Application Engineering Technical Lead, Debit Card

The Vanguard Group; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanguard seeks an experienced technology architect to lead design, development, and maintenance of digital products for Cash Plus Debit Card and Digital Wallet integrations. You will drive scalable frontend/backend solutions, partner with architects, and promote secure coding, testing, and DevOps practices across teams.

The role requires deep expertise in frontend architectures, React/Angular, and cloud-native delivery within regulated financial services.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of related work experience with at least 3 years as a technology architect.
• Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree preferred.
• Expert knowledge of frontend architecture and enterprise web apps.
• Experience with Angular, React, TypeScript, and modern frontend patterns.
• Experience delivering digital payments and fintech solutions.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert-level technical leadership for digital products and platforms.
• Translate business requirements into technical solutions and roadmaps.
• Review designs, code, testing strategies, and architecture specs.
• Drive CI/CD, observability, security, and reliability across teams.
• Mentor engineers and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Skills

Frontend architecture

Angular

React

TypeScript

JavaScript

State management

API integration

Responsive design

Accessibility standards

Cloud AWS

CI/CD

GitHub Actions

DevOps practices

Observability tooling

Financial services domain

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Graduate degree

Tools

Node.js

NestJS

GraphQL

Job description

Responsibilities

Provide expert-level technical leadership and direction for critical digital products and platforms supporting Cash Plus Debit Card and Digital Wallet integration capabilities. Lead the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of scalable frontend and backend solutions leveraging modern architecture patterns and enterprise engineering standards. Partner with Product Managers, Product Architects, and Domain Architects to translate business requirements into technical solutions, delivery roadmaps, and architecture designs. Evaluate, recommend, and integrate third-party products, SDKs, APIs, and vendor services while ensuring scalability, maintainability, and long-term platform health. Review and approve technical designs, code, testing strategies, architecture specifications, documentation, and team deliverables to ensure quality, security, and reliability. Lead solution reviews, architecture discussions, design sessions, code reviews, and technical decision-making across multiple teams. Drive performance optimization, resiliency, observability, accessibility compliance, and operational excellence across client-facing digital experiences. Identify technical risks and complex production issues, perform root cause analysis, and lead timely resolution while proactively preventing future issues. Establish and promote engineering standards, secure coding practices, testing methodologies, CI/CD automation, and DevOps best practices across the organization. Communicate technical strategy, project impacts, and solution recommendations to key stakeholders while influencing technology investment decisions and engineering roadmaps. Mentor engineers and technical leads, fostering continuous learning, technical excellence, and adoption of emerging technologies and development standards. Ensure all solutions comply with enterprise technology, information security, and regulatory requirements while continuously identifying opportunities for process and quality improvement. Participate in special projects and perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum of eight years related work experience, with at least three years of technology architect experience. Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience. Graduate degree preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

Expert knowledge of frontend application architecture and enterprise web application development.

Strong expertise in Angular, React, TypeScript, JavaScript, and modern frontend design patterns.

Deep understanding of component-based architectures, state management, API integration, responsive design, and accessibility standards.

Experience designing and delivering digital payments and debit card solutions.

Experience integrating payment processors, card platforms, digital wallets, or vendor SDKs.

Strong expertise with: React Angular TypeScript Node.js NestJS GraphQL

Experience building cloud-native applications using AWS services such as ECS, EKS, Lambda, and Fargate.

Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and modern DevOps tooling.

Working knowledge of observability and monitoring platforms such as AppDynamics, Open Telemetry, Splunk, and Adobe Analytics.

Experience developing highly available and resilient applications in enterprise environments.

Experience working in financial services, fintech, banking, or highly regulated industries.

Familiarity with mobile application architectures and mobile-web integration patterns.

Experience presenting technical strategies, architecture decisions, and engineering roadmaps to senior architects and leadership.

Special Factors

Sponsorship Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission- we're on a mission. To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience. Vanguard, one of the world's leading investment management companies, serves individual investors, institutions, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and financial professionals. We have a diverse and talented crew with a culture that promotes teamwork, along with an unwavering focus on serving our clients' best interests.