What is a Fintech Engineer and Why it Matters - the TrueNorth Difference | Insight (2024)

According to a recent Deloitte Tech Trends 2021 report, “business strategy and technology strategy are becoming increasingly intertwined…[and] effective execution is critical.” For financial services companies who want to gain a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving industry, a “tech-enabled business strategy, optimized for agility” means having a highly skilled team of software engineers ready to execute – fintech engineers, that is.

So, what exactly is a fintech engineer?

Well, a fintech engineer is a specialized software developer. Just as you wouldn’t go to a family GP if you needed brain surgery, you shouldn’t entrust just any old software developer with your fintech software needs. In this analogy, the fintech engineer is your neurosurgeon.

A fintech engineer fully understands the complexities of today’s financial services industry. They have a strong grasp of data privacy, compliance and financial standards, and they’re experienced in executing successful digital transformations for financial institutions and fintechs. They are ultimately responsible for ensuring seamless user experiences through various financial use-cases including digital banking, peer-to-peer lending, digital currencies and more.

• Experience: We only hire senior fintech engineers - professionals who are college-educated, have spent six plus years in the industry, and have passed all of our required tests and challenges during the hiring process. Ideal hires are also those who have a solid understanding of U.S. compliance and financial standards, and different types of fintech architectures that work best with various use-cases. When you ask yourself questions like, “can blockchain help my business” only an experienced fintech engineer can answer those types of questions, which is why TrueNorth engineers are first and foremost experienced fintech engineers.
• Problem-solving skills: This is a quality we look for when hiring engineers - the ability to brainstorm problems, think outside the box, and understand multiple use-cases and perspectives for client projects.
• Performance tests: Proprietary in-house assessments are given to each new hire to determine best placement within our company. These assessments include problem-solving, recovery skills, and more. Our tests also cover basic and advanced financial and fintech-related topics, with the overall goal to not just hire experts but to then acclimate them as an effective member of our organization.
• Team structure: We place the right mix of fintech engineers in teams which allows for continuous learning and collaboration. This is designed so that our more seasoned senior engineers take on the responsibility of training and coaching the newer hires. "We’ve developed a system and know how to convert engineers into experienced fintech engineers," says Agustin Sanchez, TrueNorth Co-Founder and CTO.

• Focus on innovation: Our engineers are not only knowledgeable in the basics of APIs but they also understand how they are integrated. For example, engineers who work with platforms like Mambu are expected to know how to integrate APIs into the software of their client billing systems. The same goes for platforms like Plaid and many others. This is why banks, lenders, fintechs, investment firms and innovators come to TrueNorth - to build solutions that are unique, stand out from the competition, and are protected by IP. “If you are a fintech company and you want to be an innovator you're not going to use a white-label solution product - where's the innovation in that? You're going to look like the guy next door,” comments Sanchez. “Innovators come to TrueNorth because they want to build solutions that are special and different from the rest.” And this doesn’t necessarily mean starting from zero code and building from scratch, but rather it means making effective use of building blocks that already exist and applying those to your unique situation. In other words, it’s about working smart to save you time and money.
• Proper systems integration: This doesn’t just pertain to knowing one component, like how the Plaid platform works, for example. This is an understanding of how to integrate a product like Plaid with a Banking Core or a BaaS (Banking as a Service). As expert engineers, the knowledge of how these systems properly go together as well as understanding best practices when it comes to the user experience (UX) is key to achieving seamless integrations.
• Ready knowledge of industry terms and procedures: Because TrueNorth has been providing fintech solutions since 2008, our team of fintech engineers has experienced and solved some of the most complex use-cases over the years. This experience allows us to confidently consult and provide the best solutions to clients, saving them both time and money. “A fintech engineer has to be first a financial engineer that knows what finance means, then add to that what makes fintech “fintech” which is the user experience, the friction in the product and so on,” adds Htite.
• Credible consultation and advisory services: With the experience that comes with each project, there’s a greater awareness of client needs and potential solutions. For this reason, our more experienced senior engineers offer credible consultation services to help our clients determine how to realize their vision. “We can tell you based on the other 18 platforms we've built what works and what doesn't,” Htite states.

In conclusion

It’s simply not good enough to hire a run-of-the-mill developer and expect them to be able to fully grasp and navigate the ins and outs of today’s financial services industry. More and more financial institutions are starting to see that to cope with the ever-evolving demands of compliance, cybersecurity, systems integrations and more, what they need is fintech expertise… a neurosurgeon, if you will, not a family GP.

TrueNorth provides proven architectural frameworks to accelerate the build of customized solutions. We offer critical expertise specific to your sector - the fintech knowledge and engineering experience that you need to truly transform your digital offering. This is why clients choose TrueNorth.

Find out more about our services, skills and solutions right here.

According to a recent Deloitte Tech Trends 2021 report, “business strategy and technology strategy are becoming increasingly intertwined…[and] effective execution is critical.” For financial services companies who want to gain a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving industry, a “tech-enabled business strategy, optimized for agility” means having a highly skilled team of software engineers ready to execute – fintech engineers, that is.

So, what exactly is a fintech engineer?

Well, a fintech engineer is a specialized software developer. Just as you wouldn’t go to a family GP if you needed brain surgery, you shouldn’t entrust just any old software developer with your fintech software needs. In this analogy, the fintech engineer is your neurosurgeon.

A fintech engineer fully understands the complexities of today’s financial services industry. They have a strong grasp of data privacy, compliance and financial standards, and they’re experienced in executing successful digital transformations for financial institutions and fintechs. They are ultimately responsible for ensuring seamless user experiences through various financial use-cases including digital banking, peer-to-peer lending, digital currencies and more.

• Experience: We only hire senior fintech engineers - professionals who are college-educated, have spent six plus years in the industry, and have passed all of our required tests and challenges during the hiring process. Ideal hires are also those who have a solid understanding of U.S. compliance and financial standards, and different types of fintech architectures that work best with various use-cases. When you ask yourself questions like, “can blockchain help my business” only an experienced fintech engineer can answer those types of questions, which is why TrueNorth engineers are first and foremost experienced fintech engineers.
• Problem-solving skills: This is a quality we look for when hiring engineers - the ability to brainstorm problems, think outside the box, and understand multiple use-cases and perspectives for client projects.
• Performance tests: Proprietary in-house assessments are given to each new hire to determine best placement within our company. These assessments include problem-solving, recovery skills, and more. Our tests also cover basic and advanced financial and fintech-related topics, with the overall goal to not just hire experts but to then acclimate them as an effective member of our organization.
• Team structure: We place the right mix of fintech engineers in teams which allows for continuous learning and collaboration. This is designed so that our more seasoned senior engineers take on the responsibility of training and coaching the newer hires. "We’ve developed a system and know how to convert engineers into experienced fintech engineers," says Agustin Sanchez, TrueNorth Co-Founder and CTO.

• Focus on innovation: Our engineers are not only knowledgeable in the basics of APIs but they also understand how they are integrated. For example, engineers who work with platforms like Mambu are expected to know how to integrate APIs into the software of their client billing systems. The same goes for platforms like Plaid and many others. This is why banks, lenders, fintechs, investment firms and innovators come to TrueNorth - to build solutions that are unique, stand out from the competition, and are protected by IP. “If you are a fintech company and you want to be an innovator you're not going to use a white-label solution product - where's the innovation in that? You're going to look like the guy next door,” comments Sanchez. “Innovators come to TrueNorth because they want to build solutions that are special and different from the rest.” And this doesn’t necessarily mean starting from zero code and building from scratch, but rather it means making effective use of building blocks that already exist and applying those to your unique situation. In other words, it’s about working smart to save you time and money.
• Proper systems integration: This doesn’t just pertain to knowing one component, like how the Plaid platform works, for example. This is an understanding of how to integrate a product like Plaid with a Banking Core or a BaaS (Banking as a Service). As expert engineers, the knowledge of how these systems properly go together as well as understanding best practices when it comes to the user experience (UX) is key to achieving seamless integrations.
• Ready knowledge of industry terms and procedures: Because TrueNorth has been providing fintech solutions since 2008, our team of fintech engineers has experienced and solved some of the most complex use-cases over the years. This experience allows us to confidently consult and provide the best solutions to clients, saving them both time and money. “A fintech engineer has to be first a financial engineer that knows what finance means, then add to that what makes fintech “fintech” which is the user experience, the friction in the product and so on,” adds Htite.
• Credible consultation and advisory services: With the experience that comes with each project, there’s a greater awareness of client needs and potential solutions. For this reason, our more experienced senior engineers offer credible consultation services to help our clients determine how to realize their vision. “We can tell you based on the other 18 platforms we've built what works and what doesn't,” Htite states.

In conclusion

It’s simply not good enough to hire a run-of-the-mill developer and expect them to be able to fully grasp and navigate the ins and outs of today’s financial services industry. More and more financial institutions are starting to see that to cope with the ever-evolving demands of compliance, cybersecurity, systems integrations and more, what they need is fintech expertise… a neurosurgeon, if you will, not a family GP.

TrueNorth provides proven architectural frameworks to accelerate the build of customized solutions. We offer critical expertise specific to your sector - the fintech knowledge and engineering experience that you need to truly transform your digital offering. This is why clients choose TrueNorth.

Find out more about our services, skills and solutions right here.