Head of Engineering/CTO - Payments

Our client, a modern Payment Facilitator that helps SaaS companies grow revenue through embedded payments, is hiring a Head of Engineering/CTO to lead the divisions technology strategy, infrastructure, and engineering operations. The role supports a production environment that processes payments at scale and requires hands-on leadership, deep AWS experience, and strong knowledge of regulated payment environments.

What You Will Do

• Direct the technology vision and align engineering priorities with business goals.
• Lead a hands-on engineering team across software development, infrastructure, and production operations.
• Oversee third-party service providers and outsourced environments that support core platforms.
• Maintain a secure and reliable AWS environment, including architecture, hosting, and monitoring.
• Guide R&D work, review code, and drive improvements in performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Build and manage processes for project planning, SDLC, Agile workflows, and cross-team execution.
• Evaluate emerging technologies in the payments ecosystem and identify opportunities to strengthen platform capabilities.
• Work closely with product, operations, and support teams to incorporate customer feedback into development plans.
• Manage technology risk, support regulatory obligations, and lead PCI audit preparation and controls.
• Track KPIs and SLAs for mission critical systems and drive continuous improvement through data.
• Recruit and develop engineering talent and support a culture centered on accountability and growth.
• Manage the R&D budget and allocate resources for efficiency and output.
• Communicate technical strategies to senior leadership and key stakeholders in clear, direct language.

What You Bring

• 10+ years of application development experience with a background in Java.
• 5+ years leading teams in cloud environments with extensive AWS knowledge.
• Experience working within a Payments organization is required
• Strong understanding of Postgres, Agile practices, SDLC, and git-based workflows.
• Experience managing KPIs and SLAs for high-volume, customer-facing systems.
• Knowledge of PCI requirements and experience supporting audits.
• Experience applying AI tools or models to improve product, workflow, or platform efficiency.
• Familiarity with microservices, containers, CI/CD pipelines, Linux, and alternate data stores such as Aurora, Redis, ElasticSearch, or Redshift.
• Ability to guide teams through change, improve processes, and respond to evolving business needs.
• Clear communication skills with comfort presenting complex topics to nontechnical audiences.
• A leadership style that supports problem solving, accountability, and continuous learning.