CIO

Join to apply for the CIO - Payments role at Citizens

The Payments CIO will be responsible for defining and executing the technical strategy for the bank’s payments ecosystem. This role requires a proven leader who can architect, build, deliver, and operate enterprise-grade payment platforms while ensuring alignment with business priorities and product roadmaps. In this role you will serve as a bridge between engineering, product, and business partners to drive innovation, scalability, security, and resilience across the payments domain.

• Technical Strategy & Leadership
  • Define and execute the payments engineering strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise technology direction and business objectives.
  • Drive the modernization and evolution of core payment systems, with a focus on scalability, stability, and regulatory compliance.
  • Establish best practices for engineering excellence, resiliency, and operational efficiency within payments platforms.
• Platform Engineering & Delivery
  • Lead teams responsible for designing, building, and maintaining payment processing platforms, settlement engines, and clearing solutions.
  • Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of payments products, from requirements through delivery and ongoing operations.
  • Ensure high system availability, performance monitoring, and proactive incident management.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Partner closely with product managers, operations, and business leaders to define requirements and prioritize the payments technology roadmap.
  • Collaborate with risk, compliance, and security teams to meet regulatory and audit requirements.
  • Build strong vendor and partner relationships to maximize platform value and performance.
• Operational Excellence
  • Establish metrics, SLAs, and KPIs for payments systems to ensure consistent delivery against performance and resiliency goals.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives in system availability, monitoring, and recovery capabilities.
  • Champion a culture of engineering excellence and foster the growth of top-tier payments engineering talent.

• 12+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with at least 5+ years in payments technology leadership roles.
• Demonstrated success in building, delivering, and operating core payments platforms in a complex, regulated environment.
• Deep knowledge of payments processing, settlement, clearing, ACH, wires, and real-time payments.
• Proven ability to define and execute large-scale technical strategies that align with business objectives.
• Strong collaboration skills with experience working across product, business, and operations stakeholders.
• Expertise in platform stability, resiliency, and real-time processing environments.
• Excellent leadership skills with a track record of building and developing high-performing engineering teams.

• Hands‑on experience with industry‑leading payments platforms:
  • Fiserv Enterprise Payments Platform (EPP)
  • ACI Money Transfer System (MTS)
• Familiarity with cloud‑native architectures and microservices in payment ecosystems.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements impacting payments, including PCI, NACHA, and ISO 20022.

• Strategic thinker with strong execution skills.
• Highly collaborative, influencing across technology and business organizations.
• Passion for innovation in the payments space and delivering frictionless customer experiences.
• Results‑driven, with a strong focus on reliability, security, and operational excellence.

Hours per Week: 40

Work Schedule:

Monday to Friday core business hours

The salary range for this position is $300,000 - $400,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based…