Staff Software Engineer leads the design and implementation of scalable software solutions, provides technical mentorship, oversees platform integration and maintenance, conducts design reviews, collaborates with cross-functional teams, and optimizes development processes to ensure high-quality, reliable, and efficient software systems.
Responsibilities- Lead the design and modernization of a high-availability, low-latency payment authorization platform
- Drive architectural decisions across services, APIs, and event-driven systems, ensuring scalability, resilience, and security
- Build and promote reusable frameworks, libraries, and platform components to accelerate engineering velocity and consistency
- Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and coaching to engineers, fostering a culture of excellence, continuous learning, and high engineering standards
- Conduct design reviews and code inspections to ensure architectural integrity, code quality, and adherence to best practices
- Stay hands-on: troubleshoot complex production issues, optimize performance, and contribute to critical code paths
- Partner with product, risk, and infrastructure teams to define requirements and deliver robust payment solutions (e.g., ISO 8583, real-time authorization flows)
- Champion modern engineering practices including microservices, cloud-native design, CI/CD, and observability
- Ensure system reliability through fault tolerance, performance optimization, and graceful degradation strategies
- Oversee platform health, including code quality, testing, source control, and CI/CD processes
- Align technology initiatives with business objectives through strong cross-functional collaboration
- Identify and implement opportunities to leverage Generative AI to enhance system capabilities and developer productivity
QualificationsBasic Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience (advanced degree preferred)
- 8+ years of software engineering experience with strong expertise in Java (JDK 11+) and backend systems
- Proven experience designing and operating high-scale, low-latency distributed systems
- Strong understanding of data systems (relational and NoSQL) and core computer science fundamentals (algorithms, system design)
- Experience building enterprise-grade APIs (REST/gRPC) and event-driven architectures (e.g., Kafka)
- Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Experience with modern software development practices (SDLC, CI/CD, testing, code quality, observability)
- Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and influence engineers and drive technical excellence
- Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate complex, ambiguous systems
Domain Expertise- Deep understanding of payment processing systems (authorization flows, card networks, ISO 8583, transaction lifecycles)
- Experience building scalable, fault-tolerant systems at enterprise scale
- Experience developing platforms or reusable frameworks adopted across teams
Preferred Qualifications- Experience modernizing legacy/monolithic systems into cloud-native architectures
- Familiarity with risk, fraud, or authorization decisioning systems
- Experience with Generative AI (LLMs, embeddings, prompt workflows, or developer tooling)
- Knowledge of observability and SRE practices (metrics, logging, tracing)
- Experience with zero-downtime deployments (blue-green, canary)
- Understanding of security and compliance standards (e.g., PCI-DSS)
Depending on factors such as business unit requirements, the nature of the position, cost and applicable laws, American Express may provide visa sponsorship for certain position.
About the TeamWe back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:
- Competitive base salaries
- Bonus incentives
- 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
- Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
- Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
- Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
- 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
- Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
- Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
- Career development and training opportunities
For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.
The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we'll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.
