Technical Program Lead

Technical Program Lead: Payments Integration

Location: Estonia (Hybrid)

Freelance Contract

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Technical Program Lead to drive the assessment and planning of a large-scale mobile payment platform integration across multiple markets.

This role sits at the intersection of technical delivery, architecture, and stakeholder management. You will coordinate technical workstreams, engage with external partners, and translate complex technical requirements into realistic implementation plans, roadmaps, costs, and operational considerations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the technical workstream, ensuring alignment across technical and business stakeholders.
• Act as the primary technical liaison with external partners and payment ecosystem stakeholders.
• Facilitate technical workshops and guide discussions around onboarding, APIs, payment flows, integration patterns, and operational requirements.
• Collaborate with architects and engineering teams to review and refine proposed solutions.
• Define implementation scope, sequencing, dependencies, resource requirements, and delivery timelines.
• Identify technical risks, assumptions, and operational impacts, providing clear recommendations to stakeholders.
• Support governance forums and senior leadership discussions with structured reporting and decision-making materials.

Required Experience

• Proven experience as a Technical Program Manager, Integration Lead, Technical Delivery Lead, or similar senior role.
• Strong background in payments, banking, fintech, or financial services environments.
• Deep understanding of API-led integrations and complex distributed systems.
• Experience working with instant payments, payment processing, clearing, and settlement environments.
• Familiarity with ISO 20022 messaging standards and modern payment architectures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with architects, engineers, vendors, business teams, and senior leadership.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with mobile payment ecosystems such as Swish, Vipps, MobilePay, Bizum, or similar account-to-account payment platforms.
• Knowledge of SEPA Instant, TIPS, Open Banking, PSD2/PSD3, or related payment frameworks.
• Exposure to mobile payment, wallet, e-commerce, POS, or NFC-based payment solutions.
• Understanding of fraud prevention, AML controls, reconciliation, and regulatory reporting requirements.

Key Skills

• Technical programme leadership
• Stakeholder management
• Vendor and partner coordination
• Workshop facilitation
• Risk and dependency management
• Payments and integration architecture awareness
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Deliverables

The successful consultant will provide a comprehensive assessment covering:

• Technical implementation approach
• Scope and roadmap
• Resource and cost estimates
• Key dependencies
• Operational impact analysis
• Risk assessment and mitigation recommendations