Payments Solution Engineer

Base Salary: $105k

Who we are:

Illumia is an industry leader in bringing the best integrated technology solutions to education, healthcare, and business campuses worldwide. Illumia was built on the collective expertise of two legacy cultures, and brings together people, technology, and insight to pioneer the art of the experience across the communities we serve. Be a part of this exciting organization and improving the lives of people doing mission-critical work.

Why join our team?

We strive to provide the best customer experience in the industry and have succeeded with a single, strong motivating principle: We serve our user community.

Our success and growth are directly attributed to our people. Our newly named company is dedicated to fostering a culture of integrity, respect, and continuous personal development. We maintain an entrepreneurial spirit, where creativity, innovative problem-solving, and learning agility drive our day-to-day actions.

What you will be doing:

The Solution Engineer – Integrated Payments is an experienced technical and strategic resource who contributes independently across presales engagements. This role goes beyond standard solution delivery to proactively identify client needs, craft customized solutions, and act as a trusted advisor to both clients and internal teams. The Solution Engineer earns credibility with clients through deep domain knowledge, advanced product expertise, and polished demonstrations, while also supporting the growth of junior team members.

Job Summary / Purpose

The Solutions Engineer – Integrated Payments leads end-to-end presales engagements, acting as a trusted technical and strategic advisor for clients in higher education, corporate and other institutional markets. This role independently manages complex discovery sessions; crafts tailored solution proposals and builds credibility with client stakeholders through deep Integrated Payments domain expertise and polished product demonstrations.

Working closely with sales, product, and implementation teams, the SE bridges technical capabilities and business outcomes — translating complex software functionality into compelling value propositions that resonate with both operational staff and executive decision-makers.

Who you will work with:

The Solutions Engineer collaborates closely with the Sales team on pre-sales strategy and client proposals, the Product team to relay competitive insights and client feedback, and the Implementation and Support teams to ensure seamless clients onboarding.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Lead end-to-end presales engagements including discovery sessions, solution workshops, and tailored product demonstrations, independently managing client expectations throughout.

Proactively identify underlying business and operational challenges during client consultations and translate them into customized Integrated Payments software solutions.

Craft compelling value propositions that connect technical capabilities to client-specific outcomes, adapting messaging for both technical users and business decision-makers.

Anticipate and address client objections proactively during sales engagements, guiding clients toward optimal solution configurations.

Collaborate with sales, product, and implementation teams to develop complex, customized proposals that align with client goals and operational context.

Actively research competitive landscapes and client trends, integrating insights into solution recommendations and providing feedback to product teams on features that enhance competitive differentiation.

Collaborate with other Solution Engineers, sharing best practices and supporting team development.

Complete technical documents including scope creation, health checks, and RFP responses, independently managing scope and quality.

Travel - Estimated travel to be 20-40% with Client sales visits and conferences being the majority.

What You’ll Bring:

Required Qualifications

3+ years of experience managing, implementing, and/or supporting Integrated Payment software/hardware with demonstrated progression in client-facing or presales roles.

Understanding of enterprise system deployment environments and integrations to include authentication services, restful APIs, event messaging and network topography.

Advanced knowledge of Integrated Payments System software applications with strong ability to configure, troubleshoot, and tailor solutions to complex customer requirements.

Proven ability to lead discovery sessions, uncover underlying business challenges, and design customized solution recommendations.

Strong communication and presentation skills, with demonstrated ability to translate technical detail into compelling client narratives for diverse audiences.

Ability to manage cross-functional collaboration independently, driving alignment across sales, product, and technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications

3+ years of experience using Illumia Integrated Payments software and hardware.

Certification with other 3 rd party Integrated Payments products such as TouchNet, Flywire, Nelnet, or other similar solutions.

Previous experience working in the Higher Education market in a technical aspect.

Comprehension of software architecture with a deep understanding of enterprise software applications such as ODBC databases, Microsoft Azure, Mobile platforms, and SaaS products.

A strong understanding of the technical infrastructure, deployment methodologies and cloud, SaaS, enterprise architecture for academic financial platforms, including student financials and general ledger.

Track record of developing technical content or sales collateral that supports solution positioning.

Essential Functions of the job:

The duties and responsibilities described in this job description are intended to represent the essential functions of the position as defined under applicable federal, state, and local labor laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These functions are the fundamental job duties required for successful performance.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions unless such accommodations impose an undue hardship on the organization.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities. Duties may be added, removed, or modified at any time in accordance with business needs and applicable law.

What is good to know:

This is a fully remote position. Occasional travel may be required for client site visits, conferences, or team meetings. Candidates must be comfortable presenting to diverse audiences including technical users, operational managers, and executive stakeholders via video conferencing platforms and in-person settings.

Competencies and Behaviors

Proactive Problem-Solving: Anticipates client challenges before they arise and brings creative, technically sound solutions tailored to each organization’s needs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Builds strong working relationships across sales, product, and implementation teams, acting as a trusted bridge between technical and business stakeholders.

Our leaders are Humble, Hungry, and Smart:

Humble: The right leaders for Illumia don't need to own the spotlight — they share credit, define success collectively, and are quick to elevate the contributions of others. This is a company that still writes its story. The leaders who thrive here find energy in building something together, not in being recognized as the smartest person in the room.

Hungry: We are not looking for caretakers. We are looking for leaders who are restless about what's possible, self-motivated to close the gap between where we are today and where we need to be, and who are already thinking about the next opportunity before anyone asks.

Smart: At Illumia, our leader