Head of Banking Technologies (Core Banking/Payments/Cards)

A leading financial institution in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a Head of Banking Technologies to spearhead the engineering transformation of its critical banking platforms.

Head of Banking Technologies

This pivotal role offers you the opportunity to shape the future of banking technology by modernising legacy systems, driving adoption of cutting-edge practices, and building high-performing engineering teams. You will collaborate closely with business, product, architecture, risk, and compliance stakeholders to ensure that platforms remain resilient, secure, scalable, and ready for tomorrow’s challenges. The organisation is committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and engineering excellence, providing flexible working opportunities and generous training support to help you grow as a leader. If you are passionate about technology transformation in a highly regulated environment and want to make a lasting impact on the banking sector, this is your chance to join an inclusive team where your expertise will be valued.

• Lead the strategic transformation of core banking, payments, and cards platforms by implementing modern engineering practices and cloud-native solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including business, product, architecture, risk, and compliance to deliver resilient and secure technology solutions that meet regulatory requirements.
• Enjoy flexible working opportunities and access to extensive training programmes designed to support your professional growth and leadership development within a supportive environment.

What you'll do:

As Head of Banking Technologies based in Kuala Lumpur, you will play a central role in shaping the future of banking technology by overseeing the transformation of core platforms such as Core Banking Systems (CBS), Payments ecosystems (including real-time payments), and Card management solutions. Your day-to-day responsibilities will involve setting strategic direction for engineering teams while collaborating with stakeholders from business units to risk management. You will drive the transition from legacy systems to modern architectures—focusing on modularity, APIs, cloud enablement—and champion best practices like DevSecOps and CI/CD. Success in this role requires you to foster a culture of continuous improvement within large-scale engineering organisations while ensuring that all platforms remain robust against operational risks. You will also manage vendor relationships effectively and represent Engineering at senior governance levels. By leveraging your deep domain expertise in banking technologies alongside strong people leadership skills, you will empower teams to deliver innovative solutions that are both secure and compliant.

• Develop and execute the engineering strategy for critical banking platforms across Core Banking, Payments, and Cards, ensuring alignment with business priorities.
• Define comprehensive modernisation roadmaps that transition legacy systems towards modular, API-first, and cloud-enabled architectures.
• Build and nurture large engineering organisations spanning delivery, operations, and technology functions while promoting a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Drive the adoption of DevSecOps methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, SRE principles, observability tools, and other modern software engineering practices.
• Partner with Architecture, Product, Business, Risk, and Compliance teams to translate complex business requirements into scalable and resilient technology solutions.
• Lead major transformation initiatives including platform re-architecture, migration projects, and technology modernisation efforts.
• Manage relationships with strategic technology vendors, system integrators, and platform partners to ensure successful delivery of key programmes.
• Ensure all critical banking platforms meet stringent requirements for availability, resilience, security, regulatory compliance, and operational risk management.
• Champion talent development by uplifting engineering capabilities across the organisation through succession planning and targeted training initiatives.
• Represent Engineering in senior governance forums including risk committees, audit panels, and regulatory meetings.

What you bring:

To excel as Head of Banking Technologies you will bring substantial experience gained from senior leadership roles within banking or financial services—ideally having led major transformation programmes involving platform modernisation or migration. Your technical expertise spans cloud-native architectures; API-first designs; microservices deployments; distributed systems integration—all underpinned by a solid understanding of regulatory requirements unique to financial institutions. You possess exceptional people leadership abilities demonstrated through building high-performing teams who thrive on collaboration and continuous learning. Your proven track record includes managing complex programmes where delivery outcomes are measured not only by cost efficiency but also by operational resilience. Deep domain knowledge across Core Banking Systems (CBS), Payments ecosystems (SWIFT/ISO 20022/DuitNow/PayNet), or Card management solutions (PowerCARD/digital wallets) will set you apart. Above all else your commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace—where every team member feels supported—is matched by your enthusiasm for ongoing professional development.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or related discipline is required for this position.
• 15–20 years’ experience in technology roles with at least 8 years spent in senior engineering leadership positions within banking or financial services environments.
• Proven track record leading large-scale technology modernisation or transformation projects within complex regulated settings.
• Extensive engineering background covering cloud computing architectures, APIs design principles, microservices deployment strategies as well as distributed systems integration.
• Demonstrated ability to transform sizeable engineering organisations across multiple teams or squads while nurturing future leaders through mentoring initiatives.
• Strong interpersonal skills enabling effective stakeholder management with senior business executives as well as technical leaders across departments.
• Experience managing large technology programmes with accountability for delivery outcomes including cost control measures; risk mitigation strategies; operational performance targets.
• Domain expertise in one or more areas such as Core Banking (CBS platforms; open systems; cloud-native architectures), Payments (real-time payments; interbank clearing; SWIFT; ISO 20022; DuitNow/PayNet), Cards (card management platforms like PowerCARD; PCI-DSS compliance; tokenisation; digital wallets) is highly desirable.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships across diverse teams fostering an inclusive environment where knowledge sharing is encouraged.
• Commitment to ongoing personal development through participation in training opportunities offered by the organisation.

What sets this company apart:

This leading financial institution is renowned for its commitment to technological advancement within the banking sector. Employees benefit from flexible working arrangements that promote work-life balance alongside generous training opportunities designed to support both personal growth and career progression. The organisation values inclusivity—ensuring that every voice is heard—and encourages knowledge sharing across all levels. With a focus on nurturing future leaders through structured talent development programmes you can expect ongoing support from experienced mentors who are invested in your success. The company’s dedication to maintaining resilient secure platforms means you’ll be part of an environment where innovation thrives without compromising on regulatory compliance or operational excellence. Joining this team means becoming part of a networked community where collaboration drives results—and where your contributions are recognised as integral to shaping the future of banking technology.

Do note that we will only be in touch if your application is shortlisted.

Agensi Pekerjaan Robert Walters Sdn Bhd
Business Registration Number : 729828-T
Licence Number : JTKSM 423C