Payment Architect

Payment Architect – Wires / RTP
Seeking a highly experienced Payment Architect with deep expertise in Wires and Real-Time Payments (RTP) implementations. The ideal candidate will lead architecture design and modernization initiatives across payment platforms, ensuring compliance with ISO 20022 standards and supporting real-time, high-volume transaction processing environments.
Experience Required

• 15+ years of overall IT experience
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in Wires and/or RTP implementations
• Strong experience with ISO 20022 messaging standards

Key Responsibilities
Payment Architecture & Strategy

• Design and architect enterprise payment solutions for Wires and RTP platforms.
• Lead modernization initiatives from legacy payment systems to real-time payment infrastructures.
• Define scalable, resilient, and high-availability architectures for high-volume transaction processing.
• Collaborate with business and operations teams to translate payment requirements into technical architecture.

Wires & RTP Implementation

• Lead end-to-end implementations of domestic and international wire systems.
• Architect and integrate Real-Time Payments (RTP) platforms.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and clearing network requirements.
• Design settlement, reconciliation, liquidity management, and exception handling workflows.

ISO 20022 & Messaging

• Architect payment messaging solutions aligned with ISO 20022 standards.
• Define transformation strategies between legacy formats (e.g., MT) and ISO 20022.
• Oversee message validation, enrichment, and orchestration processes.

Integration & Ecosystem

• Design integrations with:
  • Core Banking Systems
  • Payment Hubs
  • SWIFT interfaces
  • Clearing & Settlement networks
  • Fraud & AML systems
• Ensure secure API-based and event-driven integrations.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure solutions meet regulatory and compliance standards.
• Embed fraud detection, AML, and monitoring controls into payment workflows.
• Define operational risk mitigation and resiliency frameworks.

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Provide technical leadership to engineering teams.
• Act as SME for payment architecture in client and stakeholder discussions.
• Mentor junior architects and engineers.
• Participate in RFPs, solution proposals, and client presentations.

Required Skills

• Deep expertise in Wires (Domestic & International)
• Hands-on RTP platform implementation experience
• Strong knowledge of ISO 20022 and payment messaging standards
• Experience with SWIFT, Fedwire, CHIPS, or equivalent networks
• Strong understanding of clearing & settlement processes
• Experience with payment hubs and orchestration engines
• Knowledge of high-availability and disaster recovery architectures
• Strong API and microservices architecture experience