Offline Payments Technical Expert – Digital Euro Project

European Central Bank; Frankfurt; Vor Ort; EUR 59.674 - 71.478; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

European Central Bank seeks an Offline Payments Technical Expert for the Directorate Digital Euro in Frankfurt. The role develops and governs offline payment use cases, ensures privacy and regulatory alignment, and leads pilots to strengthen resilience of basic payments during outages.

Applicants should hold a Master’s in a STEM field and have 4+ years in cryptography/ security, with at least 2 years in secure elements. English at C1 and another EU language at B1 are required.

Qualifikationen

• Master’s degree in STEM or equivalent in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or related field.
• At least four years of professional experience in applied cryptography or security domain, with two years in secure elements/smart cards.
• Proven analytical skills and ability to draft concise notes and reports and present complex topics to varied audiences.
• Advanced English (C1) and intermediate EU language (B1) required.

Aufgaben

• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders to understand and integrate needs for offline payments.
• Define and refine offline payment use cases with constraints like transaction limits and risk measures.
• Ensure offline use cases protect privacy while meeting regulatory requirements and mitigate risks like double spending.
• Develop offline payment scenarios to enhance system resilience during outages.
• Support offline payment pilots, collect feedback, and translate findings into refined requirements.
• Draft offline-specific rules for inclusion in the Rulebook, aligned with the digital euro framework.
• Promote offline solutions that support financial inclusion and accessibility.

Kenntnisse

Analytical skills

English proficiency (C1)

Ausbildung

Master’s degree in STEM or related field

Jobbeschreibung

General Information

Type of contract: Fixed‑term contract that may be converted into a permanent contract after three years, subject to individual performance and organisational needs.

Who can apply? EU nationals.

Salary: F/G (bracket 1‑step 1), full‑time monthly net salary €5 876 plus benefits. For further information, see what we offer.

Role specialisation: Market Infrastructure.

Working time: Full time.

Place of work: Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Closing date: 15 09 2026.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your team

You will be part of the Directorate Digital Euro, which is part of the ECB’s Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments. The Directorate is responsible for leading the digital euro project. It supports the digital euro governance bodies in steering, controlling and monitoring the project and oversees all project workstreams managing the scope, budget and resources approved by the Governing Council.

Your role

As an Offline Payments Technical Expert, you will:

• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders such as consumer organisations, merchants, payment service providers, device manufacturers and standardisation bodies to understand and integrate their needs and constraints for offline payments into the project.
• Define and refine offline payment use cases (e.g. peer‑to‑peer and consumer‑to‑merchant) with clear constraints such as transaction limits, usage caps and risk mitigation measures.
• Ensure that offline use cases incorporate strong privacy protections (cash‑like where possible) while meeting regulatory requirements and define safeguards against risks such as double spending, fraud and misuse.
• Develop offline payment scenarios to enhance system resilience during network outages or disasters and ensure the continuity of basic payments when online infrastructure is unavailable.
• Support offline payment pilots, gather feedback from users and stakeholders, and translate findings into refined requirements. Collaborate with usability, security and technical experts to validate solutions.
• Draft offline‑specific rules and requirements (e.g. transaction limits, dispute handling and synchronisation behaviour) for inclusion in the Rulebook, ensuring alignment with the overall digital euro framework.
• Promote offline payment solutions that support financial inclusion and integrate accessibility considerations into user journeys and device interactions for users with limited connectivity, low digital literacy or disabilities.

We actively support professional development for our staff. Besides learning opportunities such as training and mentoring, we encourage and support horizontal mobility after some years in the same position.

The position offers you excellent opportunities to be part of the team tasked with developing the most innovative functionality for digital payments. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

Essential:

• A master’s degree or equivalent in a STEM subject (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) or another relevant field.
• At least four years of professional experience in applied cryptography or a security‑related domain, with at least two of those years specialising in secure elements/smart cards.
• Proven analytical skills and experience in drafting concise and clear notes and reports, and experience in presenting complex topics adapted to different audiences.
• An advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired:

• Experience in developing an offline, or partially offline, payment solution.
• Technical knowledge of the standards applicable to payments, payment schemes or solutions in the bank‑to‑consumer domain.
• Experience in launching a product on the market.

You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people’s diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

Working modalities

We would be happy to discuss a part‑time arrangement for this role.

Further information

A fixed‑term convertible contract typically leads to a conversion into an unlimited contract, except in rare cases of organisational considerations or low individual performance. The formal title for this position will be Market Infrastructure Project Management Expert.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to the hiring manager, Lauren Del Giudice, on [phone] between 09:00 and 11:00 on Tuesday, 28 July CET.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will be conducted remotely. It will include a written exercise, a presentation, a technical interview and a panel interview.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.

Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB.