Staff Software Engineer

Visa; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Visa is seeking an Edge Software Developer Engineer to design, implement, and operate components of the Edge platform, including the Kong API gateway and authentication services. You will work with Java/Spring Boot across cloud-native microservices, focusing on secure, scalable solutions for fintech platforms.

You will collaborate with RE/Platform, Customer Services, Compliance and other engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust technical designs, while adhering to

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree.
• Or 2+ years with Advanced degree (Masters, MBA, JD, MD).
• Or 0 years with a PhD.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain Edge platform components including Kong gateway and authentication service.
• Translate requirements into designs and communicate component interactions with timelines.
• Lead code reviews and mentor teammates on API gateway patterns, security, and Java.
• Own and improve observability with dashboards, monitors, and alerts.
• Lead by example in creating reusable code and drive quality with metrics.
• Respond to incidents during on-call rotations and assist in incident response.
• Build GenAI features on the Edge platform from PoC to production with guardrailed tooling.
• Apply security-first thinking including OAuth2/OIDC, mTLS, and audit logging.

Skills

Java backend

Spring Boot

Kubernetes

Istio/Envoy

OAuth2

JWT

Security mindset

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Kong API Gateway

NGINX

Apigee

HTTP/REST

Job description

About Us

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.

Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.

Job Description

The Edge team owns the API Gateway and authentication layer, the critical path through which every external API call enters the platform. We are a small, high-leverage team of engineers who design, operate, and evolve the systems that keep the platform available, secure, and easy for partners to integrate with.

Edge Software Developer Engineers are expert problem-solvers and builders who design, implement, and improve software applications and systems. In this role, engineers spend approximately 60–75% of their time coding, working hands‑on with code, data, and modern tools (including AI-assisted development, cloud services, and automation frameworks) to deliver secure, scalable, and high‑quality technology solutions that drive business outcomes in the fintech sector. They collaborate with cross‑functional teams – RE/Platform, Customer Services, Compliance, Operations, and other engineering teams – to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions, all while adhering to best practices, security standards, and regulatory requirements.

All roles require the ability to work with emerging technologies such as Generative AI tools (e.g. Claude Code, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) to support everyday work.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain components of the Edge platform: Kong API gateway (including Lua plugins), the authentication and authorization service, and supporting microservices (Java / Spring Boot).
• Translate functional requirements into system designs and communicate component interactions, ensuring alignment with business needs and timelines.
• Lead code reviews, enforce coding standards, and mentor teammates on API gateway patterns, security, and Java.
• Own and improve observability (Datadog dashboards, monitors, and alerts)
• Lead by example in creating, implementing, and maintaining extensible, reusable code, and drive code quality through metrics and best practices.
• Act as a responsive technical partner to the teams that rely on Edge technology
• Create complex test plans, identify test gaps, and proactively address defects to minimize customer impact.
• Leverage data analysis and monitoring standards to identify patterns and defects in all environments.
• Respond to incidents during on‑call rotations, troubleshoot complex issues, and assist in incident response and resolution, particularly incidents involving the API gateway or auth layer, where Edge is typically on the critical path for the wider organization.
• Proactively seek new knowledge and adapt to trends and technical solutions to improve product performance and recommend resources to other engineers.
• Proactively surface and evaluate emerging technologies that improve platform performance, security posture, or developer experience.
• Build and iterate on GenAI/agentic features on the Edge platform from proof‑of‑concept to production, using guardrailed AI tooling.
• Apply security‑first thinking to all designs, including OAuth2/OIDC flows, mutual TLS, and audit logging by default

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 2 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 0 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 8+ years of relevant work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 2 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 0 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 8+ years of relevant work experience.
• What We’re Looking For
• Strong Java backend engineering skills (Java 17+, Spring Boot).
• Demonstrable experience with API gateway technology (Kong, NGINX, Apigee, or similar) and HTTP/REST/JWT/OAuth2 fundamentals.
• Comfort working at the intersection of platform engineering and product delivery: you enjoy both greenfield builds and keeping production systems healthy.
• Experience with Kubernetes and service mesh concepts (Istio/Envoy preferred).
• A security‑conscious mindset: you think about auth, audit, and least‑privilege by default.
• Experience in collaborating with cross‑functional teams to deliver technical solutions.
• Fintech or regulated‑industry experience is valued but not required; willingness to learn the domain quickly is essential.
• Collaborative and communicative. Edge is a small team with a wide blast radius; clear written and verbal communication matters.

Visa is an EEO Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.