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Principal Digital Architect

Job Title: Principal Digital Architect

Department: Digital Office

Reports to: Chief Digital Officer

Role Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Principal Digital Architect with a deep understanding of overall business needs and strategic objectives of the organisation. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing and defining the architecture of specific solutions to meet business requirements across Simpaisa Holdings' cross-border payments platform, encompassing application architecture, data architecture, API design, infrastructure, and security. Strong expertise in solution design principles and methodologies, ensuring the creation of robust and scalable solutions for regulated financial services, is essential. The role involves leading solution design, feasibility assessments, and proof-of-concept (PoC) architecture for a cross-border payments fintech operating across multiple jurisdictions. Expertise in agile methodologies and working collaboratively with development teams is also preferable.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Understand business requirements and translate them into comprehensive and well-documented technical solutions for cross-border payment flows, settlement systems, and financial messaging platforms.
  • Design the high-level architecture of solutions, including application, data, and infrastructure components, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards and regulatory requirements (DFSA, SBP, PCI-DSS).
  • Lead feasibility assessments and proof-of-concept architecture for new payment corridors, partner integrations, and product initiatives.
  • Select appropriate technologies, platforms, and frameworks for solutions based on requirements, constraints, and compliance obligations (ISO 27001, PCI-DSS).
  • Ensure solutions are scalable, reliable, secure, performant, and cost-effective, with particular attention to transaction integrity and auditability.
  • Document solution architectures, including diagrams, specifications, and rationale behind design decisions, maintaining artefacts in Confluence and Bitbucket.
  • Communicate solution architectures effectively to stakeholders, including business analysts, developers, infrastructure teams, and regulatory/compliance functions.
  • Provide technical guidance and support to development teams during the implementation phase, ensuring adherence to the defined architecture.
  • Evaluate and recommend new technologies and architectural patterns to improve solution capabilities and efficiency within the payments and fintech domain.
  • Participate in the review of solution designs and implementations to ensure quality, alignment with standards, and compliance with AML/CTF and data protection requirements.
  • Identify and mitigate technical risks associated with solution design and implementation, including risks related to payment processing, data sovereignty, and regulatory compliance.

Required Skills and Experience:

  • Agile: Understanding of agile methodologies and experience working in agile environments, ideally within payments or financial services delivery teams.
  • Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical solutions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, including regulators and compliance stakeholders.
  • Strategy and Planning: Ability to develop solution architectures that align with business strategies and long-term technology roadmaps for a multi-jurisdictional payments fintech. Strong planning and organisational skills to manage architectural deliverables effectively.
  • Leadership & Influence Skills: Ability to influence technical decisions and guide development teams towards the intended architecture across distributed teams.
  • Problem-solving and Analytical Skills: Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills to identify and address architectural challenges in high-throughput, low-latency payment systems.
  • Solution Architecture Expertise: Deep understanding of various architectural patterns, design principles, and integration methods. Experience with cloud-native architectures, microservices, RESTful and event-driven APIs, data architecture, and payment system integration (ISO 20022, SWIFT, real-time payment rails).
  • Payments & Fintech Domain: Demonstrable experience architecting solutions within payments, remittances, or broader financial services, with an understanding of payment schemes, settlement processes, and financial messaging standards.
  • Stakeholder Management: Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, ensuring alignment on solution design and approach across technology, product, compliance, and operations teams.

General Requirements for the Role:

  • Bachelor's Degree in related field: A bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related STEM field is required.
  • 8+ years of experience in software development or architecture: Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in software development with a focus on architecture and design, preferably within payments, fintech, or financial services.
  • Experience designing complex systems: Demonstrated experience in designing and architecting complex enterprise-level solutions, particularly those involving real-time transaction processing, multi-currency settlement, or cross-border payment orchestration.
  • Proven track record of successful solution delivery: A verifiable history of contributing to the successful delivery of projects through effective solution architecture in regulated environments.
  • Familiarity with regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to financial services (DFSA, SBP, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, AML/CTF) is highly desirable.

Benefits and Perks:

  • Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
  • Opportunity to work with cutting-edge payments technology and collaborate with skilled professionals across multiple markets.
  • Professional development and training opportunities.
  • Inclusive company culture that values diversity and innovation.
  • Opportunity to shape the architecture of a growing cross-border payments fintech.