CTO

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Latvia.

📋 Description

• Develop and implement a comprehensive technology strategy that aligns with EMI licensing and business goals.

• Lead the design and construction of an end-to-end card acquiring architecture, covering authorisation, clearing, settlement, chargebacks, and reconciliation.

• Design and supervise the creation of a scalable payment gateway and processing platform, which includes routing, failover, and transaction lifecycle management.

• Manage integrations with card schemes (Visa, Mastercard), banking partners, Open Banking providers, and alternative payment methods.

• Ensure compliance with PCI-DSS, EMI regulatory standards, and the secure management of cardholder data environments.

• Build and lead the engineering team, including recruitment, team structuring, and the establishment of development best practices.

• Define the infrastructure strategy (cloud, DevOps, monitoring, security) to support high availability and scalability.

• Work closely with compliance, legal, and operations teams to ensure technology aligns with regulatory expectations and licensing documentation.

• Oversee vendor selection, partnerships, and third-party integrations (KYC/AML, fraud prevention, PSPs).

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact during regulatory interactions, audits, and post-licensing expansion.

⛳️ Requirements

• Demonstrated experience as a CTO, Head of Engineering, or Lead Architect in the FinTech or payments sector.

• Strong practical experience in building or significantly contributing to card acquiring or payment processing systems.

• Profound understanding of card scheme ecosystems, transaction flows, and acquiring business models.

• Solid knowledge of PCI-DSS, tokenisation, and secure payment infrastructure design.

• Experience with cloud-based architectures (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern API-driven systems.

• Strong leadership experience in developing and scaling high-performing engineering teams.

• Experience working in regulated environments (EMI, payments, banking).

• Proficiency in English; knowledge of Russian or Ukrainian is an advantage.

🏝️ Benefits

• Opportunity to establish and manage the entire technology function from the ground up.

• Foundational role in a rapidly growing FinTech with a direct impact on product and business strategy.

• Fully remote work environment with flexibility and autonomy.

• Competitive compensation commensurate with senior leadership responsibilities.

• Close collaboration with founders and key decision-makers.

• Exposure to the EMI licensing process and regulatory engagement.

• Long-term growth opportunities, including the potential to scale teams and technology on a global scale.