Senior Staff Software Engineer, Payments

airbnb, Inc.; Bengaluru; Remote; INR 2,000,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global tech company is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer for Payments, responsible for driving architectural strategy and technical leadership. Candidates should have over 15 years of hands-on software engineering experience and a relevant degree. The role offers a remote work option anywhere within India, and the company is committed to inclusion and fostering a collaborative environment. Apply to join a team that values innovation and diverse ideas.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in a hands-on software engineering role.
• Experience building, leading, and architecting production systems.
• Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical partners.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive long-term technical strategy and architecture.
• Establish a technical vision and lead the launch of scalable solutions.
• Mentor junior engineers through design reviews and knowledge-sharing sessions.

Skills

Technical leadership

Collaboration

Software engineering

Mentorship

Technical strategy

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience

Job description

Senior Staff Software Engineer, Payments

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join

Payments is key for any healthy marketplace, and is just as central to our product at Airbnb. The Payments organization at Airbnb is responsible for everything related to settling money in Airbnb’s global marketplace and makes the Payment experience as delightful, magical, intuitive, and easy as possible. AirCover is Airbnb’s built‑in protection platform for every stay and experience - plus paid insurance products - delivered via scalable claims systems and partner integrations. At the Payments and AirCover team, our goal is to build and operate scalable systems that power payments ecosystems, host/guest protections as well as frontline experiences applying core engineering principles that leverage both time-tested and cutting edge technology.

The Difference You Will Make

As a Senior Staff Engineering for Payments and AirCover Engineering, you will provide overarching guardrails on evolution of the architecture, catering evolving business needs and coach other engineers on the team. You will define and drive the architecture strategy, work on cross-functional teams to align on organizational initiatives, set standards and help in governance. You will be a player-coach; in that you will be hands‑on when a situation arises (player mode) and hands‑off where there is opportunity for other engineers to grow and gain experience (coach mode).

A Typical Day

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer, Payments and AirCover Engineering, you will:

• Collaborate with other senior leaders to define and drive long‑term technical strategy and architecture that enables the company’s future vision.
• Establish a technical vision and lead efforts to architect, build, and launch reliable, performant, and scalable solutions.
• Be a critic for existing and new technologies, providing a balanced view of the technology landscape and nurture a culture of sustainable innovation.
• Collaborate with and influence cross‑functional partners to design and deliver high‑quality products.
• Lead multi‑team technical initiatives, and work cross‑functionally to identify opportunities for business impact, refine, and prioritize requirements for engineering systems.
• Lead conversations that align technical efforts with business outcomes and product priorities.
• Uplevel engineering quality through design/code reviews, mentorship, and hands‑on implementation.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior engineers through design reviews, code walkthroughs, and knowledge‑sharing sessions, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
• 15+ years of experience in a hands‑on software engineering role.
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree, preferably in CS, or equivalent experience.
• Experience building, leading, and architecting production systems or features with broad impact.
• Demonstrated technical leadership: hands on experience leading project teams, setting technical direction and strategy, prototyping to iterate ideas, and working cross functionally with Product, Design and Operations teams.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non‑technical partners, experience driving initiatives that span across teams, departments and leadership.
• Passion to level‑up those around you through curiosity and fostering a collaborative and inclusive team environment.
• Proven experience in defining product/technical strategy and driving alignment with cross‑functional leaders and stakeholders.

Your Location

This position is India - Remote (Eligible anywhere within India). The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively‑led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.