About Us:

Network International is the largest Financial Technology company in Middle East and Africa. Payments is our core business where we provide services in more than 50 countries – UAE, Jordan, South Africa, Egypt are some of our key markets. Apart from payments, we provide services on Data and Insights, Lending, Insurance, Risk Solutions, etc. Our core customers are businesses at every scale and segment, though recently we are growing in direct to consumer card segment as well.

Our EVP's:

At Network International, we always stay ahead. . In the fast-paced world of financial services, we thrive on innovation, agility, and purposeful collaboration. We invest first in our people, empowering you to make bold decisions, learn fast, and grow your expertise alongside industry leaders. Here, solving complex problems means more than using cutting-edge technology; it’s about creating meaningful value for our customers, together. We foster a culture where trust, accountability, and achievement go hand in hand—because success isn’t just a goal; it’s how we work, every day, as one team.

Job Description:

We are seeking an experienced Solution Architect – Merchant Acquiring to design, own, and evolve end-to-end architecture solutions across the merchant acquiring value chain for Network Flex platform. The ideal candidate combines deep domain expertise in merchant acquiring operations — including payment gateway, switch, aggregator/payment facilitator (PayFac), and merchant management lifecycle capabilities — with strong technical breadth across acquiring processing platforms, cloud technologies, and payment scheme ecosystems. This role requires the ability to translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and compliant architectures, while also engaging confidently with clients, business stakeholders, and board-level audiences

Responsibilities:

1. Merchant Acquiring Functionalities & Value Chain Expertise

• Own end-to-end solution design across the merchant acquiring value chain, including merchant onboarding/KYB, merchant management lifecycle, payment gateway, switch, aggregator/PayFac processing, transaction authorization & routing, clearing & settlement, dispute management/chargebacks, fraud & risk management, and merchant reporting/servicing.

• Design solutions covering the full merchant lifecycle: onboarding, underwriting/risk scoring, contract & pricing setup, terminal/device provisioning, activation, transaction processing, settlement & payouts, statementing, and lifecycle events (upgrade, downgrade, re-underwriting, deactivation, closure).

• Ensure architecture supports multiple acceptance channels and business models — card-present (POS/mPOS/soft-POS), card-not-present (e-commerce payment gateway), aggregator/marketplace and payment facilitator (PayFac/sub-merchant) models, and QR/alternative acceptance methods.

• Map functional requirements to system capabilities across the acquiring host, payment gateway, switch, aggregator platform, terminal estate/TMS, and ancillary systems.

2. Application & Platform Expertise

• Architect solutions leveraging core merchant acquiring platforms — acquiring host/merchant management systems, payment gateway platforms, switching platforms (e.g., Base24/ACI/Postilion-class switches), and aggregator/PayFac platforms — including migration paths from legacy switches to modern acquiring and gateway platforms.

• Design and support merchant self-service portals (merchant control panel) covering onboarding status, settlement/payout visibility, terminal management, transaction reporting, and dispute/chargeback management dashboards.

• Architect fraud and risk decisioning solutions using platforms such as FICO Falcon Fraud Manager and FICO Blaze Advisor, and advanced acquirer-side fraud/transaction-monitoring solutions such as Brighterion AI.

• Design 3-D Secure (EMV 3DS) merchant-side authentication flows and integrate with scheme-mandated authentication and liability-shift requirements.

• Architect payment gateway and aggregator solutions covering card and alternative payment methods (digital wallets, BNPL, bank transfers/A2A), hosted checkout, tokenized credential storage, and payment orchestration/routing across acquirers and processors.

• Design tokenization, point-to-point encryption (P2PE), and QR/soft-POS (tap-to-phone) provisioning for merchant acceptance devices.

• Provide architectural input on merchant analytics/BI dashboards, real-time transaction monitoring, interchange and scheme-cost optimization tooling, and AI-driven merchant risk and portfolio-optimization tools.

• Oversee architecture for POS/mPOS terminal estate management, terminal driving, key injection, terminal management system (TMS) integration, and device vendor integrations.

• Support architecture for value-added merchant services such as invoicing, QR code acceptance, soft-POS/tap-to-phone, merchant mobile apps, and embedded finance/lending propositions.

• Design integration patterns between the acquiring host, payment gateway, switch, aggregator platform, fraud/decisioning engines, and merchant-facing digital channels.

• Evaluate, configure, and recommend platform capabilities to meet business and regulatory requirements.

• Provide architectural oversight for platform upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.

3. Cloud Technologies

• Design cloud-native and hybrid architectures for merchant acquiring platforms (gateway, switch, aggregator, merchant management) across public/private cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP, or private cloud).

• Define strategies for containerization, microservices, API-led connectivity, and cloud security for payment acceptance workloads.

• Ensure architectures meet resilience, scalability, disaster recovery, and data residency requirements specific to merchant acquiring and payment acceptance.

4. Scheme & Regulatory Mandates

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of international and local card scheme acquiring mandates (Visa, Mastercard, and applicable domestic schemes).

• Translate scheme mandates, compliance bulletins, and regulatory changes into architecture and system requirements across the gateway, switch, and merchant management platforms.

• Ensure solutions remain compliant with PCI-DSS, PA-DSS/PCI SSF, EMV, 3-D Secure, tokenization standards, and other relevant payment security frameworks.

5. Scheme & Terminal/Device Certifications

• Lead or support certification processes with card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), acquiring processors, and terminal/device vendors.

• Coordinate technical certification testing (e.g., EMV Level 1/2/3, PCI PTS, terminal type approval), documentation, and sign-off across internal teams and external vendors.

• Maintain certification roadmaps and ensure timely renewal/compliance with scheme and device certification requirements.

6. Full-Stack Technical Knowledge

• Maintain strong working knowledge across the payments technology stack: acquiring host/merchant management platforms, payment gateway, switch, APIs and middleware, databases, messaging systems (ISO 8583/ISO 20022), terminal protocols, containerization/orchestration, security and cryptography (HSMs, key management), and DevOps/CI-CD practices.

• Stay current with emerging technologies and trends across the merchant acquiring and payments industry, including real-time payments, digital wallets, tokenization, and open banking-based acceptance.

7. Enterprise Architecture Practice

• Apply enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF or equivalent) to ensure alignment between business strategy and technology solutions.

• Maintain architecture artifacts, standards, and governance documentation in line with enterprise architecture best practices.

• Hold and maintain relevant enterprise architecture certifications.

8. Strategic Architecture Design

• Develop multi-year technology roadmaps and strategic architecture blueprints for the merchant acquiring business.

• Assess build vs. buy vs. partner options for emerging acquiring, gateway, and aggregator capabilities.

• Identify opportunities for platform consolidation, modernization, and cost optimization across the acquiring stack.

9. RFP & Presales Support

• Lead technical solutioning and architecture design for RFP/RFI responses related to merchant acquiring, payment gateway, switch, and aggregator processing.

• Partner with sales, presales, and product teams to craft compelling, technically sound proposals.

• Develop solution costing inputs, technical differentiators, and win themes for client pitches.

10. Stakeholder Presentation & Communication

• Present architecture solutions, roadmaps, and business cases to internal stakeholders, clients, and board members.

• Translate complex technical concepts into clear, business-relevant narratives for non-technical audiences.

• Act as a trusted technical advisor in client-facing engagements, workshops, and steering committees.

11. Data, Analytics & BI Architecture

• Architect data flows supporting merchant analytics, reporting dashboards, and real-time transaction/settlement data streaming for portfolio and merchant insights.

• Ensure data architecture supports interchange/scheme cost optimization, settlement reconciliation, and AI/ML-driven merchant risk and decisioning use cases.

12. API & Integration Architecture

• Define API management, gateway, and integration strategies connecting the acquiring host, switch, and aggregator platforms with merchant digital channels, fintech partners, and third-party services.

• Champion API-led connectivity and event-driven integration patterns across the merchant acquiring ecosystem.

13. Payment Security Architecture

• Architect security controls including HSM/key management, encryption, tokenization, and point-to-point encryption (P2PE) for secure card and merchant data handling in line with PCI-DSS and scheme security requirements.

• Ensure architectures address data residency and in-country processing requirements mandated by local regulators/central banks.

14. DevOps, CI/CD & Site Reliability

• Define architecture standards for CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and release management for merchant acquiring, gateway, switch, and aggregator platforms.

• Establish resilience, monitoring, and observability practices to meet high-availability requirements of payment acceptance systems.

15. Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage technical relationships with acquiring host, payment gateway, switch, and aggregator/PayFac platform vendors, scheme partners, fraud/analytics providers, and terminal/device manufacturers and TMS providers.

• Support vendor evaluation, due diligence, and contract/SLA negotiations from a technical architecture perspective.

16. Regulatory, Risk & Compliance Alignment

• Ensure architecture decisions account for AML/KYB (Know Your Business) merchant underwriting obligations, central bank acquiring regulations, and cross-border data protection requirements.

• Partner with risk, compliance, and legal teams to validate architecture against evolving merchant-risk and regulatory obligations.

17. Innovation & Emerging Technology

• Track and evaluate emerging trends such as real-time payments, open banking-based acceptance, embedded finance, soft-POS/tap-to-phone, click-to-pay, BNPL/installment acceptance, and digital currencies (e.g., CBDC-ready acceptance architectures).

• Recommend proof-of-concept initiatives to test emerging technologies before broader rollout.

18. Team Leadership & Mentoring

• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to solution/technical architects and engineering teams.

• Foster architecture best practices, knowledge sharing, and continuous capability building across the team.

19. Commercial & Cost Optimization Acumen

• Evaluate total cost of ownership across architecture options, including licensing, infrastructure, interchange/scheme fees, and operational costs.

• Identify opportunities for platform consolidation and cost efficiency across the gateway, switch, and aggregator stack without compromising resilience or compliance.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; Master's degree preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in payments/merchant acquiring technology, with at least 5 years in a solution/enterprise architecture role.

• Hands-on experience across mandatory merchant acquiring capabilities: payment gateway, switch, aggregator/PayFac platforms, and merchant management lifecycle systems is strongly preferred.

• Hands-on experience with core acquiring/switching platforms (e.g., Base24-class switches, Way4 acquiring module, ACI-class payment platforms) and fraud platforms (Falcon) strongly preferred.

• Proven experience with cloud architecture and migration projects (AWS/Azure/GCP).

• Strong understanding of Visa/Mastercard acquirer scheme rules, EMV, PCI-DSS, and merchant onboarding/underwriting processes.

• Experience leading or contributing to scheme and terminal/device certification processes.

• Enterprise architecture certification (e.g., TOGAF 9+) required or in progress.

• Demonstrated experience contributing to RFP responses and client-facing presales activities.

• Excellent presentation and communication skills, with experience presenting to senior/board-level stakeholders.

• Knowledge of ISO 8583 and ISO 20022 messaging standards.

• Familiarity with API gateways, microservices architecture, and event-driven design.

• Experience with HSM and key management solutions, and point-to-point encryption (P2PE).

• Exposure to digital wallets and tokenization services (e.g., Visa Token Service, Mastercard MDES).

• Experience with aggregator/payment facilitator (PayFac) and sub-merchant onboarding models.

• Prior consulting or systems integrator experience in the payments/merchant acquiring industry.

• Experience with fraud/decisioning platforms (e.g., FICO Falcon, FICO Blaze Advisor, or equivalent) and AI-based fraud detection tools.

• Familiarity with merchant BI/analytics dashboards and real-time transaction/settlement data streaming architectures.

• Understanding of AML/KYB frameworks and data residency/regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

• Exposure to emerging payment trends: real-time payments, open banking, BNPL/installments, embedded finance, soft-POS/tap-to-phone, and digital currencies.

• Experience with DevOps/CI-CD tooling and site reliability practices for high-availability payment acceptance systems.

• Strategic thinking and solution design

• Stakeholder management across technical and executive audiences

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Ability to work across matrixed, cross-functional teams

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Network International is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, nationalities, and experience levels. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where innovation, diversity, and performance thrive.