Lead Software Engineer

Mastercard is hiring a Lead Software Engineer. Level rates it ; you can apply on Mastercard.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Claude, Copilot and Claude Code.
Level classifies it as a lead role.
Level lists 1,100+ other open roles at Mastercard.

AI in this role

Mastercard is looking for a Lead Software Engineer to direct the software design and architecture of their next-generation Treasury Services settlement platform.

claudecopilotclaude-codebackstageci-cd

software-architecturebackend-developmentdistributed-systemsapi-designcode-qualitytesting-strategy

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Lead Software Engineer

Overview

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry, focused on powering an inclusive, digital economy that makes transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, our innovations enable individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses worldwide to realize their greatest potential.

About the Role

The Mastercard Treasury Services Program owns the settlement platform for all Mastercard’s transactions. The primary purpose of this role will be to lead a team of software engineers to deliver the next generation of this settlement platform.

Role

Software Design & Architecture

• Lead end-to-end software design and architecture, translating business and system requirements into scalable, reliable, and maintainable solutions
• Define high- and low-level design artifacts, including APIs, data models, system interactions, and component boundaries
• Establish and enforce architecture standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices across teams
• Apply deep knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and distributed system design to solve complex performance and scalability challenges

Software Development Excellence

• Own delivery of robust, secure, and high-performance software across backend platforms
• Drive engineering excellence in coding standards, modular design, and maintainability
• Build and enhance internal developer platforms using Backstage or similar frameworks, leveraging plugin-based architectures
• Develop data-driven user interfaces that surface observability and operational insights

Testing Strategy & Quality Engineering

• Define and implement comprehensive testing strategies, including:
• Unit testing
• Integration testing
• Functional/end-to-end testing
• Embed automated testing within CI/CD pipelines to enforce quality gates and prevent regressions
• Ensure systems meet correctness, reliability, and backward compatibility requirements at scale

Performance Engineering

• Lead performance engineering initiatives, including system benchmarking, load testing, and capacity planning
• Analyze system bottlenecks and optimize latency, throughput, and resource utilization across distributed architectures
• Ensure applications meet strict performance SLAs in high-volume, mission-critical environments

Secure Coding & Compliance

• Enforce secure coding practices and integrate security into every phase of the SDLC
• Design systems that meet enterprise security, regulatory, and compliance requirements
• Partner with security teams to proactively identify and remediate vulnerabilities

Troubleshooting & Incident Management

• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex production issues across distributed systems and user-facing platforms
• Lead root cause analysis, incident resolution, and postmortem activities
• Drive systemic improvements to prevent recurring issues and improve system reliability

Code Review & Technical Leadership

• Lead rigorous code reviews, ensuring adherence to best practices in design, performance, security, and maintainability
• Mentor engineers and elevate team capability in software design, testing, debugging, and operational excellence
• Provide hands-on guidance in solving high-complexity technical problems across system layers

Collaboration & Ownership

• Partner with product, platform, and business stakeholders to shape technical roadmaps and delivery priorities
• Own and deliver cross-functional initiatives spanning frontend, backend, and platform engineering
• Contribute to the Software Engineering Guild by sharing reusable frameworks, patterns, and innovations

All About You

We are looking for someone who:

• Demonstrates deep expertise across software development, system design, and architecture
• Brings a strong foundation in data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems
• Leads with a quality-first mindset, emphasizing testing, security, and performance
• Excels at troubleshooting complex systems and driving resolution under pressure
• Proactively improves operability, reliability, and developer experience
• Influences technical direction and mentors' engineers across teams

Technologies

• Java, microservices, RESTful APIs
• Frameworks: Spring (Spring Boot, Spring Data, Spring Batch, Spring REST, Spring Cloud, AOP), Hibernate
• API design and tooling best practices
• Cloud and DevOps: Kubernetes, Docker, Pivotal Cloud Foundry
• Databases: Oracle, PostgreSQL, Redis
• Tools: IntelliJ/Eclipse, Sonar, Git, Maven, Jenkins, CI/CD, Gatling, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code

Qualifications

• Proven ability to coach teams on full-stack development and end-to-end service ownership
• Strong communicator with the ability to clearly articulate complex architecture decisions to technical and business stakeholders
• Skilled in driving trade-off discussions across competing priorities (security, regulatory, technical debt, etc.,)
• Experience leading advanced operational and failure testing practices such as chaos engineering
• Experience with Agile and modern SDLC practices: Scrum, Kanban, CI/CD, DevOps, and Quality Engineering
• Ability to operate under pressure while managing complex initiatives and competing priorities
• Adaptability in fast-changing environments with evolving technologies
• Strong hands-on experience designing solutions and full-stack development in modern technologies for large-scale enterprise systems
• Advanced experience building microservices in JAVA with the Spring Boot framework
• Working knowledge of application security principles: encryption/ decryption, PKI, Hashing, JWT, OAuth, OIDC, zero trust
• Proven experience working with Oracle/SQL Databases
• Extensive experience in software development and system design, data structures, algorithms, and a demonstrated ownership to maintain and troubleshoot complex large-scale distributed systems
• Experience in technical design activities to ensure alignment with Non-Functional Requirements, Solution Architecture and System Functional Design specifications
• Strong hands-on experience with:
• Unit, Integration, and Functional Testing frameworks and strategies
• Performance Engineering and system optimization
• Secure coding practices and application security principles
• Code reviews and engineering quality standards
• Operability engineering (observability, monitoring, reliability)
• Hands-on experience with AWS (Azure a plus), Kubernetes, and cloud-native technologies
• Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
• Experience with observability platforms (e.g., Splunk or equivalent)
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field preferred
• Knowledge and experience working within the security/ access domain is preferred

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations. THIS POSTING RELECTS ONE OR MORE CURRENT VACANCIES ON OUR TEAM, AND MASTERCARD INTENDS TO FILL THIS POSITION BY 12/27/2026.

Pay Ranges

O'Fallon, Missouri: $140,000 - $231,000 USD

How we rate this

Lead Software Engineer at Mastercard rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Lead Software Engineer is an open job at Mastercard.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The role is based in O'Fallon, Missouri.
The job was posted on September 28, 2026.
Seniority: lead.
Applications are handled by Mastercard. Apply on Mastercard

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Software ArchitectureBackend DevelopmentDistributed SystemsAPI DesignCode QualityTesting StrategyClaudeCopilot

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python C++TypeScript React JavaScript C#

Pay

Typical software engineer job: $168k

This posting doesn't list pay. Use the typical software engineer figure when pay comes up. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where software architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where backend development was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where api design was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where code quality was part of your work. What did you do?

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List these exact terms on your resume: Software Architecture, Backend Development, Distributed Systems, API Design, and Code Quality. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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