I'm working with a FS business and need a Payments Solution Architect to design and govern the end-to-end payment processing architecture, covering instruction generation, validation, routing, settlement, reconciliation, and auditability. The role will ensure regulatory compliance, operational resilience, and seamless integration with clearing and settlement infrastructures.
Key Responsibilities
Payment Processing Architecture
* Design the complete payment instruction lifecycle, including:
* Payment generation
* Validation
* Routing
* Confirmation
* Reconciliation
* Ensure high availability and operational resilience.
* Define scalable payment processing services and workflows.
Settlement & Waterfall Processing
* Architect month-end and quarter-end waterfall processing.
* Support syndicated lending and structured finance payment distribution models.
* Ensure accurate allocation and settlement calculations.
* Design mechanisms for exception handling and recovery.
Application Architecture
* Define service-oriented and event-driven architectures using:
* Java
* Kotlin
* Spring Boot
* Establish microservice patterns for payment orchestration.
* Ensure:
* Atomic transaction processing
* Idempotent execution
* Consistency guarantees
* Fault tolerance
Messaging & Integration
* Design integrations supporting:
* SWIFT MT messaging
* ISO 20022 MX standards
* MQ messaging
* XML-based interfaces
* Architect payment hub integrations using:
* Bottomline (preferred)
* Comparable enterprise payment hubs
* Define canonical message models and transformation frameworks.
Clearing & Settlement Connectivity
* Design connectivity to settlement and clearing systems including:
* Euroclear
* Clearstream
* DTC
* Austraclear
* Create adapter-based integration architecture where each clearing platform is accessed through a common interface.
* Support future extensibility for additional settlement providers.
Reconciliation & Controls
* Establish reconciliation frameworks between internal systems and clearing networks.
* Design:
* Full audit trails for every payment instruction
* Operational monitoring
* Exception management
* Escalation workflows
* Ensure complete traceability from initiation through settlement.
Risk, Compliance & Governance
* Ensure architecture satisfies regulated payments and settlement requirements.
* Support operational controls and regulatory audit requirements.
* Design security, non-repudiation, and evidential record-keeping mechanisms.
Required Skills & Experience
Technical Skills
* Java and/or Kotlin
* Spring Boot
* PostgreSQL
* Kafka
* Event-driven architecture
* Distributed transaction design
* MQ technologies
* XML processing
* SWIFT MT messaging
* ISO 20022 messaging
Payments & Settlement Experience
Strong experience in:
* Payment processing platforms
* Settlement systems
* Clearing networks
* Reconciliation frameworks
* Audit and compliance controls
Domain Experience
Preferred:
* Regulated payments environments
* Securities settlement
* Capital markets operations
* Syndicated lending waterfall processing
Desirable
* Bottomline payment hub experience
* Direct experience integrating with Euroclear, Clearstream, DTC, or Austraclear
These descriptions can be used directly as job specifications, recruitment briefs, or role profiles for sourcing candidates.