Cards Solution Architect

Hydrogen Group; Knutsford; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Part time

Job summary

A financial services consultancy in Knutsford is looking for a Cards Solution Architect for a 2-3 month contract. The role involves designing and implementing solutions for core banking challenges, focusing on scalability and compliance. Candidates should have a strong background in current account journeys and be adept at stakeholder engagement. The position offers a competitive day rate of £500, with 2 days in the office each week.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of the current account and core banking landscape.
• Hands-on experience with workforce planning tools.
• Excellent stakeholder management and business acumen.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise in the Cards and Payments domain.
• Lead design and technical architecture for current accounts and payments.
• Advise business and product teams on solution delivery.

Skills

Expertise in Cards and Payments

Stakeholder management

Knowledge of core banking landscape

Tools

Excel

JIRA

Tableau

Confluence

Job description

Overview

Cards Solution Architect

Location: Knutsford - 2 days a week in office

Duration: 2-3 months

Rate: £500 p/d Inside IR35

Role Description

Seeking a Cards Solution Architect with experience in current account journeys, including loans and account switching. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing technology solutions for complex core banking and current account challenges, ensuring systems are scalable, resilient, and secure. This role requires strong domain expertise in payments, core banking, and cards systems.

You will work closely with stakeholders across business and technology, taking ownership of solution architecture for core banking programmes, and guiding integration strategies-balancing cloud adoption, automation, and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise in the Cards and Payments domain, particularly in card issuance and authorisation journeys.
• Lead design and technical architecture for loans, savings/current accounts, current account switching, and payments, with focus on scalability, resiliency, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborate with project managers, product owners, and business analysts to align solutions with business requirements and risk controls for current accounts.
• Oversee architectural governance, producing design artefacts for privacy, records management, and risk.
• Advise business and product teams, support technical delivery, and drive innovation in the banking landscape.
• Evaluate and integrate vendor products, contribute to systems strategy, and automate operational processes to reduce manual intervention.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of the current account and core banking landscape, payment schemes, and architecture paradigms (cloud, APIs, DevOps, security).
• Hands-on experience with workforce planning tools and reporting platforms (Excel, PowerPoint, JIRA, Tableau, Confluence).
• Familiarity with project delivery best practices.
• Excellent stakeholder management, business acumen, and ability to influence strategy across multiple teams and business functions.