Head of Core Banking Technology

Head of Core Banking Technology | Madrid

Monex is a leading global financial solutions provider, offering a complete set of tools to support business growth and strategic financial operations.

We specialise in FX risk management and international payments, helping corporate and institutional clients design tailored FX solutions to navigate currency volatility with confidence. Our team of FX specialists implement well-considered currency strategies, offering dedicated support to help clients manage their payment needs – whether for goods, services, or direct investments.

In 2023, Monex facilitated $309 billion in FX turnover, managed $10.7 billion in assets, and processed 8.5 million transactions. With offices across North America (Canada, the US, and Mexico), Asia (Singapore), and Europe (the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands), we serve over 66,000 clients worldwide.

By combining global reach with deep local market expertise, Monex enhances businesses with a suite of financial solutions and FX market analysis to help optimise efficiency, mitigate currency risk, and protect margins in an increasingly complex financial landscape.

Key Responsibilities 

1) Bank Technology Strategy & Architecture (Hands-on) 

• Define the end-state architecture for the new bank platform, including integration patterns, data model, identity, security, environments, and operational tooling. 

• Produce the core set of technical standards and reference architecture: API standards, eventing/streaming where needed, encryption/key management, logging/monitoring, SDLC and release controls. 

• Make pragmatic build vs buy decisions with a bias towards speed-to-market without compromising regulatory expectations. 

2) BaaS Vendor Selection & Bank Platform Procurement 

• Own the vendor selection process for BaaS and key platform components: requirements definition, RFI/RFP, evaluation, technical due diligence, commercial inputs, and selection recommendations. 

• Design and run vendor proofs of concept to validate core capabilities (ledger, payments, onboarding, reporting, controls, resilience, operability). 

• Define vendor management approach: SLAs/SLOs, incident and problem management, change governance, security obligations, audit rights and exit planning. 

3) Regulatory Engagement & Approvals (Technical Lead) 

• Act as the technical authority for regulatory engagement: explain design decisions, demonstrate control frameworks, provide evidence of resilience, security, data governance and operating model readiness. 

• Co-own with Compliance/Risk the creation of technology components of regulatory submissions: architecture packs, security model, operational resilience artefacts, outsourcing/third-party risk evidence, DR/BCP evidence. 

• Ensure the platform design supports required regulatory capabilities: auditability, reporting, reconciliation, safeguarding/segregation where applicable, and clear lines of operational accountability. 

4) Build, Integrate & Launch Delivery 

• Lead hands-on delivery across vendors/SIs/internal stakeholders to implement the selected BaaS platform and surrounding services. 

• Own end-to-end integration approach: channels, back office/operations tooling, data pipelines, MI/regulatory reporting, and interfaces to Monex group systems where required. 

• Drive a delivery plan that enables rapid launch with controlled scope, and a roadmap to mature capability post go-live 

5) Security, Risk, Controls & Operational Resilience 

• Build security and controls “by design”: threat modelling, secure architecture, access controls, secrets management, vulnerability management and secure SDLC practices. 

• Define and implement an operational resilience approach: service mapping, impact tolerances (as applicable), resilience testing, DR strategy, and ongoing control testing. 

• Ensure third-party and cloud controls align to regulatory outsourcing expectations, including evidence and audit trails. 

6) Run, Operate & Continuous Improvement 

• Establish the run model for production operations (support, monitoring, incident/problem/change), including vendor handoffs and on-call arrangements. 

• Ensure the platform is operable: clear runbooks, dashboards, alerting, and measurable reliability and performance. 

• Own ongoing technology risk management for the bank platform and lead remediation of issues found via testing, incidents, audit or regulator feedback. 

7) Build the Founding Technology Function 

• Define the initial technology org shape and hiring plan (founding engineers/ops/security as needed), balancing internal capability with vendor delivery in association with shared Group Technology Services 

• Set the culture: engineering standards, documentation quality, delivery discipline, and high integrity in a regulated environment. 

• Coach and scale the team as the bank platform grows. 

Job Specifications 

Essential: 

• Significant hands-on experience (typically 10+ years) building and operating technology platforms in regulated financial services (banking, payments, e-money, fintech). 

• Proven experience building and launching a neo-bank or greenfield regulated platform (or equivalent “bank build” experience)  

• Demonstrable experience selecting and implementing BaaS / core banking / bank-in-a-box platforms and managing delivery partners (Eg Mambu, eMACH.ai, Though Machine). 

• Strong experience producing regulator-ready technical artefacts and working directly with regulators/supervisors on approvals, including DORA. 

• Deep understanding of API-first platform architecture, integration, identity and access management, security engineering and operational controls. 

• Experience standing up production operations: monitoring, incident/change management, resilience testing, DR and business continuity. 

Desirable: 

• Experience in EU/UK regulatory environments and outsourcing/third-party risk expectations. 

• Experience with cloud-native architectures (Azure preferred) and modern engineering practices (CI/CD, IaC). 

• Exposure to payments, onboarding/KYC, AML monitoring, cards and regulatory reporting within a bank or BaaS context. 

Core Skills & Competencies 

• Technical Authority: Credible hands-on architect/engineer who can make pragmatic decisions and drive delivery. 

• Regulatory Mindset: Ability to design technology that satisfies regulators as well as customer/business outcomes. 

• Delivery Focus: Operates effectively in fast, multi-stream delivery environments with vendors and partners. 

• Vendor & Commercial Acumen: Can run selection processes and manage complex third-party relationships. 

• Operational Excellence: Designs for operability, resilience, security and auditability from day one. 

• Stakeholder Management: Confident engaging executives, regulators and vendor leadership with clarity and integrity. 

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us!