Lead Software Engineer

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

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Uses AI ●●○○: an ordinary role that requires AI tools.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Copilot, AI Coding Tools and software architecture.
Level classifies it as a lead role.
Level lists 1,100+ other open roles at Mastercard.
The role was posted within the past two weeks.

AI in this role

Lead Software Engineer driving architecture, cloud-native modernization, and the adoption of AI-powered development practices.

copilotai-coding-tools

software-architecturecloud-nativemicroservicestechnical-leadershipai-assisted-engineering

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

As part of a fast-paced team delivering innovative payment, digital commerce, and platform solutions, this role provides technical leadership across architecture, software engineering, AI-enabled development, and cloud-native modernization initiatives. The successful candidate will lead large-scale engineering programs, design scalable and secure solutions, drive adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices, and collaborate with business and technology stakeholders to deliver high-quality products.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead complex software engineering initiatives with significant business impact.
• Define and execute technology strategy, architecture roadmaps, and modernization programs.
• Design, develop, and deliver scalable, high-performance, cloud-native applications and APIs.
• Drive decomposition of monolithic platforms into reusable microservices and domain-driven architectures.
• Partner with Product Managers, TPMs, Architects, and Engineering teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, AI capabilities, and third-party platforms to improve business outcomes and engineering efficiency.
• Develop Proofs of Concept (POCs) and validate new architectural approaches.
• Champion engineering excellence through code reviews, design reviews, automated testing, and continuous improvement.
• Drive adoption of AI-powered development tools and practices to improve developer productivity, code quality, testing efficiency, documentation, and operational excellence.
• Mentor engineers, foster technical growth, and promote a culture of innovation and continuous learning.
• Communicate architecture decisions, risks, trade-offs, and technical strategies effectively to leadership and stakeholders.
• Ensure adherence to security, compliance, quality, reliability, and software development standards.

ABOUT YOU

Education:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience & Qualifications:
• Extensive experience designing, developing, and leading enterprise-scale software platforms.
• Strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, Microservices, PostgreSQL, and distributed systems.
• Experience building secure, resilient, high-availability applications in cloud environments.
• Proven ability to architect and deliver mission-critical systems at scale.
• Experience integrating external APIs, payment platforms, SaaS products, and third-party services.
• Strong understanding of software architecture patterns, domain-driven design, event-driven architectures, and API-first development.
• Hands-on experience with Agile, DevSecOps, CI/CD, infrastructure automation, and cloud-native engineering practices.
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, AI coding assistants, intelligent code generation, automated testing, and developer productivity platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to learn, evaluate, and adopt emerging technologies, frameworks, and AI innovations.
• Strong leadership, communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.

KNOWLEDGE & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead architecture and design decisions across multiple products, platforms, and engineering teams.
• Develop and maintain reference architectures, engineering standards, and best practices.
• Design and implement scalable APIs, microservices, integrations, and event-driven systems.
• Drive engineering quality through automated testing, code reviews, observability, reliability engineering, and operational excellence.
• Build secure solutions aligned with Security by Design principles, OWASP standards, PCI-DSS, and enterprise security requirements.
• Optimize application performance, scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency.
• Lead root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and resolution of complex production issues.
• Establish development standards, automation frameworks, and quality metrics.
• Influence technical direction, backlog prioritization, and management of technical debt.
• Partner with engineering leadership to improve delivery velocity, reliability, and customer experience.
• Coach and mentor engineers through design sessions, technical reviews, and knowledge-sharing activities.
• Support talent acquisition, technical interviews, and team development.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled software engineering practices across the SDLC, including requirements analysis, coding, testing, documentation, observability, and operational support.
• Use data, metrics, and AI-driven insights to improve engineering effectiveness, developer experience, and platform reliability.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to solve complex technical challenges.
• Expertise in software architecture, design patterns, distributed systems, and cloud-native application design.
• Ability to balance business priorities, technical strategy, and long-term platform sustainability.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills for working with global, cross-functional teams.
• Hands-on engineering leader capable of contributing to architecture, design, coding, code reviews, and technical decision-making.
• Experience driving innovation, modernization, automation, and engineering productivity initiatives.
• Ability to lead multiple concurrent programs in a matrixed, geographically distributed environment.

KEY TECHNOLOGY AREAS

Core Engineering
• Java (Java 17+ preferred)
• Spring Boot
• RESTful APIs
• Microservices Architecture
• Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
• Event-Driven Architecture
• Distributed Systems

Data & Persistence
• PostgreSQL
• NoSQL Databases
• Data Modeling
• Performance Optimization

Cloud & Platform Engineering
• AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Containers and Kubernetes
• Infrastructure as Code
• CI/CD Automation
• DevSecOps
• Observability and Monitoring

AI & Developer Productivity
• GitHub Copilot and AI Coding Assistants
• AI-Augmented Software Development
• Intelligent Code Review and Testing
• AI-Powered SDLC Automation
• Developer Experience (DevEx) Platforms
• Generative AI and Agentic AI Integration Patterns
• AI-Driven Engineering Productivity Metrics

Engineering Practices
• Secure Software Development
• OWASP and PCI-DSS
• Agile and Scrum
• Test Automation
• Reliability Engineering
• Performance Engineering
• Architecture Governance

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.

How we rate this

Lead Software Engineer at Mastercard rates 45 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Uses AI (AI Level 2 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Uses AI. An ordinary role that requires AI tools.

●●●● 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 2 of 4: Uses AI.
The role is based in Pune, India.
The job was posted on October 14, 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 ArchitectureCloud NativeMicroservicesTechnical LeadershipAI Assisted EngineeringCopilotAI Coding Tools

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python React TypeScript C++JavaScript SQL

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 cloud native was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where microservices was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where technical leadership was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where ai assisted engineering was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Software Architecture, Cloud Native, Microservices, Technical Leadership, and AI Assisted Engineering. 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.
Put the AI tool in a bullet point about what you did, not just in a skills list. This role treats it as a required part of the job.

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