The FinTech Investment & Technology Director is responsible for evaluating, selecting, structuring, and conducting technical due diligence on FinTech companies and projects considered by the Group for investment, acquisition, strategic partnerships, or the development of new business ventures.

What distinguishes this role is the combination of extensive hands-on FinTech operating experience, deep technical expertise in software architecture and product development, and the ability to assess the investment potential, scalability, and risks of FinTech businesses.

The successful candidate will independently form expert opinions not only on business models and financial performance but also on: software quality and codebase, system architecture, technical debt, cybersecurity, infrastructure reliability, engineering team maturity, product scalability.

Responsibilities

Investment & Strategic Evaluation

• Conduct end-to-end analysis of FinTech businesses and projects, including:
  • Payment Systems
  • Payment Service Providers (PSPs)
  • Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs)
  • Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)
  • Open Banking
  • Digital Banking
  • Lending
  • WealthTech
  • RegTech
  • Blockchain and other digital financial models.
• Assess business models, unit economics, financial performance, competitive positioning, scalability, and strategic fit with the Group’s objectives.
• Build financial models, valuation analyses, scenario modelling, sensitivity analyses, and investment recommendations.
• Prepare investment memoranda, presentations, and recommendations for shareholders and the Investment Committee.
• Participate in transaction structuring, negotiations, acquisitions, and M&A execution.

Technology Due Diligence

Conduct comprehensive technical assessments of FinTech platforms, including:

• Backend architecture
• Frontend architecture
• APIs
• Databases
• Integration layers
• Cloud infrastructure
• DevOps processes

Evaluate:

• software quality
• programming languages and technology stack
• engineering standards
• testing practices
• technical documentation
• version control
• code review practices.

Additionally:

• Perform or coordinate reviews of critical code components and technical documentation.
• Identify architectural weaknesses, dependencies, technical debt, and vendor lock-in risks.
• Assess scalability, performance, resilience, availability, and overall platform reliability.
• Review cybersecurity, access management, data protection, incident management, and compliance with relevant standards.
• Evaluate engineering team maturity, CTO capability, technical leadership, organisational structure, software delivery processes, and the team’s ability to execute the product roadmap.
• Produce technical recommendations identifying risks to be addressed both before investment and during post-investment integration.

Portfolio Management & Value Creation

• Monitor execution of technology and product roadmaps across portfolio companies.
• Evaluate product, technology, and operational KPIs, including:
  • system uptime
  • engineering velocity
  • software release quality
  • production incidents
  • infrastructure costs
  • engineering efficiency.
• Support portfolio company management on technology strategy, architecture, team development, and platform decisions.
• Identify technology integration opportunities, synergies, and new FinTech products across the Group.

Key Skills

• Minimum 10 years’ practical experience working within FinTech companies or technology divisions of digital financial businesses.
• Demonstrated involvement in building, launching, scaling, or transforming FinTech products and platforms.
• Significant experience in one or more of the following positions:
  • CTO
  • Chief Architect
  • VP/Head of Engineering
  • Technical Product Leader
  • Senior Software Engineer / Software Architect
  • or equivalent senior technical leadership role.
• Strong software engineering background with the ability to read, review, analyse, and discuss production code.
• Experience with modern FinTech technologies such as:
  • Java
  • C#
  • C/C++
  • Python
  • JavaScript / TypeScript
  • Go
  • Kotlin
  • Scala
  • or similar languages.
• Deep understanding of:
  • Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
  • software architecture patterns
  • APIs
  • microservices
  • cloud infrastructure
  • DevOps
  • CI/CD
  • databases
  • cybersecurity
  • data architecture.
• Previous experience conducting technology due diligence, assessing technology companies, or participating in investment, M&A, or strategic projects is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of FinTech business models, regulation, licensing, payment infrastructure, and operational processes.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in:
  • Computer Science
  • Software Engineering
  • Information Technology
  • Applied Mathematics
  • or another technical discipline.
• Additional education in Finance, Economics, Business, or Investments would be advantageous.

Professional Competencies

• Ability to communicate effectively with: software engineers, CTOs, product teams, investors, finance professionals, legal advisers, regulatory specialists.
• Ability to translate complex technical issues into clear commercial conclusions regarding: investment attractiveness, valuation, timelines, risks, recommended actions.
• Excellent analytical and independent critical thinking skills.
• Strong understanding of FinTech regulatory environments across the UK, EU, Switzerland, UAE, the United States, and other major jurisdictions.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Personal Attributes

• High professional integrity and intellectual honesty.
• Strong critical thinking with the confidence to challenge unsupported commercial or technical assumptions.
• Hands-on, detail-oriented approach with a willingness to dive deeply into technical matters.
• Strategic mindset combined with attention to both technical and financial detail.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence shareholders and senior leadership.