About us
Cleverbridge is the smarter way to sell globally. As a premium Merchant of Record (MoR), we simplify global software sales by combining powerful platform capabilities — including payments, subscriptions, taxes, and compliance — with expert services that fuel growth across the entire customer lifecycle. From onboarding and implementation to ongoing optimization and strategic guidance, our team works as an extension of our clients', helping them remove friction, reduce risk, and expand into new markets with confidence.
About the role
We are hiring a Cloud Software Architect as a key driver within the modernization of our Checkout systems and to support broader platform evolution at Cleverbridge. This role is a hands-on, high-impact position focused on enabling cost-efficient, scalable, and resilient architecture—starting with one of our most business-critical domains.
Cleverbridge operates a global, 24/7 business, transacting roughly €900M annually across 15 million orders, maintaining a platform availability of 99.99% over recent years. We support payments in 59 currencies across 240+ countries and territories. With significant traffic variability across regions and time zones, this role requires designing systems that can scale reliably under high load, while balancing compliance, cost, and performance requirements.
You will partner closely with product and engineering teams to modernize legacy systems, implement cloud-native best practices, and build a foundation for performance, elasticity, and operational excellence in AWS. You will also collaborate with our Cloud Platform team, who provide and operate the cloud infrastructure foundation—so you can focus on software architecture in the cloud. Over time, your architectural leadership will extend beyond Checkout to other core platform areas.
Your responsibilities
As a Cloud Software Architect, you will:
- Architect pragmatic modernization paths: Identify and prioritize areas where cloud-nativeapproaches (e.g., serverless, event-driven systems, Kubernetes) bring measurable business value,while integrating effectively with existing legacy systems.
- Balance innovation with cost and compliance: Ensure that architecture choices support scalability, performance, and resilience without unnecessary re-platforming or overspending.
- Demonstrate selective cloud-native excellence: Lead the design and delivery of key high-traffic or high-visibility components that showcase modern best practices (e.g., elasticity, fault tolerance, FinOps), proving Cleverbridgeʼs ability to operate at global scale.
- Enable engineering teams: Partner with product and engineering leadership to guide teams in adopting best practices (e.g., API design, caching, observability, event-driven systems), ensuring these are embedded into delivery without slowing velocity.
- Collaborate with the Cloud Platform team: Leverage their infrastructure capabilities while focusing this role on software architecture design, ensuring effective use of shared platform services.
- Safeguard compliance and reliability: Ensure designs meet PCI-DSS, GDPR, and availability requirements while maintaining Cleverbridgeʼs 99.99% uptime track record.
- Promote cost-conscious architecture: Establish and advocate for FinOps-aligned design principles, ensuring scaling and modernization initiatives stay within target cost ratios.
- Support global scale: Architect systems that can reliably support Cleverbridgeʼs €900M in annual transactions and 15M orders across 240+ markets and 59 currencies.
Your background
You have strong experience working in environments where reliability, performance, and cost control matter. Specifically:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional preferred) or equivalent hands-on expertise in designing and operating large-scale systems on AWS.
- Deep, hands-on experience with AWS and ideally exposure to other cloud providers.
- Proven ability to architect systems for global scale, high-traffic, always-on platforms.
- Experience working with or modernizing legacy systems—you understand how to balance pragmatism with forward-looking improvements.
- Strong technical background in C# and/or Node.js—you can dive into real code and guide teams effectively.
- Experience designing and evolving API architectures, including REST, GraphQL, gateway patterns, and versioning strategies.
- Understanding of event-driven architectures (e.g., using SNS, SQS, or EventBridge) and how to apply them effectively.
- Familiarity with Kubernetes and container orchestration patterns.
- Solid knowledge of caching strategies, both at the application and infrastructure level (e.g., CDN, TTL management, in-memory caches).
- Awareness of compliance and regulatory requirements (e.g., PCI-DSS, GDPR, data retention policies) and ability to balance compliance with pragmatic engineering and cost-efficiency.
- Appreciation for global localization needs: our payment platform handles 59 currencies across 240+ markets.
Why this role matters?
This is a key architectural role within Cleverbridge's technology transformation. Youʼll start in the Checkout domain, a global, high-traffic, revenue-critical part of the platform, and help us evolve from tightly coupled legacy infrastructure to modern, loosely coupled, cloud-native systems.
Youʼll also influence architectural standards, cost-efficiency practices, compliance alignment, and scaling strategies across the broader platform—helping prepare Cleverbridge for growth.

Our benefits
Flexible work options
Work hybrid or fully remote with flexible hours (varies by role and team)
Inspiring office environments
Collaborate in modern offices in the heart of Cologne and Chicago
Health & well-being
Get gym reimbursement, join wellness challenges, and access other health benefits
Learning & development
Grow your skills with structured programs and a personal L&D budget
Employee support programs
Access 401(k), pension plans, volunteer time off, mentoring, and more
Referral program
Earn cash bonuses when your referrals join the Cleverbridge team
Cleverbridge is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability status, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other protected class.
At Cleverbridge, we believe in our people and their abilities to drive impact. That's why we offer a competitive salary, flexible working environment, and opportunities for growth and advancement. If you're ready to take the next step in your career, we want you on our team! Apply now and let's build something amazing together.
Still have questions?
Get in touch with us! Whether it’s a role-specific question or a question about life at Cleverbridge, we would love to chat with you and will do our best to respond as quickly as possible.
Not the right fit?
We're always on the lookout for unique and talented individuals. Explore other opportunities to join the Cleverbridge team.