If you’ve ever transferred money through a mobile app or deposited a check using your smartphone, you’ve interacted with financial technology.
INTRO: Fintech, short for financial technology, encompasses a wide range of tools, platforms, and digital systems that are reshaping modern business and fueling job creation.
It’s an ecosystem of services and solutions that is transforming business and creating jobs.
- Engineers who specialize in fintech are becoming increasingly sought after as the financial sector continues to evolve.
- While the role may involve specialized training, it offers strong salaries, creative problem-solving, and career paths that span both tech and finance.
- This article is part of “Trends to Bet Your Career On” a series highlighting emerging professional opportunities.
Fintech, an umbrella term for everything from payment rails to digital lending and crypto ecosystems, is reshaping how companies operate and opening the door to rapidly expanding career paths.
Driving this transformation are fintech engineers, the experts who build, refine, and maintain the software behind today’s financial tools. Although the work often requires advanced skills, it offers a unique blend of technical challenges and opportunities across multiple industries.
And the demand is enormous. The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2025” listed fintech engineers as the second fastest-growing occupation expected over the next five years.
Jimmie Lenz, executive director of the Master of Engineering in Fintech program at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, has spent nearly three decades in financial services and has watched the need for fintech expertise skyrocket.
“Innovation has driven every major shift in finance over the last 30 years,” Lenz told Business Telegraph. He explained that each new wave of technology pushes the industry forward, ensuring fintech engineers stay both relevant and indispensable.
Stella Zhang, engineering manager for applied AI and growth at Plaid, a company enabling bank-to-app connectivity, says she values how her work helps simplify people’s financial decisions and make money management more intuitive.
“This field rewards people who can zoom out to grasp the big picture while zooming in to refine the details,” Zhang said. “If that type of multi-layered thinking appeals to you, fintech will feel like home.”
Working on finance’s leading edge
Lenz said that when Duke introduced its fintech engineering master’s program in 2020, demand was immediate, and strong. “The first year, we probably had eight to ten applicants for each available seat,” he said.
Fintech engineers typically develop skills in programming languages, blockchain systems, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Aspiring engineers can pursue training through multiple pathways, including shorter boot camps or highly specialized degree programs.
While students come from diverse majors, Lenz sees strong interest from those who studied math, computer science, economics, or finance. He believes what draws people to the field is the opportunity to be part of something fast-moving and transformative.
“Students view their training as a chance to be on the leading edge,” Lenz said.
He added that strong fintech engineers can merge technical ability with financial understanding, which is why his program emphasizes both.
Zhang’s path to Plaid was “unconventional,” blending finance and tech along the way. She studied quantitative finance at Princeton, researched AI and computer science at Stanford, and held roles at Goldman Sachs, Citadel, and the software company Ironclad. Plaid appealed to her because it unified all parts of her background.
“At Plaid, I can use my understanding of financial systems to build AI that supports developers and millions of end-users,” she said. “Working on applied AI in fintech; where precision, security, and reliability matter deeply, gives me the level of challenge and responsibility I look forward to every day.”
Lenz noted that alumni from Duke’s program have joined major tech companies, established banks, start-ups, investment firms, and brokerage operations. Glassdoor estimates fintech engineers earn between $109,000 and $170,000, though Lenz said he’s seen compensation reach $200,000 for some graduates.
What are FinTech employers looking for?
FinTech roles are increasingly emphasizing a broader range of soft skills. Deloitte’s latest analysis suggests companies are prioritizing adaptability, strategic thinking, and a forward-leaning mindset—especially as traditional finance positions shift and the role of intermediaries continues to shrink. With financial institutions facing ongoing regulatory complexity, staying innovative and responsive is essential, making collaboration and cross-functional teamwork crucial qualities for FinTech professionals.
Adaptability is particularly important as employees face growing expectations to continually upgrade their skills. Below are five key technical abilities that align with this need for ongoing upskilling.
1. Software development
Software engineering remains at the heart of FinTech progress, and demand for skilled developers continues to dominate the industry. Full-stack development is now preferred over isolated frontend or backend specialties, reflecting the sector’s need for flexible contributors capable of handling entire product lifecycles. Employers are seeking developers who merge strong coding ability with design sensibilities and an understanding of system architecture, allowing them to influence both the build and strategic direction of digital products.
2. Blockchain technology
With cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance rapidly transforming financial ecosystems, blockchain expertise is becoming indispensable. As secure and transparent digital transactions edge closer to becoming standard, demand for blockchain specialists has risen by 30%. Professionals with command of distributed systems, cryptographic principles, and blockchain-relevant programming languages are increasingly attractive to employers looking to grow and scale decentralized solutions.
3. Data science & AI
FinTech organisations rely heavily on talent capable of converting massive datasets into meaningful guidance. Skills in machine learning, large-scale data analytics, and Artificial Intelligence are especially valuable. McKinsey reports that data-centric financial companies are 23 times more likely to secure new customers, highlighting the strategic advantage held by data scientists and AI professionals in this field.
4. Cybersecurity
The FinTech sector faces heightened exposure to sophisticated digital threats, making cybersecurity expertise a top priority. Accenture notes a recent 23% increase in cybersecurity spending, reflecting the urgent need to safeguard financial platforms and sensitive user information. Employers now seek specialists with deep knowledge of regulatory compliance, incident response, encryption tools, and security operations, ensuring systems remain resilient against evolving attacks.
5. DevOps & automation
As the pace of innovation accelerates, efficiency and scalability have become mission-critical in FinTech. This has driven strong demand for professionals proficient in CI/CD workflows, containerization technologies, and modern infrastructure management. DevOps teams play a key role in enabling rapid development, reducing operational risk, automating repetitive tasks, and supporting the large-scale data processing required in digital finance environments.
6. Cloud solutions
FinTech careers focusing on cloud technology revolve around constructing secure, scalable, and cost-efficient architectures through platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and DigitalOcean. These roles involve compliance management, advanced analytics, AI deployment, and hybrid-cloud integration. Cloud specialists help startups and established institutions alike innovate quickly, manage sensitive data responsibly, and deliver smooth, high-performance digital services to users across the globe.
7. Virtual assets
Professionals working with virtual assets oversee digital payment ecosystems, maintain regulatory adherence, and mitigate risks involving fraud and money laundering. These careers intersect with blockchain systems and support the broader evolution of digital finance. Specialists help ensure secure electronic transactions while assisting institutions in integrating high-volatility virtual assets into mainstream financial operations—always with an emphasis on consumer protection, transparency, and responsible innovation.
What is the most important ingredient in a fintech career?
Justin Pincar, Managing Director of Achievable, drawing from his experience delivering career enhancing courses, said ongoing advances in artificial intelligence ensure that fintech remains dynamic and constantly evolving.
Fintech job prospects “mirror the technological shifts happening now,” he said. The rapid expansion of billion-dollar companies in the space “signals extremely strong career potential.”
Justin said that hiring managers today increasingly value something beyond technical expertise: genuine curiosity.
“You need the technical foundation, but the ability to learn quickly, and the curiosity to pursue new knowledge, is the kind of adaptability employers want most,” he said.
He encouraged engineers to join companies that “let you experiment and fail safely.” Breakthroughs rarely emerge from rigid plans, he said. Many great ideas start as casual “what if” conversations.
“Above all, remember that fintech engineering is about people, not just systems,” Stella Zhang said. “Yes, you need to understand distributed systems and API design, but you also need empathy for the small-business owner juggling payroll or the recent grad struggling with loan payments.”
“The strongest solutions come from engineers who always remember there’s a human behind every product interaction,” she added.
SUMMARY: Fintech engineering is rapidly emerging as one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative career paths, fueled by the global shift toward digital finance. From mobile payments to AI-powered financial tools, fintech touches nearly every part of modern life, and engineers who build this technology are in exceptionally high demand. While technical expertise is essential, thought leaders emphasize that the most important trait in fintech is curiosity—the drive to keep learning as the industry evolves at a rapid pace. Above all, today’s top engineers succeed by staying innovative, collaborative, and empathetic, remembering that every piece of technology ultimately serves human financial needs.
