Enterprise/Infrastructure Architect

Summary: We are seeking an experienced Enterprise Architect to lead the development and ownership of technology strategy and architecture within Consumer Banking & Payments, focusing on Cards and Payment Gateways. This contract role, lasting until December 2025, requires a strategic thinker with deep technical knowledge and a passion for innovation in financial services. The position involves collaboration with various stakeholders to align business outcomes with technology direction and ensure compliance with enterprise policies. The ideal candidate will have expertise in the Cards & Payments industry and proven experience in delivering enterprise solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and own the technology strategy, roadmaps, and target architectures for domains such as Cards and Payment Gateways.
• Collaborate with CIOs, Business Architects, and stakeholders to align business outcomes with technology direction.
• Evaluate industry trends and emerging technologies, presenting findings to senior stakeholders and building proof of concepts as needed.
• Lead the architecture governance process – from conceptual designs to technical solution validation.
• Drive compliance with enterprise policies, ensuring secure, scalable, and resilient system designs.
• Partner with engineering and operations teams to ensure architectural alignment with strategic objectives.
• Maintain oversight of technical debt and continuously refine architectural standards and patterns.

Key Skills:

• Expertise in the Cards & Payments industry, with knowledge of market trends, innovations, and challenges.
• Proven experience designing and delivering end-to-end enterprise solutions in a financial services environment.
• Real-world experience in defining and implementing enterprise-wide technical strategies.
• Deep technical knowledge, including:
• Cloud platforms (AWS and/or Azure)
• Microservices, messaging, APIs
• Data transformation/ETL
• Monitoring tools
• Infrastructure and Security
• Understanding of:
• Secure systems and software design
• High-availability/resilient system architectures
• Multi-data-centre deployments
• Strong communicator with the ability to translate complex technology into clear business language.
• Hands-on ability to support solution architects and development teams with critical issue resolution.

Salary (Rate): £410 per day

City: Northampton

Country: England

Working Arrangements: hybrid

IR35 Status: inside IR35

Seniority Level: undetermined

Industry: IT