About Opportunity:

The Architect of the Incubator

We are Pay10 UAE, the flagship incubator for a global fintech platform. We are not just implementing standard features; we are designing the Reference Implementation for the world.

We are looking for a Solutions Architect with over a decade of deep payment trenches experience. You will sit within the Product organization, acting as the technical conscience of our roadmap. You will translate ambitious business goals (Jaywan, Aani, Open Banking) into robust, scalable, and compliant technical blueprints that pass the scrutiny of our Global Architecture Review Board (ARB).

The Mandate (What You Own)

• The Blueprint Authority: You own the High-Level Design (HLD) for the entire UAE ecosystem. Before a developer writes a single line of Java code, you define the schema, the data flow, and the integration pattern. You ensure our "Incubator" designs are robust enough to become Global Standards.
• Strategic Integration (Build vs. Buy): You are the decision-maker on when to leverage best-in-class Third-Party White-Label Solutions (for speed) and when to engineer our own End-to-End Benchmark Products (for differentiation). You ensure that external "black box" systems are integrated so seamlessly that they feel native to the user and perform at a benchmark standard.
• Global Interlock (ARB Management): You are our primary diplomat to the Global Tech Squad. You ensure our designs comply with Global "Guardrails" (Security, Data Segregation) so we get rapid approval (48-hour Negative Consent) on our architectural proposals.
• The Integration Strategy: You define how we talk to the outside world. Whether it's ISO 8583 for Jaywan, JSON/REST for Open Banking, or Secure File Transfer (SFTP) for batch processing (WPS, Reconciliation), you determine the protocol, security pattern, and error handling logic.
• Business-Tech Translation: You report to the Head of Product. Your job is to tell Product how to achieve a feature, not why it can't be done. You find the "Yes" within the constraints of legacy systems and regulatory frameworks.

The Scope (Your Domain)

You will architect solutions across the full "Money Movement" lifecycle:

• Core Banking & Wallet: Multi-currency ledgers, Balance blocking logic, and Authorization engines.
• National Rails: Jaywan (Card Scheme), Aani (Instant Payments), WPS (Wage Protection System), and UAEPASS.
• Merchant Acquiring: POS integration standards, SoftPOS, P2M QR (Static/Dynamic), and Payment Gateway orchestration.
• Settlement & Recon: Designing complex T+N settlement engines, Commission logic, and Automated 3-way Reconciliation systems (Core vs. Switch vs. Bank) handling massive batch files via SFTP/H2H (Host-to-Host).
• Open Banking: Designing TPP (Third Party Provider) APIs for PISP/AISP in line with Open Finance standards.
• Compliance & Risk (KYC/KYB): Designing end-to-end eKYC and KYB (Know Your Business) onboarding flows. Architecting the integration of OCR engines for automated document extraction (Emirates ID, Trade Licenses) and biometric liveness checks to meet AML requirements.
• Enterprise Security & Identity: Implementing Active Directory (AD/LDAP) integration for robust Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) on Admin Portals. Ensuring strict segregation of duties and audit logging for internal staff access to sensitive customer data.

Responsibilities

1. Architecture & Design

• Create comprehensive Solution Design Documents (SDDs), Sequence Diagrams, and API Swagger specs for the Development Squad.
• White-Label Integration: Architect the wrapping and customization of third-party White-Label solutions (e.g., Card Management Systems, BaaS providers). Ensure data consistency and seamless SSO (Single Sign-On) between our core app and external vendors.
• Design secure File Ingestion Pipelines (SFTP to S3 to Java Parsers) for critical bulk operations like Salary Processing (WPS) and Bank Statement Reconciliation.
• Design the UAE Middleware Layer to insulate our local operations from Global Core dependencies (using mocks and buffers).
• Select and vet 3rd Party Vendors (e.g., Optical OCR providers, Identity Verification services, Corporate Registry APIs), ensuring their SDKs play nicely with our Angular/Ionic mobile stack.

2. Technical Governance

• Review all Code and PRs at a high level to ensure alignment with the defined architecture (Governance over "The Build").
• Enforce Security-by-Design: Ensure OWASP standards, Data Encryption (at rest/in transit), and Tokenization are baked into every P2M/P2P flow. Manage adherence to Regulatory Compliance standards (e.g., UAE Data Protection Law, GDPR, PCI-DSS).
• Drive the "Class 3" (Novel Change) governance process, preparing technical Proofs of Concept (POCs) to convince the Global CAB of new architectural patterns.

3. Resilience & Scalability

• Design for High Availability: Ensure our architecture can handle peak volumes (e.g., Salary Day for WPS) without latency spikes.
• Define the Disaster Recovery (DR) strategy for local data residency requirements.

Who You Are (The SME We Need)

• The 10-Year Veteran: You have built Payment Gateways, Wallets, or Core Banking systems from scratch. You have scars from "Black Friday" traffic and know exactly how to prevent downtime.
• The Protocol Polyglot: You speak fluent ISO 8583, ISO 20022, REST, SOAP, and NFC. You know the difference between a "Dual Message" and "Single Message" system.
• The Pragmatist: You don't over-engineer. You know when to build a microservice and when a monolith module is faster. You prioritize Time-to-Market without sacrificing security.
• The Product Partner: You understand that "Architecture" is a servant to "Business Value." You design systems that make money.

Key Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ Years in Software Architecture, with a mandatory focus on Fintech, Payments, or Digital Banking.
• Integration Mastery: Expert capability in integrating Third-Party White-Label Solutions (e.g., Card Processing, Remittance Engines) into a cohesive ecosystem. Proven track record of building proprietary "Benchmark" Products that outperform off-the-shelf alternatives.
• Java & Cloud Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in Java (Spring Boot, Hibernate) for high-performance transaction processing. Deep hands-on experience with AWS Cloud services (EC2, Lambda, S3, API Gateway, RDS, SQS) and containerization (Docker/Kubernetes).
• File Transfer Protocols: Proven experience architecting secure SFTP / Host-to-Host (H2H) integrations for banking files, including encryption (PGP/GPG) and automated retry mechanisms.
• Frontend Awareness: Understanding of Angular/React and Mobile architectures (iOS/Android) to guide BFF (Backend-for-Frontend) design.
• Regulatory Tech: Proven experience architecting solutions for Central Bank mandates (CBUAE, SAMA) and implementing KYC/KYB workflows using automated OCR and decision engines.
• Identity & Security: Experience with Enterprise Security standards, including Active Directory integration, SSO (Single Sign-On), and privileged access management (PAM) for regulated environments.
• Vendor Integration: Experience integrating with major payment schemes (Visa/Mastercard), Processors (Network International, Magnati), and Credit Bureaus.
• Soft Skills: Ability to debate technical feasibility with Global CTOs and explain "Latency" to a CEO.