Director, Technology Development & Innovation

About CCBank

CCBank is an entrepreneurial and innovative community bank that is building a next-generation financial services platform. We are deploying credit card issuing infrastructure, standing up a Merchant Acquiring and Sponsorship business unit, delivering real-time payment capabilities via FedNow and RTP, developing a cloud-based data strategy in Snowflake, identifying and building practical AI-powered tools and capabilities to advance our AI strategy, and pursuing fintech partnerships that require robust, scalable API connectivity. We are seeking a senior technology leader who can help us build and execute across all these dimensions - and who thrives at the intersection of innovation, architecture, and delivery.

Position Summary

The Director of Technology Development & Innovation is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing all technology development, API integration, and innovation initiatives at CCBank. This individual serves as the Bank's primary internal technical development authority - directing both in-house and external development resources (including finding and contracting with on or offshore teams and solution architects), owning the Bank's API and integration strategy, managing the Snowflake data lake program, and leading the identification and implementation of technology solutions that advance the Bank's strategic objectives.

This is both a hands-on and a leadership role. The Director will be expected to actively participate in architecture decisions, vendor evaluations, and technical problem-solving while simultaneously building a development capability that reduces the Bank's reliance on existing costly external consulting relationships over time. The role requires equal parts technical depth, leadership effectiveness, and business acumen - the ability to understand what needs to be built, direct others in building it, and communicate clearly about progress, risk, and outcomes to executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Development Leadership

• Serve as the Bank's senior technical development authority, providing architectural guidance and technical oversight across all active development initiatives.
• Recommend, direct and manage a mix of potential internal, onshore, and offshore development resources, establishing clear standards for code quality, documentation, testing, and delivery.
• Evaluate and manage relationships with external solution architects and development vendors, optimizing the use of external resources for specialized or surge work while building internal capability for core and ongoing development needs.
• Lead the planning, prioritization, and execution of the Bank's technology development roadmap in close partnership with the CIO, COO, CFO and other business unit leaders.
• Establish and enforce development governance standards, change management processes, and release management practices appropriate for a regulated financial institution.

API Development & Systems Integration

• Own the Bank's API development strategy and execution, designing and delivering integrations that connect the Bank's core systems, cloud platforms, and third-party partners.
• Lead or direct the development of credit card application workflows within the Bank's Azure environment, integrating with credit bureaus, KYC/KYB providers, digital banking UI/UX platforms, and card issuing infrastructure (Synctera and related partners).
• Build and maintain API connectivity between the Bank's Azure environment and FIS Money Movement Hubs to support FedNow and RTP instant payment capabilities, including outbound disbursement APIs for strategic program partners.
• Develop and manage API infrastructure to support the Bank's Merchant Acquiring and Sponsorship program, including potential integrations for ISO/ISV onboarding, settlement processing, and transaction monitoring.
• Ensure all integrations are built to security, compliance, and performance standards appropriate for a federally regulated financial institution operating in a cloud environment.

Cloud Architecture - Azure

• Serve as the primary technical owner of the Bank's Azure cloud environment, overseeing architecture, security, access management, and cost optimization.
• Ensure the Azure environment is configured and maintained in alignment with banking regulatory expectations, information security standards, and the Bank's IT governance framework.
• Collaborate with the Information Security Officer and IT leadership to ensure cloud architecture decisions support the Bank's overall security and risk posture.
• Evaluate and implement Azure-native services, DevOps tooling, and infrastructure-as-code practices that improve the reliability, scalability, and efficiency of the Bank's technology platform.

Data Lake & Analytics Strategy - Snowflake

• Own the Bank's data lake strategy and architecture in Snowflake, directing the ongoing build-out, governance, and maintenance of the platform.
• Develop a roadmap for expanding the data lake to support the Bank's growing portfolio of products and programs, ensuring data from credit card, acquiring, payments, HSA, and other platforms is ingested, organized, and accessible for reporting, compliance, and business intelligence purposes.
• Partner with business unit leaders, finance, compliance, and operations to identify reporting and analytics use cases and build the data infrastructure needed to support them.

Data Governance - Technical Infrastructure

• Serve as the Bank's technical owner of data governance infrastructure, implementing and maintaining the systems, controls, and tooling that make enterprise data governance policies enforceable across the Bank's platforms.
• Establish and maintain data access management frameworks within Snowflake and connected platforms, ensuring role-based access controls align with data classification policies and regulatory requirements.
• Design and maintain data lineage documentation across all ingestion pipelines, ensuring the Bank can demonstrate data provenance for regulatory examination purposes - including BSA/AML transaction data, fair lending analytics, and CRA reporting inputs.
• Partner with the designated business-side Data Governance Sponsor and department data stewards (Finance, Compliance, Operations) to translate agreed data definitions, quality standards, and retention policies into technical controls.
• Implement data quality monitoring and alerting within the data lake environment, escalating data quality failures to the appropriate business data steward for resolution at the source.
• Ensure the Bank's data infrastructure is capable of supporting AI and automated reporting initiatives with auditable, well-documented data lineage.

Innovation & Strategic Technology Planning

• Serve as a proactive thought leader on emerging technology trends relevant to banking and financial services, bringing forward ideas and recommendations that support the Bank's competitive positioning and strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with business unit leaders to identify technology problems and opportunities, translate business requirements into technical solutions, and develop implementation plans that are realistic, well-resourced, and risk-aware.
• Lead proof-of-concept evaluations and vendor assessments for new technology solutions, providing clear recommendations to leadership based on technical merit, cost, integration complexity, and regulatory fit.
• Represent the technology function in executive discussions, Board presentations, and cross-functional planning sessions, communicating complex technical topics clearly and concisely.

Regulatory Compliance & Exam Readiness

• Serve as the primary technology leader supporting IT examination readiness, coordinating with the CIO and Information Security Officer to ensure the Bank's development practices, cloud architecture, and integration infrastructure meet FFIEC expectations.
• Maintain documentation of the Bank's API architecture, integration inventory, cloud environment, and data infrastructure sufficient to support regulatory examinations, internal audits, and third-party risk reviews.
• Ensure all technology development practices - including offshore and vendor-managed work - comply with the Bank's information security policies, change management standards, and applicable regulatory guidance.
• Support model risk management requirements for any technology components that involve credit decisioning, scoring, or automated underwriting logic, in partnership with Compliance and Risk leadership.

Team Leadership & Vendor Management, and Third-Party Risk

• Build and develop the Bank's internal technology development capability over time, including recruiting, onboarding, and developing technical staff as the team grows.
• Lead and manage offshore development teams and external solution architects, ensuring quality, accountability, and alignment with the Bank's standards and priorities.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and delivery focus within the technology function and across the teams this role works with.
• Manage technology vendor relationships in alignment with the Bank's Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) program, conducting or supporting appropriate due diligence, ongoing performance monitoring, and contract oversight for all development vendors and technology partners - in accordance with applicable FDIC and Federal Reserve guidance on third-party relationships.
• Maintain documented exit and contingency plans for critical external development relationships, ensuring the Bank is not operationally dependent on any single vendor without adequate transition planning.
• Ensure offshore and nearshore development relationships are governed through the Bank's TPRM framework, including appropriate contractual protections, security requirements, and oversight mechanisms.

Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

• Own the technology disaster recovery planning and testing for all systems and platforms within this role's scope, including the Azure cloud environment, Snowflake data lake, and all critical API integrations.
• Ensure BCP/DR plans for technology infrastructure are documented, tested at least annually, and aligned with the Bank's overall Business Continuity Program and regulatory expectations.
• Coordinate with the CIO and Information Security Officer to ensure recovery time and recovery point objectives for critical technology systems are defined, documented, and achievable.
• Ensure that third-party development vendors and cloud platforms have contractually documented and periodically tested recovery capabilities appropriate for a federally regulated financial institution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in software development, systems integration, or technology architecture, with at least 3-5 years in a senior leadership or director-level role.
• Demonstrated experience leading both onshore and offshore development teams, with the ability to direct distributed teams effectively across time zones and communication styles.
• Deep expertise in API development, RESTful services, and systems integration - particularly in cloud environments. Experience with Azure is strongly preferred.
• Experience with data lake architecture and platforms, preferably Snowflake, including data ingestion, governance, and analytics enablement.
• Proven track record of delivering complex, multi-party technology integrations involving third-party APIs, financial services platforms, or fintech partners.
• Experience in banking, financial services, or fintech strongly preferred. Familiarity with payment systems (FedNow, RTP, ACH), card issuing infrastructure, or acquiring/payments technology is a significant differentiator.
• Familiarity with FFIEC IT examination expectations, including IT governance, change management, vendor risk, and business continuity domains.
• Working knowledge of third-party risk management requirements applicable to federally insured depository institutions, including the ability to conduct vendor due diligence and maintain ongoing monitoring documentation.
• Experience supporting internal or regulatory audits of technology environments, including documentation of architecture, data flows, and access controls.
• Strong understanding of cloud security architecture and the information security standards applicable to a federally insured depository institution, including GLBA Safeguards Rule requirements, encryption standards, and incident response obligations. Ability to operate within a defined RACI between the technology development function, the Information Security Officer, and the CIO.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical subject matter clearly to non-technical executive and Board-level audiences.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field required. Advanced degree a plus. Relevant professional certifications (AWS/Azure architecture, PMP, etc.) are valued.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to serve as the Bank's senior technology development leader during an exciting and consequential period of growth and transformation.
• Direct influence over the Bank's technology architecture, platform strategy, and development culture.
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial environment where good ideas are heard and innovation is actively encouraged.
• Competitive compensation, performance incentives, and comprehensive benefits.
• The chance to build something meaningful - a modern financial services technology platform at a community bank that is genuinely committed to doing it right.