AI, Blockchain & Payments Lead

Job Summary:

• This is a critical technical architectural role for an experienced leader who will be instrumental in enhancing our product suite by designing and integrating advanced AI and blockchain capabilities into our existing Java Spring Boot microservice-based payment platform.
• The ideal candidate will possess a deep, hands-on understanding of all major payment rails, a proven track record in architecting and implementing complex, high-performance financial systems, and an expert-level grasp of AI/Machine Learning and blockchain technologies and their practical applications in FinTech.
• This individual will be a key driver in shaping the future of our products, ensuring we remain competitive, secure, and innovative in the rapidly evolving payments landscape.

Key Responsibilities:

• AI/Machine Learning Design & Implementation: Lead the design, development, and deployment of sophisticated AI/ML models for critical FinTech applications, including:
• Implementing real-time, adaptive machine learning models for advanced fraud detection and prevention across diverse payment channels.
• Utilizing AI for intelligent payment orchestration and routing, optimizing for success rates, cost efficiency, and performance.
• Developing AI-driven predictive analytics for comprehensive risk management and anomaly detection.
• Exploring and integrating AI solutions for enhanced customer experience and operational efficiency.
• Blockchain Solution Architecture: Architect, design, and oversee the implementation of secure, scalable, and high-performance blockchain solutions that enhance existing payment functionalities and enable new services (e.g., cross-border payments, digital asset management, secure data sharing, tokenization).
• Payment Rail Mastery: Serve as the foremost subject matter expert on all major payment rails (e.g., ACH, Fedwire, RTP, SWIFT, SEPA, faster payments, card networks, emerging digital currencies), understanding their technical intricacies and ensuring seamless, optimized integration within our microservices platform.
• ISO 20022 & Regulatory Alignment: Collaborate closely with the ISO 20022 middleware team to ensure that all AI and blockchain integrations adhere to evolving ISO MTMX SWIFT mandates and other critical regulatory requirements (e.g., AML, KYC, GDPR).
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Provide strong technical leadership, architectural guidance, and mentorship to development teams, fostering a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and continuous learning in AI, blockchain, and payment technologies.
• System Design & Optimization: Lead the architectural design and detailed technical specifications for new features and product enhancements within our microservices architecture, with a relentless focus on scalability, security, reliability, performance, and the explainability of AI models.
• Research & Development: Spearhead research and development initiatives, including hands-on proof-of-concept projects, to explore nascent AI and blockchain technologies and assess their practical applicability to our product roadmap.
• Data Strategy & Governance: Partner with data engineering and analytics teams to ensure robust data quality, availability, and governance, crucial for effective AI model training, deployment, and ongoing performance, leveraging our diverse data stores.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work collaboratively with product management, business development, and other engineering teams to translate complex business requirements into elegant, high-impact technical solutions.
• Industry Vigilance: Continuously monitor industry trends, technological advancements, and regulatory changes across payments, AI, and blockchain.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, solution architecture, or technical leadership roles within the FinTech or payments industry.
• Deep and demonstrable understanding of various payment rails (e.g., ACH, Fedwire, RTP, SWIFT, SEPA, credit/debit card networks, real-time payments, cross-border payments, ISO 20022) and their underlying technical specifications.
• Expert-level knowledge and extensive hands-on experience with AI/Machine Learning concepts and frameworks, including:
• Practical application of machine learning algorithms (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement learning).
• Proficiency in Deep Learning and Neural Networks.
• Experience with Natural Language Processing (NLP) for financial message analysis.
• Strong familiarity with leading AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn).
• Demonstrated experience with MLOps principles and deploying AI models into production environments at scale.
• Expert-level knowledge and hands-on experience with blockchain technologies and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), including:
• Practical experience with platforms suchs as Hyperledger Fabric, Corda, Ethereum, or similar enterprise-grade DLTs.
• Proficiency in smart contract development (e.g., Solidity, Go, Java, Rust).
• Deep understanding of consensus mechanisms, cryptographic principles, and blockchain security best practices.
• Familiarity with tokenomics, digital assets, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
• Proven architectural design skills for building highly scalable, resilient, secure, and performant distributed systems, specifically within a microservices paradigm.
• Proficiency in multiple core programming languages critical for FinTech, AI, and Blockchain development, with a strong emphasis on:
• Java: Extensive experience with Spring Boot for enterprise-grade, high-throughput financial systems and backend microservices.
• Python: Essential for AI/ML development, data science, and backend microservices.
• Go (Golang): Highly desirable for high-performance, concurrent systems, and blockchain infrastructure components.
• Solidity/Rust: For direct smart contract development on relevant blockchain platforms.
• Additional desirable: C++ for performance-critical components.
• Extensive experience with modern architectural patterns: microservices architecture, robust APIs (REST, gRPC), and event-driven architectures.
• Strong expertise with database technologies, specifically MongoDB and PostgreSQL, including schema design, optimization, and scaling strategies for high-volume financial data.
• Hands-on experience with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Exceptional problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly and persuasively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related quantitative technical field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in a high-growth FinTech startup or a fast-paced, agile development environment.
• Active contributions to open-source AI or blockchain projects, or participation in relevant FinTech communities.
• Experience with big data technologies (e.g., Apache Kafka, Spark).
• Certifications in cloud architecture, AI/ML, or blockchain platforms.