Principal Solution Architect Full Time

MasterCard
Principal Solution Architect London , United Kingdom Apply Now

We work to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. We cultivate a culture of inclusion () for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences enable us to be a better team – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation and delivers better business results.

Job Title

Provide credible technical knowledge and insight to senior stakeholders and external customers. Will be responsible for delivering technical presentations to key external stakeholders and customers.

Take a leading role during discovery / elaboration phases to ensure customers understand what is required architecturally to implement an ACH service

Ensure external customers architecturally significant requirements are realised as part of a customer solution either through extensions to Vocalink Products or through localisations

Provide the leadership to bring together business, application, infrastructure and data requirements into a single view of solutions options and recommendations.

Understand and manage stakeholder expectations at a senior level. Provide clear choices and recommendations that enable both business and technical decision making.

Support VocaLink’s international technical pre-sales activities, understanding customer requirements, and aligning these to VocaLink’s technical capabilities and Products.

Maintain an expert level of technical knowledge in the required technical areas and a broader specialist base as new technologies emerge.

Through the selection of appropriate solutions drive the reduction of cost to VocaLink and maximise financial return on investment.

Project Delivery

Define and ensure the architecture and design approach is appropriately planned and delivered against. Own the suitability of the activities and artefacts to ensure the approach is not under/over engineered. Clearly report progress against plans and escalate as needed.

Overall accountability for the solution architecture and subsequent design artefacts. Ensure solutions are for purpose and fit for strategy as well as meeting VocaLink standards and regulatory requirements.

Responsible across the lifetime of agreed projects for identifying and documenting key architecture decisions and ensuring these are agreed by following the Architectural Governance process.

Overall responsibility for ensuring estimates are completed in line with the agreed solution and that assumption are stated and consistent

Support the testing function in ensuring testing strategies are appropriate for the solution

Ensure that development teams fully understand, and follow Solutions Designs

People

Support the leadership of the team and department by setting a high performance benchmark and encouraging and inspiring excellence in the team

Lead by example and model the VocaLink behaviours to the team and wider organisation. Motivate, inspire and give clear direction.

Provide line management to direct reports in line with company policy and performance management.

Manage a team of Solutions Architects to resource activities upon several projects.

Knowledge and expertise (technical / role specific)

Extensive IT experience, with significant experience in a senior architectural roles.

Able to present and communicate complex architectural issues clearly and concisely with technical and non-technical audiences from senior stakeholders to project teams.

Experience of operating within a corporate architecture governance framework and standards

Excellent interpersonal skills including facilitation, negotiation, collaboration and influencing

Commercially and politically astute, able to see solutions in wider context of VocaLink strategy and customer engagement

Able to determine approaches to solve complex programme level requirements into leading technical teams to delivered the required architecture and design deliverables.

Understanding of the product and project development lifecycle from strategy or pre-sales to live operation and support, ideally from a managed services perspective

Ability to assemble a broad set of technologies and services to create a complete solution to a business requirement: application software, middleware, database, hardware, storage, network

Understanding of solution trade-offs such as cost, scope, timescale, and balance between long-term strategic and short-term pragmatic considerations

Ability to work with domain and technology experts to develop solution from high level architecture to detailed design level – recognised as a subject matter expert

Direct management of other architects, including resource and performance management activities.

Good understanding of one or more payments systems e.g. BACS, SEPA, SWIFT, LINK, Visa, FPS

Understanding of core banking systems, ERP products, AML and fraud products etc.

TOGAF Certified or equivalent qualification.

Experience within the payments industry

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

Everyone wants easier ways to pay;

we invent them.

Checkout lines are slow;

we speed them along.

Merchants want more sales;

we give them data and insights.

People need financial access;

we connect them.

Corporate purchasing is complicated;

we make it simple.

Commuters are busy;

we speed them on their way.

we help create them.

Small businesses are virtual;

we give them access to a world of buyers.