Chief Information Security Officer
Hands-On CISO / Head of Security
Fintech / Payments
London Hybrid / UK Remote
We are partnering with a fast-growing fintech group operating across payments, wealth and technology businesses to hire a highly technical, hands-on security leader.
This is not a traditional boardroom CISO role.
The business is looking for a pragmatic security expert who can operate close to engineering and infrastructure teams, help secure modern cloud environments, and build scalable security standards across multiple regulated businesses.
You will work across a group of digital-first companies, including an FCA-regulated EMI, helping to unify security practices, strengthen infrastructure security, and support international expansion.
This role would suit someone from a fintech, payments, SaaS or cloud-native technology environment who enjoys solving technical security challenges directly rather than operating purely at strategy or governance level.
You will take ownership of security standards and practices across multiple companies within the group, helping to create a unified security approach across their fintech, payments and technology operations. The position sits very close to engineering and infrastructure teams, with a strong focus on practical implementation rather than purely high-level strategy.
A large part of the role will involve securing modern cloud infrastructure across GCP and AWS environments, supporting developers and technical teams, improving infrastructure and application security, and implementing scalable security controls across the organisation. You will also help strengthen network security, firewall policies, VPN configuration, access controls and overall cyber resilience.
The role will involve working closely with third-party providers, supporting secure software development practices, helping protect environments from cyber threats, and ensuring security standards align with EMI and regulated fintech requirements as the business continues expanding internationally.
The environment is heavily cloud-focused, with a strong emphasis on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), AWS, modern software engineering practices and cloud-native infrastructure. The business operates within a regulated fintech and payments environment, combining technical product development with EMI-regulated operations.
You will work alongside senior engineers, architects and technical support teams across multiple international entities, helping establish scalable security standards that can support continued growth across the UK, Europe and new international markets.
- Has strong hands-on cybersecurity and infrastructure security experience
- Has experience securing cloud environments across GCP and/or AWS
- Comes from a fintech, payments, EMI, SaaS or regulated technology background
- Understands modern cloud security and practical cyber defence
- Can work closely with developers, DevOps and infrastructure teams
- Is comfortable implementing solutions directly rather than operating purely strategically
Has strong knowledge of:
- Network security
- Firewalls
- VPNs
- IAM/access control
- Infrastructure hardening
- Vulnerability management
- Secure architecture
- Understands cyber threats and practical mitigation strategies
- Can balance security requirements with agility in fast-moving environments
- Is comfortable operating across multiple business entities and technical environments
Nice to Have
- EMI or payments experience
- FCA regulated environment exposure
- PCI-DSS / PSD2 familiarity
- DevSecOps exposure
- International/multi-entity security environments
Why Join?
- Opportunity to shape security across multiple growing businesses
- High-impact technical role with significant ownership
- Work directly with leadership and engineering teams
- Modern cloud-first environment
- Opportunity to grow into a broader security leadership function over time