Director of Core Banking

Our client a well-established financial institution is seeking a technology leader to drive strategy and execution for their Core Banking Platform the foundational system powering deposits and loan accounts across the enterprise. This role is critical to the stability evolution and modernization of the organizations core banking infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings a passion for continuous improvement across people processes and technology and thrives in a fast-paced environment that demands the ability to balance day-to-day business delivery bank acquisition integration and long-term technology modernization.

About This Role:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a technology roadmap for the Core Banking Platform that balances operational stability with modernization priorities
• Partner with division and business leaders to identify opportunities to enhance core banking capabilities and streamline processes
• Establish governance frameworks that enable innovation while maintaining the reliability and compliance standards expected of mission-critical banking infrastructure
• Anticipate evolving business needs and think strategically about how the Core Banking Platform must scale and adapt to support the organizations growth including expansion into new markets increased transaction volumes and the integration demands of a larger more complex institution

Technology Management

• Oversee the architecture development and maintenance of the Core Banking Platform supporting deposits and loan account processing
• Lead modernization initiatives to evolve legacy mainframe capabilities toward distributed and cloud-based architectures without disrupting critical operations
• Direct the evaluation and integration of third-party solutions and acquired bank systems into the core banking ecosystem
• Ensure seamless integration between core banking infrastructure and surrounding enterprise systems including digital channels data platforms and downstream applications
• Champion process improvement initiatives that increase team efficiency reduce technical debt and improve system reliability

Team Leadership

• Manage a diverse team of technology professionals including mainframe engineers architects and analysts as well as a third-party offshore team of COBOL developers
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement curiosity and technical excellence encouraging the team to grow beyond traditional mainframe skill sets
• Develop talent through mentorship cross-training in modern technologies and clear career growth pathways
• Build strong collaborative relationships between the core banking team and business stakeholders product owners and other technology teams

Risk Management & Compliance

• Ensure all core banking systems meet applicable federal banking regulations
• Implement and maintain robust data security measures to protect sensitive financial and customer account information
• Oversee disaster recovery and business continuity planning for the Core Banking Platform as a mission-critical system
• Collaborate with compliance risk management and audit teams on technology risk assessments and remediation efforts

The Ideal Candidate for This Role:

Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science Information Systems or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred
• 10 years of progressive technology experience in financial services with at least 7 years in technology leadership roles
• Demonstrated success managing complex high-availability systems in regulated environments

Technical Knowledge

• Deep understanding of core banking platforms with direct experience with a leading core banking platform strongly preferred
• Hands-on background with COBOL development and mainframe operations with the ability to credibly lead and grow a team of mainframe engineers
• Experience with distributed systems API integration and cloud-based infrastructure and a clear vision for how these technologies complement and modernize core banking environments
• Familiarity with bank acquisition integration processes and the technical complexity of migrating or onboarding acquired institutions onto a core platform
• Understanding of data architecture batch processing and real-time transaction processing in a core banking context

Leadership & Business Skills

• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate complex mainframe and modernization concepts for business and executive audiences
• Proven ability to balance competing priorities including production stability acquisition timelines and modernization initiatives without sacrificing quality or team morale
• Strong vendor management skills and experience negotiating technology contracts and managing third-party integrations
• Demonstrated success leading teams through organizational and technology change with a people-first approach to transformation
• Operates with a high degree of organization and structure holding themselves and their team accountable to commitments timelines and outcomes across a demanding and dynamic workload

Preferred Experience

• Direct experience with core banking platform administration configuration or development
• Track record of leading mainframe-to-modern migration or coexistence strategies
• Experience supporting or leading technology workstreams in bank acquisition and core conversion projects
• Background in building hybrid teams that bridge mainframe expertise with modern engineering practices
• Knowledge of DevOps CI/CD and agile delivery practices applied in a core banking context

Required Experience:

Director