Senior Manager - Software Engineering

American Express; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

American Express seeks a Senior Engineering Manager to lead high-performing teams responsible for the Global Card Network Platform, delivering low-latency, highly available distributed systems that process card transactions worldwide.

You will drive architecture, mentor engineers, partner with product and business teams, champion cloud-native microservices, DevOps practices, and security standards, while shaping technology strategy for scale and reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant exposure to building large-scale distributed systems.
• Proven experience in leading engineering teams and delivering complex, mission-critical platforms.
• Strong background in cloud-native architectures, microservices, and platform engineering.
• Experience working in Agile environments with DevOps practices.
• Prior experience in payments, financial systems, or high transaction platforms is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and delivery of highly available, scalable distributed systems supporting global card transactions.
• Drive architecture decisions, design reviews, and engineering best practices across teams.
• Ensure systems meet stringent requirements for low latency, high throughput, resiliency, and security.
• Guide teams in building cloud-native microservices platforms using modern technologies.
• Promote engineering excellence through code reviews, design standards, and SDLC best practices.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Distributed systems

Microservices

Cloud platforms

Kubernetes

Envoy

Istio

Kafka

NoSQL/databases

CI/CD

Observability

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK

Splunk

Jenkins

Git

Maven/Gradle

Azure DevOps

gRPC

Job description

Job Description

The Enterprise Technology Services organization partners with every part of the American Express business to power the company’s growth and innovation with trust and efficiency and drive competitive differentiation with speed. We support the delivery and operations of technology, digital, and data capabilities, platforms, and services globally. Specifically, our team is responsible for the company’s technology engineering, architecture, and infrastructure, providing 24x7 support to ensure an uninterrupted, high-quality experience for customers and colleagues. We also provide product management for core enterprise platforms, and lead technology risk and information security, enterprise data governance and platforms, digital product and design, and enterprise AI platforms on behalf of the company.

The American Express Global Card Network Platform Authorizes And Processes All Customer Card Transactions Worldwide. As The Backbone Of American Express, This Platform Operates As a Highly Resilient, Near Real-time, Low-latency Distributed System, Running 24x7x365 At Global Scale. We Are Making Significant Strategic Investments To Build Next-generation Card Network Capabilities, Including

• Card Authorizations, Routing, Clearing & Settlement
• Tokenization and secure payment processing
• Omni-channel platforms and partner connectivity
• Real-time payments and settlement systems
• Data localization and regulatory compliance
• Cloud-native platform engineering and foundational distributed systems
• As a Senior Engineering Manager, you will lead high-performing teams to design, build, and scale these mission-critical systems.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Lead the design, development, and delivery of highly available, scalable distributed systems supporting global card transactions
• Drive architecture decisions, design reviews, and engineering best practices across teams
• Ensure systems meet stringent requirements for low latency, high throughput, resiliency, and security
• Guide teams in building cloud-native microservices platforms using modern technologies
• Promote engineering excellence through code reviews, design standards, and SDLC best practices

People Leadership & Team Building

• Build, mentor, and lead high-performing engineering teams, fostering a culture of ownership, innovation, and continuous learning
• Set clear goals, provide coaching, and support career development of engineers and tech leads
• Drive hiring strategies to scale teams with top engineering talent

Strategy & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Product, Business, and cross-functional teams to define priorities and deliver impactful solutions
• Translate business goals into technical strategy and execution roadmaps
• Influence and align stakeholders across geographies and functions

Innovation & Platform Evolution

• Champion adoption of emerging technologies, open-source solutions, and modern architectures
• Encourage experimentation through POCs and innovation initiatives
• Continuously improve platform capabilities in performance, observability, and reliability

Operational Excellence

• Ensure production systems are stable, observable, and well-supported
• Drive DevOps practices including CI/CD, monitoring, alerting, and incident management
• Maintain compliance with regulatory and security standards in financial systems

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant exposure to building large-scale distributed systems
• Proven experience in leading engineering teams and delivering complex, mission-critical platforms
• Strong background in cloud-native architectures, microservices, and platform engineering
• Experience working in Agile environments with DevOps practices
• Prior experience in payments, financial systems, or high transaction platforms is a strong plus

Technical Skills

• Strong hands-on experience with Java, Spring Boot, or similar backend technologies
• Deep understanding of distributed systems design, scalability, and performance engineering
• Experience with microservices architecture and service mesh technologies (e.g., Envoy, Istio, gRPC)
• Expertise in cloud platforms and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift)
• Experience with messaging systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and distributed caching (Redis, Hazelcast)
• Familiarity with NoSQL and SQL databases (Cassandra, Couchbase, etc.)
• Knowledge of CI/CD tools (Jenkins, Git, Maven, Gradle, Azure DevOps)
• Experience with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Splunk)

Leadership & Professional Skills

• Strong system design and architecture expertise
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence without authority
• Experience conducting architecture reviews, design reviews, and code reviews across teams
• Ability to drive change, challenge the status quo, and adapt quickly
• Strong presentation skills, including communication with senior leadership

About Us

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

About The Team

We 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
• Support for financial-well-being and retirement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
• 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

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law.

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.