🌍 About the Company

Our client is a fully licensed EU bank based focused on providing modern banking infrastructure for FinTech companies, payment institutions, e-commerce businesses, and other digital-first companies.

Combining traditional banking expertise with a FinTech-native approach, the bank provides solutions including Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), e-commerce acquiring, payment infrastructure, safeguarding accounts, lending, and business banking services.

💼 About the Role

As Head of IT Development / Engineering, you will own the Bank's software engineering function and lead the development of secure, scalable, and reliable technology solutions that support its banking and FinTech products.

This senior leadership role combines engineering strategy, software architecture, delivery ownership, technology modernisation, and people leadership. You will work closely with Product, Business, IT Operations, and other stakeholders to translate business needs into robust technical solutions while continuously strengthening engineering standards and practices.

🔍 Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end software development lifecycle, including architecture, coding standards, code review practices, secure development, and technical debt management;

• Lead the engineering delivery roadmap in close partnership with Product and Business stakeholders, translating business requirements into scalable technical solutions;

• Own and continuously improve CI/CD pipelines and release engineering practices, including build processes, automated testing, and deployment packaging through production handover;

• Drive technology and platform modernization, evaluating frameworks, programming languages, tools, and engineering practices;

• Define and maintain high standards for application and integration quality, including test coverage, defect management, code review discipline, and secure coding practices;

• Establish effective processes for identifying, prioritizing, and reducing technical debt;

• Ensure engineering solutions are designed with security, reliability, scalability, and maintainability in mind, reflecting the requirements of a regulated banking environment;

• Lead, mentor, and develop the engineering team, building a strong culture of ownership, collaboration, technical excellence, and continuous improvement;

• Take ownership of engineering talent management, including hiring, performance management, career development, and succession planning;

• Collaborate closely with IT Operations and other technology stakeholders to ensure effective handover and reliable delivery into production.

🎓 Requirements

• Strong experience in software engineering and technical leadership, ideally within banking, FinTech, payments, or another regulated technology environment;

• Proven experience leading software development teams and taking ownership of both people and engineering delivery;

• Strong understanding of software architecture, system design, integration patterns, and modern development practices;

• Hands-on understanding of CI/CD, automated testing, release engineering, and DevOps principles;

• Experience establishing and maintaining coding standards, code review processes, quality controls, and secure software development practices;

• Experience driving technology modernization and technical debt reduction in complex or business-critical environments;

• Ability to translate business and product requirements into clear technical solutions and engineering priorities;

• Strong understanding of software security and the expectations associated with developing systems in a regulated environment;

• Professional working proficiency in English.

🤝 Key Competencies

• Leadership & Ownership - sets clear direction and builds accountability across engineering teams;

• Technical Judgement - makes pragmatic technology decisions balancing scalability, security, and business needs;

• Strategic Thinking - connects engineering priorities with wider business objectives;

• Stakeholder Collaboration - works effectively across Product, Business, IT Operations, and senior leadership.

✨ The Employer Offers

• Modern office in the centre of Riga with a hybrid working model;

• Opportunity to directly contribute to the Bank's technological development and future digital initiatives;

• Dynamic working environment with a supportive management team that values innovation;

• Collaborative, supportive, and innovation-driven working environment;

• Health insurance after the probation period;

• Long-term career growth within a stable organisation committed to continuous technological development.
  

If you want to lead more than a development team, this role gives you the ownership to shape engineering standards, technology direction, and the platforms behind a growing FinTech bank.