Western Union

Principal Software Architect / Engineer

Western Union$153K — $256K *
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, or related field plus 7 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 5 years.
  • Experience in FinTech focusing on real-time money remittance, payment technologies, and compliance.
  • 5 years of experience in computer science fundamentals, data structures, algorithms, and OOP.
  • 5 years of experience with modern programming languages, particularly Java and C++.
  • 2 years of experience designing cloud-based architectures (AWS, Azure, Google).

Responsibilities

  • Define and uphold architectural standards and best practices.
  • Design scalable and secure high-performance systems that meet business goals.
  • Evaluate and choose long-term technology frameworks and tools.
  • Collaborate with executives to ensure alignment of architecture with business strategy.
  • Lead the architectural design of complex systems focusing on modularity and maintainability.
  • Drive the technical roadmap for future product development for external customers.
  • Mentor senior engineers and influence technical decision-making across teams.

Benefits

  • Multiple health insurance options including short-term incentives.
  • Accident and life insurance coverage.
  • Access to best-in-class learning and development platforms.
  • Hybrid work model allowing flexible arrangements between home and office.
  • Employee referral bonus of $1,000 for internal applicants.
Full Job Description
Principal Software Architect / Engineer- Atlanta, Georgia

Define architectural standards and best practices across teams and projects. Design scalable, secure, and high-performance systems that align with business goals. Evaluate and select technologies (including frameworks, platforms, tools) for long-term viability. Collaborate with executives and stakeholders to align architecture with business strategy. Drive technical roadmaps and ensure architectural decisions support future growth and innovation. Drive roadmap for future products for external customers. Lead the design of complex systems, ensuring modularity, maintainability, and integration. Review and approve architecture diagrams, data flows, and system interfaces. Ensure compliance with security, privacy, and regulatory requirements. Work closely with engineering, product, DevOps, and security teams. Mentor senior engineers and guide technical decision-making across teams. Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Occasionally write proof-of-concept code or contribute to critical components. Participate in code reviews and architectural assessments. Identify and mitigate technical risks early in the project lifecycle. Ensure architecture governance through documentation, reviews, and audits. Travel required up to 5% of the time to collaborate in person with stakeholders at domestic and international Western Union locations including Austin TX USA and Pune and Hyderabad India. Telecommuting may be permitted up to 2 days per week. When not telecommuting, must report to Western Union, LLC at Corporate Center V, 5 Concourse Parkway, Suite 2300, Atlanta, GA 30328.

Role Requirements

Bachelor's degree or U.S. equivalent in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, or a related field, plus 7 years of professional experience as a Software Engineer, Software Architect, or any occupation/position/job title performing software design and development in real time money remittance, payment tech, FinTech systems with a focus on global financial regulatory Compliance and fraud risk prevention.

In lieu of a Bachelor's degree plus 7 years of experience, the employer will accept a Master's degree or U.S. equivalent in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering or related field, plus 5 years of experience as a Software Engineer, Software Architect, or any occupation/position/job title performing software design and development in real time money remittance, payment tech, FinTech systems with a focus on global financial regulatory Compliance and fraud risk prevention.

Must also have experience in the following: 5 years of professional experience utilizing computer science fundamentals, data structures, algorithms, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), and Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/D); 5 years of professional experience utilizing Modern Programming Languages (including Java and C++) and design patterns; 5 years of professional experience working with engineering and business partners to define and build out complex solutions driving value through business process simplification, automation and new product capabilities and innovations; 5 years of professional experience assessing business needs while providing creative and effective solutions in conformance to emerging technology standards, while satisfying the need of processing a decision through thousands of controls in sub 500 ms for complex decisions at multiple points in a transaction and customer journey; 3 years of professional experience building microservices based architecture and platforms developed and deployed at scale; 2 years of professional experience utilizing Springboot, J2EE, XML, Drools, and business rules management systems, and related technologies; 2 years of professional experience utilizing Agile Development Methodologies with Test Drive Development (TDD) and CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery); and 2 years of professional experience designing and implementing cloud-based architectures (including AWS, Azure, Google, and Hybrid).

Salary

The on-target earnings range is $153,728 to $256,213 USD. The base salary range represents the anticipated low and high end of the Western Union salary range for this position. Actual salaries will vary and will be based on various factors, such as candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and proficiency for the role. The base salary is one component of Western Union's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards and benefits include short term incentives, health insurance (several options to choose from), accident and life insurance, access to the best in class learning and development platforms, to name just a few! To view more details of our benefits, visit us here: https://mywubenefits.com/. In addition to the annual salary, this role is also eligible to receive an annual bonus.

Benefits

You will also have access to short-term incentives, multiple health insurance options, accident and life insurance, and access to best-in-class development platforms, to name a few (https://careers.westernunion.com/global-benefits/). Please see the below benefits specific to your location and note that your recruiter may share additional role-specific benefits during your interview process or in an offer of employment.

Western Union values in-person collaboration, learning, and ideation whenever possible. We believe this creates value through common ways of working and supports the execution of enterprise objectives which will ultimately help us achieve our strategic goals. By connecting face-to-face, we are better able to learn from our peers, problem-solve together, and innovate.

Our Hybrid Work Model categorizes each role into one of three categories. Western Union has determined the category of this role to be Hybrid. This is defined as a flexible working arrangement that enables employees to divide their time between working from home and working from an office location. The expectation is to work from the office a minimum of three days a week.

Referral Bonus - $1,000 (Subject to Employee Referral Policy). Eligible to internal employees only.

Estimated Job Posting End Date:
09-08-2026
This application window is a good-faith estimate of the time that this posting will remain open. This posting will be promptly updated if the deadline is extended or the role is filled.

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