Technical Architect (Contract)

MRJ Recruitment is partnering with a global leader as they embark on a large scale payments trasnformation programme.

Role: Technical Architect (Contract)

We're looking for an experienced Technical Architect to help shape the platform from the ground up. You’ll play a pivotal role in defining architecture, guiding technical direction, and ensuring the solution meets the rigorous demands of modern payments.

You’ll bring deep knowledge of the end-to-end payment lifecycle (Authorisation through to Capture and Settlement) and a strong understanding of the technical and operational realities of banking and card scheme integrations. If you thrive in greenfield technology programmes from inception phase and enjoy turning ambiguity into clarity, this could be a great fit.

Key Responsibilities

Define and own the target architecture across services, integrations, and operational components

Lead early-stage discovery: evaluate options, identify risks, and shape architectural decisions at pace

Design scalable, resilient systems to support payment flows including authorisation, capture, settlement and reconciliation considerations

Provide architectural guidance for banking and card scheme integrations, ensuring compliance, security, and operational readiness

Collaborate closely with engineering and product stakeholders to translate requirements into pragmatic technical solutions

Establish standards and patterns for delivery, including API design, observability, reliability and deployment considerations

Support teams working across a modern stack including Kotlin, Rust, Next.js, React and Android

Person Requirements

Engineering-first architecture background – You started your career as a software engineer and evolved into a Technical Architect

Deep payments expertise – Proven experience designing and building systems within payment processing environments, with a strong understanding of the end-to-end payment lifecycle including authorisation, capture, and settlement.

Payments platform integrations – Experience working with payment service providers or acquirers such as Worldpay, Stripe, Adyen, Square, Vocalink, or similar platforms.

Payments ecosystem knowledge – Experience integrating with banking partners, card schemes, and payment networks, with a solid grasp of both the technical and operational considerations involved.

Modern engineering mindset – Comfortable working in contemporary engineering environments and collaborating with product and engineering teams. Experience with Kotlin and/or Rust, and exposure to web and mobile stacks (Next.js, React, Android) is highly beneficial.

Greenfield and early-stage architecture – Experience shaping architecture from the ground up, including discovery phases, new product builds, or initiatives where the technical direction needs to be defined.

Strong communication and influence – Able to translate complex technical concepts for product, engineering, and leadership stakeholders, and influence architectural direction across teams.

Next steps

We are shortlisting now with interviews set to take place w/c 9th March. We are looking for someone who can start before the end of March and is able to be onsite in London 2 days per week. Apply now or reach out to MRJ Recruitment to discuss asap.

Please note: Outside IR35 - £700/£750 per day