Solutions Architect Lead - Payments (United States)

Salary Range : $170,000-$200,000

Company Description:

Monstarlab builds digital solutions that start with people and scale with purpose—crafting platforms that deliver real, measurable impact.

We are a tight‑knit crew of strategists, product managers, designers, and engineers united by a single passion: crafting user‑centric experiences and digital products for our clients. Monstarlab's operational model lets us blend boutique, hands-on service with true global scale—so you benefit from round‑the‑clock momentum, deep domain expertise, and solutions tailored to your market.

Who You Are:

Level: Payments Solutions Architect (IC contributor with mentorship responsibilities)

Role DNA: This position blends elements of:

• Solution Architect (50%) - Technical design and PSP solution guidance
• Technical Product Manager (50%) - Requirements creation and product definition

Job Description:

Overview We're seeking an experienced payments expert to bridge the gap between business requirements and technical implementation in client engagements. This role combines deep payment service provider (PSP) knowledge — with particular depth in Stripe Connect — and technical acumen to drive successful payment integration projects. You will help clients navigate complex payment ecosystems, define integration requirements, and deliver seamless solutions that drive business growth.

The right candidate will:

• Operate at the intersection of technical product management and solutions architecture
• Shape product requirements
• Be comfortable presenting technical solutions to non-technical clients; particularly complex payment ecosystems built on Stripe Connect
• Guide technical design and integrations
• Be pragmatic and commercially savvy, but able to dive into technical detail when needed
• Be adept at context-switching between high-level strategy and low-level payment integration patterns
• Natural teacher who can simplify complexity for clients while pushing engineering teams toward scalable designs

Core Responsibilities

Overall Payments Strategy & Advisory

• Stay current on payment industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes, including tracking and evaluating emerging trends in the payments ecosystem (embedded finance, open banking, digital wallets, BNPL, etc.)
• Translate complex payment concepts — particularly Stripe Connect account structures and fund flows — into clear business value for non-technical stakeholders

Technical Design & Requirements

• Contribute to technical architecture discussions and design reviews
• Architect and scope payment integrations including marketplace-style platforms and payment facilitators, payment migrations, and multi-party fund flows, with particular depth in Stripe Connect (Custom, Express, and Standard account types; destination charges; application fees; separate charges and transfers)
• Participate in technical input sessions and exploratory calls with enterprise clients to assess payment processing needs and technical readiness
• Design comprehensive payment solutions leveraging Stripe Connect and Square capabilities, with working knowledge of Adyen and other providers as needed
• Develop technical specifications and integration approaches for complex use cases involving payments and fund routing, especially Stripe Connect-based marketplace and platform models
• Draft and refine product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for payment integrations
• Develop wireframes and visual mockups to communicate payment flows and user experiences

PSP Specific Advisory and Implementation Support

• Provide hands-on guidance and act as a SME for Stripe Connect (Custom, Express, and Standard accounts; destination charges and application fees; Connect Onboarding and embedded components; Treasury and Issuing where applicable), with working proficiency in Square APIs and Adyen integrations
• Evaluate and recommend platform strategies around risk management, monetization, reporting, and onboarding — with particular focus on Stripe Connect's account and capability model
• Navigate PSP dashboards and administrative tools (Stripe Dashboard, Square Dashboard, Adyen Customer Area) to troubleshoot and optimize configurations
• Document integration patterns, best practices, and technical specifications
• Translate provider features into clear business value propositions for client stakeholders

Stakeholder & Team Collaboration

• Partner with commercial leads to shape client proposals and scoping
• Collaborate with distributed engineering teams to ensure successful implementation of payment solutions
• Work closely with client engineering teams to translate requirements into implementation plans
• Explain technical implementation details to non-technical stakeholders in plain language
• Facilitate workshops and knowledge transfer sessions with client stakeholders
• Partner closely with commercial leads, engineers, and program managers to align solution design with business goals
• Facilitate client workshops to uncover requirements and educate clients on payment provider capabilities
• Serve as a trusted advisor who can balance business outcomes, technical feasibility, and user experience

Nice-to-Haves

• Create detailed product requirements documents for payment integrations
• Perform vibe coding/prototyping to validate technical approaches
• Collaborate with engineers on wireframes, solution design, and minimal technical architecture reviews
• Support and occasionally guide hands-on API/SDK integrations at a conceptual level

Required Qualifications

Technical Skills

• Evaluate client payment needs and recommend optimal PSP solutions using best-in-class, API-driven providers (Stripe, Square, Adyen, others)
• 7–10+ years in payments, fintech, or software consulting, with a focus on payment service providers
• Hands-on experience with major payment platforms, particularly deep, hands-on expertise with Stripe Connect (Custom/Express/Standard accounts, destination charges, application fees, multi-party fund flows), plus working experience with Square and Adyen
• Deep understanding of payment ecosystem including acquirer relationships, payment facilitation, and card network operations
• Proficiency with PSP APIs, webhooks, and integration patterns, with particular fluency in the Stripe Connect API surface (Accounts, Transfers, Payouts, Application Fees)
• Understanding of technical architecture concepts (APIs, microservices, data flows)
• Familiarity with payment compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, PSD2, etc.)
• Strong grasp of regulatory considerations including PCI compliance, KYC/KYB requirements, and handling tokenized payments
• Experience leading complex technical implementations with enterprise clients in regulated industries
• Ability to translate complex payment concepts for both technical and business stakeholders

Professional Skills

• Proven ability to create clear product requirements and technical documentation
• Strong communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts to varied audiences
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical capabilities
• Comfortable with lightweight technical validation (e.g., reviewing API documentation, testing flows)

Preferred Experience

• Exposure to marketplace, multi-party payment models, or embedded finance, particularly Stripe Connect-based marketplace and platform architectures
• Understanding of fraud prevention and risk management in payments
• Experience with payment platform migrations and merchant account transitions
• Understanding of global payment methods, currency handling, and cross-border transaction complexities
• Background in SaaS, marketplace, or multi-sided platform business models
• Familiarity with modern development practices and API-first integration approaches

Benefits

As a full-time employee you will be eligible to participate in health care plans, fringe benefits, and/or retirement programs provided by Monstarlab.