Job title- Payment Architect Location: Milton Keynes (2-3 days) Duration: 6 Months Job Description Santander UK is expanding its Payments Solution Architecture team. We are looking for senior level architects with deep experience in payments execution processing. These hires will support the modernisation of our payments estate and the migration of legacy platforms to the Payments Hub (PagoNxt). The individuals must have strong payments scheme knowledge, deep understanding of ISO 20022, and proven experience designing solutions for core payment processing. Mandatory requirements: Candidates must meet all of the following: Payments domain expertise Strong experience across payments execution processes such as orchestration, order management, clearing, settlement, reconciliations, exception handling and returns. Practical scheme knowledge in at least several of the following: Bacs, Faster Payments, CHAPS, SWIFT, SEPA, cheques. Ability to discuss scheme rules, settlement cycles, messaging flows, operational constraints and compliance obligations in detail. ISO 20022 Deep understanding of ISO 20022 including message structure, mandatory and optional elements, data modelling, mapping, validation and cross scheme differences. Experience designing or reviewing solutions that implement ISO 20022 end to end. Architecture and solution design Significant experience as a Solution Architect in complex financial services environments. Ability to produce clear functional architecture, design logical components and define interactions between systems. Experience balancing business outcomes with long term technical strategy. Experience governing technical designs produced by engineering teams. Soft skills and behaviours Strong communication and stakeholder engagement abilities. Practical, delivery focused mindset. Able to operate independently in a fast moving environment. Evidence of thought leadership, ownership and initiative. Desirable (not mandatory): These are beneficial but should not exclude otherwise strong candidates: Knowledge of BIAN, TOGAF, ArchiMate or C4. Experience with Avolution Abacus or similar architecture tools. Familiarity with microservices, API integration patterns and cloud concepts such as AWS. Exposure to global banking environments or large scale payment transformations.