategies for improved performance, security, and compliance.
• Drive architectural consistency across payment platforms, APIs, and digital channels.
  
  

Payments Domain Expertise

• Provide deep subject-matter expertise on instant payments, real-time settlement systems, and cross-border payments.
• Align Citi's payment platforms with global instant payment rails (FedNow, RTP, SEPA Instant, UPI, & Processing, Liquidity Management, Data Warehousing and core Cash Management of large MNC clients
• Build architecture for Open Banking & API ecosystems, enabling seamless integrations with third-party fintechs and partners
  
  

Innovation & Emerging Technologies

• Lead initiatives in Blockchain & Tokenization (e.g., Citi Token Services).
• Explore AI-driven compliance, fraud prevention, and personalization use cases.
• Implement cloud-native architectures, microservices, and event-driven designs for payment services.
  
  

Governance & Quality

• Review code quality, system design, and technical debt within payments platforms.
• Establish best practices for development, integration, and testing across distributed teams.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements (AML, KYC, PSD2, GDPR, ISO 20022).
  
  

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with global business heads, operations, and compliance teams to ensure architectural alignment with strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with vendors, fintech partners, and external regulators to shape payments innovation.
  
  

Key Skills & Competencies

Core Payments Expertise

• Strong knowledge of domestic and cross-border payments, ACH, SWIFT, ISO 20022, RTP, SEPA, Fedwire.
• Experience with card processing, merchant acquiring, wallets, and tokenization.
  
  

Technology & Architecture

• Proficiency in API-first design, microservices, cloud (AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform).
• Strong understanding of event-driven systems (Kafka, MQ, etc.).
• Knowledge of Blockchain, DLT, and digital currency frameworks.
  
  

Leadership

• Proven track record of architecting enterprise-grade payment platforms.
• Ability to lead large, distributed engineering teams and mentor solution architects.
• Strong communication and stakeholder influencing skills.
  
  

Amaze Systems Inc

USA: 8951 Cypress Waters Blvd, Suite 160, Dallas, TX 75019

Canada: 55 York Street, Suite 401, Toronto, ON M5J 1R7

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