Senior Specialist - Enterprise Cards And Payments (support)

IT Senior Specialist

We are seeking an experienced IT Senior Specialist to lead the support and optimization of the bank's critical Enterprise Cards and Payments systems (e.g., card management platforms, payment gateways, fraud detection systems). This role requires deep technical expertise and leadership skills to ensure high availability, compliance, and seamless operation of systems that drive card transactions, digital payments, and customer experiences. The ideal candidate will mentor junior staff, resolve complex technical issues, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technology with business objectives.

Responsibilities

Advanced Technical Support & Incident Leadership:

• Provide Level 3 support for complex issues in card and payment systems (e.g., transaction failures, system outages, integration errors).
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for critical incidents, implement permanent fixes, and refine preventive measures.
• Mentor junior support staff and oversee incident resolution to meet SLAs and minimize business impact.

System Optimization & Governance:

• Monitor and optimize performance of card management systems (e.g., TSYS, VisionPLUS), payment gateways, and digital wallets using tools like Splunk, Dynatrace, or New Relic.
• Design and implement automation for repetitive tasks (e.g., reconciliation, alerting) to enhance operational efficiency.
• Manage upgrades, patches, and lifecycle management of payment applications in alignment with ITIL processes.

Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure systems comply with PCI-DSS, GDPR, PSD2, and other regulatory/industry standards.
• Lead audits, vulnerability assessments, and remediation activities for card and payment platforms.
• Implement security controls (e.g., tokenization, encryption) to mitigate fraud and data breach risks.

Strategic Collaboration & Stakeholder Management:

• Partner with business units (e.g., card operations, risk management), vendors, and development teams to drive system enhancements and process improvements.
• Translate business requirements into technical solutions, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture and security policies.
• Document technical workflows, governance protocols, and disaster recovery plans for critical systems.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement:

• Stay ahead of industry trends (e.g., contactless payments, Open Banking APIs, blockchain) and propose technology upgrades.
• Drive adoption of DevOps practices, cloud migration (AWS/Azure), and CI/CD pipelines for payment systems.

Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Master's degree or certifications (e.g., ITIL, CISSP) are a plus.

Experience:

• 5-7 years in application support, with 3+ years focused on cards and payments systems in banking/fintech.
• Expertise in card management platforms (e.g., Fiserv, FIS, TSYS), payment gateways (e.g., Stripe, Adyen), and fraud detection tools.
• In-depth knowledge of payment protocols (e.g., ISO 8583, EMV, NFC) and security standards (e.g., 3D Secure).
• Proficiency in scripting (Python, PowerShell), SQL, and API integrations (REST/SOAP).

Technical Skills:

• Advanced troubleshooting in Linux/Windows environments and databases (Oracle, SQL Server).
• Experience with monitoring tools (Splunk, Grafana) and ITSM platforms (ServiceNow, Jira).
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).

Soft Skills:

• Strong leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent communication skills to engage technical teams, executives, and auditors.
• Ability to manage high-pressure scenarios and prioritize critical tasks.

Key Competencies

Technical Leadership in Cards & Payments Systems

Incident Management & Advanced Troubleshooting

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Mitigation

Process Automation & Innovation

Stakeholder Collaboration & Mentorship