Head of Engineering - Risk & Financial Crime

This is Adyen

Adyen provides payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for customers like Meta, Uber, H&M, and Microsoft - making us the financial technology platform of choice. At Adyen, everything we do is engineered for ambition. 

For our teams, we create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by the culture and support to ensure they are enabled to truly own their careers. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team. Together, we deliver innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster.

Head of Engineering - Risk & Financial Crime

Adyen is building out its capabilities in data-driven risk management to combat financial crime across its platform. We operate at a massive global scale, enabling businesses around the world to accept payments, issue cards, and embed financial products, helping millions of business owners around the globe do business with less friction. While we have foundational elements in place, we have recently shifted our strategy to take a more holistic approach to proactively detect and mitigate financial crime.

What you’ll do

• Lead and mentor multiple multidisciplinary engineering teams in Amsterdam focused on data-driven risk and financial crime products.
• Drive the technical strategy and execution for building scalable and resilient systems for financial crime detection and mitigation, covering the entire business lifecycle on the platform.
• Oversee the development and deployment of machine learning models and data pipelines for real-time and batch risk assessment.
• Explore and implement applications of cutting-edge AI technologies, including GenAI and LLMs, to automate manual investigation tasks, improve detection accuracy, and provide rich context for human reviewers and models.
• Collaborate closely with expert investigators and operations teams to understand their workflows, integrate human feedback into automated systems, and ensure tools meet their needs.
• Partner with product managers, data scientists, and other engineering teams globally to define product requirements, prioritize initiatives, and integrate risk capabilities into Adyen's platform.
  
• Ensure systems are built with robust monitoring, explainability, and governance frameworks to meet regulatory requirements and maintain high quality and fairness.
• Stay informed about the latest advancements in financial crime typologies, risk management techniques, and AI/ML technologies, applying relevant insights to Adyen's products.

Who you are

• Proven experience leading and mentoring multiple engineering teams, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
• Significant experience in building and deploying data-driven products and systems at scale, ideally in a domain involving risk, fraud, or financial crime.
• Deep understanding of the machine learning lifecycle, from data ingestion and feature engineering to model training, deployment, monitoring, and experimentation.
• Strong technical background with experience in data processing, distributed systems, and relevant programming languages (e.g., Java, Python).
• Familiarity with applying advanced AI techniques, such as Generative AI and Large Language Models, to solve real-world problems, particularly in automating complex workflows or analyzing unstructured data.
• Experience working closely with non-technical stakeholders, such as operations teams, legal/compliance experts, and product managers.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts and strategies to diverse audiences.
• Ability to balance short-term needs with a long-term strategic vision.
• Experience in hiring and developing technical talent.

We will prioritise candidates with:

• Experience in the fintech industry or working on payments/financial products.
• Specifically with financial crime detection (fraud, AML, KYC).
• Familiarity with relevant compliance regulations (e.g., AML, KYC, PSD2).
• Experience working with large datasets related to payments, identity, or transaction monitoring.
• Experience with open-source contributions or engaging with the broader tech community.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments 

Our unique approach is a product of our diverse perspectives. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures is essential in helping us maintain our momentum. Our business and technical challenges are unique, and we need as many different voices as possible to join us in solving them - voices like yours. No matter who you are or where you’re from, we welcome you to be your true self at Adyen. 

Studies show that women and members of underrepresented communities apply for jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Does this sound like you? If so, Adyen encourages you to reconsider and apply. We look forward to your application!

What’s next?

Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable candidate experience is critical for us. We aim to get back to you regarding your application within 5 business days. Our interview process tends to take about 4 weeks to complete, but may fluctuate depending on the role. Learn more about our hiring process here. Don’t be afraid to let us know if you need more flexibility.

This role is based out of our Amsterdam office. We are an office-first company and value in-person collaboration; we do not offer remote-only roles.