Head of Payments Sanctions and Credit Risk Technology - Director

Citi is seeking a Director, Payments Sanctions & Credit Risk Technology to lead a high-impact engineering function at the forefront of payments modernization and financial crime technology. In this senior role, you will own the full software development lifecycle for mission-critical sanctions and credit risk platforms, shaping technical strategy and delivering scalable, enterprise-grade solutions that directly support the integrity of Citi's global payments infrastructure. Based in Jersey City, NJ, you will operate in a hybrid model and lead globally distributed engineering teams driving transformation across one of the world's largest financial institutions. 

Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and manage multiple technology teams, defining vision, roles, and responsibilities to maximize impact and align with business goals. Conduct performance evaluations, manage hiring, and ensure adherence to best practices and processes.
• Strategic Design & Delivery: Drive the design, development, and implementation of robust system architectures leveraging the latest technology stacks. Oversee the full SDLC, ensuring high-quality deliverables and compliance with organizational policies and procedures.
• Technical & Cultural Transformation: Champion an "everything-as-code" and "codified controls" mindset. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, critical thinking, and the strategic adoption of emerging technologies, including Generative AI.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate extensively with business and technology partners, presenting regular team and project reviews to senior management and business leaders.
• Risk Management & Compliance: Proactively assess and mitigate risks, ensuring strict compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and internal policies. Maintain and test disaster recovery plans, and manage change with appropriate controls and documentation.
• Advocacy & Engagement: Actively promote inclusion and diversity, fostering enthusiasm, trust, and engagement within global teams through effective communication and leadership.
• Operational Oversight: Monitor budget, planning, policy formation, and contribute to the future strategy of the department.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of application development experience
• 10+ years’ experience in leadership roles specializing in franchise-critical applications.
• 10+ years’ experience leading large-scale technology transformation initiatives.
• Deep understanding of designing highly available and scalable systems.
• Extensive hands-on experience in Java, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, REST services, Microservices, Docker/Kubernetes, Kafka.
• Proficiency in Front-End Technologies: JavaScript, Angular (any version), CSS, HTML.
• Hands-on experience with relational (Oracle/DB2) and No-SQL (MongoDB) databases, and Unix commands.
• Experience in cloud-based application deployment and code testing tools (Junit, Mockito, Cucumber).
• Acquaintance with deployment environments like Apache Tomcat, OpenShift, or public cloud.
• Expertise in Test-Driven Development (TDD), CI/CD, build, version control, and development tools.
• Familiarity with AI tools to enhance team productivity and knowledge of Agentic AI is a plus.
• Proven experience managing global technology teams.
• Paramount knowledge of Payments Messaging and Payments Data (ISO 20022, Sanctions, AML).
• Consistently demonstrates clear and concise written and verbal communication.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and independent work skills.
• Experience collaborating with business analysts, database administrators, project managers, and technical architects in multiple geographical areas.
• Strong presentation skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with Agile Software Development Lifecycle methodologies and related tooling (e.g., JIRA, Scrum).
• Required experience in the Financial Services industry.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience (Master’s degree preferred).

What We Offer

Joining Citi means taking on a senior leadership role with global reach and genuine strategic influence. You will be part of a performance-driven engineering environment where your decisions shape critical financial infrastructure, your teams grow under your leadership, and your work contributes directly to the security and reliability of payments at global scale.

• Hybrid working model offering 3 days in the office and 2 days working remotely, providing flexibility while maintaining close collaboration with your teams and stakeholders.
• Strategic leadership visibility, with regular engagement with executive and senior business leaders across a global organisation.
• Opportunity to lead large-scale technology transformation across Payments Sanctions and Credit Risk, working with cutting-edge engineering practices and emerging technologies.
• Access to learning and professional development resources to support your continued technical and leadership growth.
• Comprehensive financial wellbeing support, including competitive compensation and long-term financial benefits commensurate with a Director-level role.
• Wellbeing programmes and work-life balance support designed for senior professionals managing global teams across time zones.

Apply today to take ownership of a defining engineering leadership role at Citi — where your technical vision will shape the future of global payments technology.

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In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs. Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays. For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com. Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

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We use automated processing, including artificial intelligence, for our legitimate business interests (or our reasonable and appropriate business purposes) to identify and align the candidate's skills and abilities with a specific job opening. Additionally, if you so choose, or consent, we can match your skills and abilities to other suitable roles at Citi.

Importantly, all our hiring processes and decisions, including determining your suitability for a role, are conducted, checked, and decided by individuals. Our automated processing and AI do not involve relying on automatic or autonomous decision-making. Please refer to any Jurisdictional Considerations, with specific provisions for your country (where relevant) for further details.

Illinois residents – AI Notice and Right

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Citi is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to use our search tools and/or apply for a career opportunity review Accessibility at Citi.
View Citi’s EEO Policy Statement and the Know Your Rights poster.