Head of Payments Platform Engineering

Role Overview

The Head of Payments Platform Engineering will lead the end-to-end engineering strategy, architecture, and delivery of our next-generation payments platform. This role is critical in building a modular, API-first, globally scalable platform that underpins multiple payment types, schemes, and client segments.

You will be responsible for creating a world-class platform engineering capability, ensuring resilience, security, and innovation at scale. This is a senior leadership position requiring deep technical expertise in distributed systems, payments infrastructure, and modern engineering practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Platform Engineering Leadership
  • Define and execute the engineering vision for a unified payments platform with clear SLAs, performance benchmarks, and developer experience.
• Architecture & Design
  • Drive a composable, modular architecture enabling reusable services (authorization, clearing, settlement, FX, fraud detection).
  • Ensure API-first design, developer-centric tooling, and self-service onboarding.
• Global Scale & Compliance
  • Architect multi-region deployments supporting diverse schemes (SWIFT, SEPA, ACH, RTP) with embedded compliance and resiliency.
• Data & Observability
  • Integrate real-time data streaming, analytics, and predictive insights as core platform capabilities.
  • Implement full-stack observability and monitoring for high availability.
• Security & Reliability
  • Embed zero-trust principles, encryption, fraud detection, and auditability into the platform.
• Engineering Culture
  • Build and lead high-performing platform engineering teams across regions.
  • Foster a culture of Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD for continuous delivery and innovation.
• Ecosystem Enablement
  • Deliver open APIs and SDKs for partners and fintechs, enabling API monetization and innovation.
• Governance & Standards
  • Define and enforce platform engineering standards and separation of concerns between core platform and product layer.

Required Skills & Experience

• Technical Expertise
  • 15+ years in software engineering with at least 8 years in leadership roles.
  • Proven experience building large-scale, mission-critical financial platforms.
  • Deep knowledge of payments systems, schemes, and regulatory frameworks.
• Architecture & Design
  • Expertise in API-first architecture, microservices, cloud-native deployments, and distributed systems.
• Leadership
  • Track record of leading global engineering teams and delivering complex programs.
• Innovation Mindset
  • Experience with Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, and modern engineering practices.
• Stakeholder Management
  • Ability to partner with product, compliance, and business teams to align technology with strategic goals.

Purpose of the role

To drive technical excellence and innovation by leading the design and implementation of robust software solutions, providing mentorship to engineering teams, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and contributing to strategic planning to ensure the delivery of high-quality solutions aligned with business objectives.

Accountabilities

• Provision of guidance and expertise to engineering teams to ensure alignment with best practices and foster a culture of technical excellence.
• Contribution to strategic planning by aligning technical decisions with business goals, anticipating future technology trends, and providing insights to optimize product roadmaps.
• Design and implementation of complex, scalable, and maintainable software solutions, considering long term viability and business objectives.
• Mentoring and coaching to junior and mid level engineers to foster professional growth and knowledge sharing, elevating the overall skillset and capabilities of the organization.
• Collaboration with business partners, product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions and ensure a cohesive approach to product development.
• Innovation within the organization by identifying and incorporating new technologies, methodologies, and industry practices into the engineering process.

Director Expectations

• To manage a business function, providing significant input to function wide strategic initiatives. Contribute to and influence policy and procedures for the function and plan, manage and consult on multiple complex and critical strategic projects, which may be business wide
• They manage the direction of a large team or sub function, leading other people managers and embedding a performance culture aligned to the values of the business. Or for an individual contributor, they lead organisation wide projects and act as deep technical expert and thought leader, identifying new ways of working and collaborating cross functionally. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions
• Provide expert advice to senior functional management and committees to influence decisions made outside of own function, offering significant input to function wide strategic initiatives.
• Manage, coordinate and enable resourcing, budgeting and policy creation for a significant sub function.
• Escalates breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Foster and guide compliance, ensure regulations are observed that relevant processes in place to facilitate adherence.
• Focus on the external environment, regulators, or advocacy groups to both monitor and influence on behalf of Barclays, when appropriate.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of how the function integrates with the business division / Group to achieve the overall business objectives.
• Maintain broad and comprehensive knowledge of industry theories and practices within own discipline alongside up to date relevant sector / functional knowledge, and insight into external market developments / initiatives.
• Use interpretative thinking and advanced analytical skills to solve problems and design solutions in often complex/ sensitive situations.
• Exercise management authority to make significant decisions and certain strategic decisions or recommendations within own area.
• Negotiate with and influence stakeholders at a senior level both internally and externally.
• Act as principal contact point for key clients and counterparts in other functions/ businesses divisions.
• Mandated as a spokesperson for the function and business division.

All Senior Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L - Listen and be authentic, E - Energise and inspire, A - Align across the enterprise, D - Develop others.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship - our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset - to Empower, Challenge and Drive - the operating manual for how we behave.