Chief Information Officer (PCF-49)

Legend Financial Ireland Limited | Legend Trading Group

Location: Dublin, Ireland (Remote within Ireland)Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer, with direct access to the Board and its committeesRegulatory status: Central Bank of Ireland Pre-Approval Controlled Function PCF-49 (Chief Information Officer) – appointment subject to CBI Fitness & Probity approval

• Applications will only be considered from candidates currently residing in Ireland.
• This position allows you to work remotely from anywhere within Ireland, with regular attendance in Dublin as required.About Legend TradingLegend Trading is a global, regulated digital asset and payments group, trusted by more than 1,000 institutional clients and with over US$10 billion in cumulative transaction volume. We provide institutional OTC trading, fiat on/off-ramp infrastructure, multi-currency accounts and cross-border payment and settlement services to banks, payment institutions, fintechs, exchanges and wallets.Our European hub, Legend Financial Ireland Limited, is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCA and passports its services across the 29 EEA countries. We have applied to the Central Bank of Ireland for an E-Money Institution (EMI) licence to extend our regulated offering into traditional payments: cross-border and domestic payments across Europe, multi-currency accounts and virtual IBANs, and settlement over SEPA, SEPA Instant and SWIFT. Legend Ireland will focus on Stablecoin-based crossborder payments and Agentic Payments in the next phase.Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, United States, Legend Trading has teams in Dublin, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and beyond. We are builders who believe that fast, secure and compliant payments – in fiat and in stablecoins – will benefit everyone.About the RoleAs Legend Trading expands from digital assets into regulated payments in Europe, we are looking for an experienced Chief Information Officer to be the most senior individual responsible for information technology at Legend Financial Ireland Limited. You will own the technology strategy, payment systems, information security and operational resilience of our European business, and hold the PCF-49 (Chief Information Officer) role with the Central Bank of Ireland.Information security is a core part of this role, not a side responsibility. You will personally lead our information security programme, protecting client funds, payment flows, digital assets and data, and you will be accountable to the Board and the Central Bank of Ireland for our security posture. We are therefore looking for a technology leader with deep, hands-on information security expertise.The ideal candidate brings senior technology leadership experience from payment institutions, e-money institutions, banks or payment processors, with a strong grounding in information security. Familiarity with digital assets is valuable but not essential – we will support you in getting up to speed on the crypto side of the business.Key ResponsibilitiesInformation Security (Core Accountability)
• Define and lead the information security strategy, policy framework and security roadmap for the European business, proportionate to the threats facing a payments and digital asset firm.
• Own the information security programme: identity and access management, cryptographic key management and HSMs, secure software development, security monitoring (in-house or managed SOC), vulnerability management and penetration testing.
• Lead cyber incident response end to end, from detection and containment to recovery, forensics and lessons learned, and run regular incident simulations and tabletop exercises.
• Track the threat landscape for payments and crypto (e.g. account takeover, API abuse, social engineering, wallet and key compromise) and turn threat intelligence into concrete controls.
• Protect customer and payment data in line with GDPR, working closely with the Data Protection Officer.
• Maintain oversight of digital asset security, including MPC custody, wallet infrastructure and Travel Rule data flows.
• Build a strong security culture, including security awareness training for all staff and security-by-design in product and engineering.Technology Strategy & IT Governance
• Define and deliver the technology strategy for the European business, aligned with our expansion into payments and our EMI authorisation.
• Own the IT governance framework, IT policies and technology budget for Legend Financial Ireland Limited.
• Oversee Group-provided and intra-group IT services under clear service agreements, so that the Irish entity keeps effective control, oversight and accountability.
• Lead the IT, information security and business-continuity parts of the EMI licence application, and respond to CBI queries on technology matters.Payments Technology & Architecture
• Oversee the architecture, reliability and scalability of our payment systems: payment APIs, virtual IBAN and account services, ledgers and reconciliation, and connectivity to partner banks and payment schemes (SEPA, SEPA Instant, SWIFT).
• Deliver regulatory technology changes, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), Verification of Payee under the Instant Payments Regulation, and changes under PSD3 / the Payment Services Regulation as they come into effect.
• Make sure systems support safeguarding, reconciliation and regulatory reporting, working with the Head of Safeguarding, Finance and Compliance.
• Work with Compliance and AML on fraud prevention and transaction monitoring technology, including controls against authorised push payment (APP) fraud, account takeover and money mules.ICT Risk & Operational Resilience (DORA)
• Implement and run the DORA ICT risk management framework in the first line, working with the Chief Risk Officer and the independent ICT risk control function.
• Own ICT incident management, including classifying major ICT-related incidents and reporting them to the Central Bank of Ireland within DORA timelines.
• Lead business continuity and disaster recovery for critical payment services, including impact tolerances and resilience testing, in line with the CBI Cross-Industry Guidance on Operational Resilience.Leadership, Reporting & Regulatory Engagement
• Report regularly to the CEO, Board and Board committees on technology, security, ICT risk, incidents and key risk indicators.
• Act as the primary contact with the Central Bank of Ireland on IT, cybersecurity and ICT risk matters, and represent the company in inspections, audits and reviews.
• Build and lead the local IT and security team, work closely with Group engineering and product teams.What You BringRequired
• 10+ years in technology leadership, including at least 5 years in a senior IT or information security role at a payment institution, e-money institution, bank, card scheme or payment processor.
• Hands-on experience with payment systems: SEPA / SEPA Instant, SWIFT, card payments, payment APIs and account services.
• At least 5 years leading IT or information security, for example as CISO, Head of Information Security or in an equivalent senior security role, with hands-on experience in security architecture, security operations and incident response.
• Track record of building or maturing an information security programme against recognised frameworks (e.g. ISO 27001, NIST CSF) and of passing external security audits or regulatory inspections.
• Working knowledge of DORA, PSD2 (including the RTS on SCA and secure communication), the Instant Payments Regulation, PCI DSS and GDPR, with awareness of PSD3 / PSR.
• Experience working with the Central Bank of Ireland or another EU/EEA financial regulator. Ideally you have held a PCF or equivalent senior regulated role; in any case you must be able to meet CBI Fitness & Probity standards for PCF-49.
• Proven track record of overseeing outsourced or group-provided IT and managing critical technology vendors in a regulated environment.
• Experience managing major incidents, business continuity and regulatory incident reporting.
• A recognised security certification such as CISSP or CISM (or equivalent demonstrable expertise).Preferred
• Experience supporting a PI or EMI authorisation, or a significant expansion of permissions.
• Experience with cloud platforms and API-based architectures in financial services.
• Familiarity with stablecoins, digital assets, MiCA, MPC custody or blockchain security.
• Additional certifications such as CISA, CRISC, TOGAF or ITIL.
• Experience in a start-up or scale-up fintech operating across multiple countries and time zones.Skills & Abilities
• Sound judgement and the ability to make quick, well-informed decisions under pressure.
• Able to translate technical matters into clear business and regulatory language for the Board and regulators.
• Hands-on and pragmatic: comfortable both setting strategy and doing the work in a lean team.
• Strong leadership and collaboration across functions, time zones and Group entities.Why Legend Trading?
• Shape the technology and security foundation of a regulated payments and digital asset business as it expands across Europe.
• A senior leadership role and real impact.
• Work at the intersection of traditional payments and stablecoin-based cross-border payments.
• Fully remote within Ireland, with an international, entrepreneurial team.
• Competitive salary and benefits, with opportunities for career growth.