Principal Software Engineer

Mastercard is hiring a Principal 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.
The posting mentions Databricks among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a lead role.
Mastercard has 1,100+ other open roles on Level.
Posted in the last few days.

AI in this role

databricks

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

Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer
Overview
Who is Mastercard?
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships, and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments, and businesses realize their greatest potential.

Our Decency Quotient (DQ) drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

Department Overview
At Mastercard Labs / Foundry, we empower innovation by exploring emerging technologies and building cutting-edge solutions that shape the future of commerce. Develop highly scalable world class solutions from inception to execution, accelerate technology evaluation and adoption.

Role Summary
As a Principal Software Engineer, you will:
• Collaborate with stakeholders across Product, Technical, Business Operations, and other Mastercard teams to understand product requirements and lead the design and architecture of scalable solutions.
• Design software architecture in alignment with Mastercard standards and present solutions to the Solution Architecture Board for approval.
• Develop and support application software in adherence to Mastercard’s standards, processes, and best practices.
• Deliver high-quality, secure, and scalable software solutions aligned with the product roadmap, within time and budget constraints.
• Research and evaluate technical solution alternatives to meet business needs.
• Create and maintain system and testing documentation per departmental standards.
• Ensure compliance with audit requirements and Mastercard’s QA/QC processes.
• Modernize and simplify existing architectures to enhance scalability, performance, and operational efficiency.
• Champion engineering excellence through hands-on contributions and collaborative leadership.
• Support the collection and reporting of project and software metrics.
• Mentor and coach team members to foster engineering leadership.

All About You
Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Extensive software development experience with a strong track record of delivering enterprise-grade solutions.
• Desired strong knowledge of card ecosystem including, Loyalty, Clearing, Fraud, Disputes, Issuer, Acquirer & Merchant domains.
• Deep understanding of software engineering concepts, methodologies, and Agile/SAFe Agile practices.
• Proven expertise in software architecture, design, and application development.
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to quickly learn and apply new technologies and frameworks.
• High energy, detail-oriented, proactive, and capable of working under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Strong collaboration and organizational skills with a high degree of initiative and self-motivation.
• Ability to work effectively in a matrixed, geographically distributed team environment.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Experience building high-performing, secure applications with a strong grasp of architecture, performance, and security principles.
• Proficiency in Java-based systems and services, cloud technologies (Azure/AWS), AI/ML, Gen AI and microservices architecture.
• Expertise in Spring, RESTful services, API design principles, and best practices.
• Familiarity with data modeling, database design, data warehousing, Oracle, Redis, and reporting technologies.
• Strong knowledge of Mastercard privacy by design
• Knowledge of enterprise-level application frameworks and tools.
Big Data & Analytics Expertise:
• Experience designing and architecting high-volume data systems using technologies such as Hadoop, Snowflake, Databricks, and other modern data platforms.
• Strong understanding of data pipelines, ETL/ELT processes, and distributed data processing frameworks (e.g., Spark, Hive).
• Ability to build scalable, fault-tolerant data architectures that support real-time and batch analytics.
• Familiarity with data governance, data quality, and security best practices in large-scale data environments.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in the Core payments, Loyalty, Fraud domains.
• Passion for building innovative solutions that positively impact global payments.
• Data-savvy mindset with an understanding of how data enhances convenience and security in payments.
• Clear mission focus aligned with business objectives and team success.
• Strong stakeholder management and expectation-setting skills.
• Confident communicator with the ability to articulate technology vision and roadmaps to diverse audiences.
• Problem-solver with a results-driven mindset.

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 01/26/2027. If the fill date has passed, Mastercard intends to fill this position as soon as possible.

Pay Ranges

O'Fallon, Missouri: $170,000 - $281,000 USD

How we rate this

Principal Software Engineer at Mastercard rates 33 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.