Manager, Software Engineering

Mastercard; O’Fallon (MO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance (medical, dental, vision)

401k with company match

Paid time off / leave

On-site fitness facilities

Job summary

Mastercard’s Global Credit Authorization team seeks a Manager, Software Engineering to lead a team of 5-10 engineers responsible for low-latency, high-throughput payment authorization services operating at global scale. The role blends hands-on technical work with people leadership across architecture, design, and delivery.

You will mentor engineers, set technical direction in C/C++, drive modernized platforms, and ensure reliability, security, and performance while collaborating with global

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of software teams in high-performance systems.
• Strong C/C++ with modern standards, multithreading, and memory management.
• Experience with Linux/Unix based distributed systems.
• Familiarity with cloud, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of software engineers delivering low-latency payment systems.
• Provide architectural direction for high-performance platforms in C/C++.
• Drive design reviews, optimize performance, and ensure quality across the SDLC.
• Collaborate with global teams to align roadmaps and deliverables.

Skills

C/C++

Distributed systems

Linux/Unix

Cloud

CI/CD

Agile

Leadership

Data structures/algorithms

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/Math

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

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

Manager, Software Engineering

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

Manager, Software Engineering

Overview

Mastercard's Global Credit Authorization team is seeking a Manager, Software Engineering to lead the development of highly scalable, mission-critical payment authorization systems that power billions of transactions worldwide. This role is ideal for a technical leader with strong expertise in C/C++ and distributed systems who enjoys building high-performing teams while remaining actively engaged in architecture, design, and software delivery. In this role, you will lead a team of 5-10 engineers responsible for developing and supporting low-latency, high-throughput authorization services that operate at global scale. You will balance people leadership with hands‑on technical contributions, guiding architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and driving engineering excellence across the software development lifecycle. You will play a key role in modernizing platforms, improving resiliency and performance, and adopting emerging technologies that help shape the future of digital payments. The position offers the opportunity to solve complex technical challenges in an environment where reliability, security, scalability, and availability are paramount. This is a hybrid position based in O'Fallon, MO, requiring three days per week onsite.

Role

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide technical leadership and architectural direction for high-performance payment authorization platforms built primarily in C/C++.
• Partner with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to define technology roadmaps and deliver innovative solutions aligned with business objectives.
• Drive the design and development of scalable, resilient, and highly available distributed systems that support real-time transaction processing.
• Remain hands‑on with design reviews, code reviews, troubleshooting, and performance optimization efforts.
• Establish and promote engineering best practices related to software design, coding standards, testing, observability, and operational excellence.
• Champion system reliability, security, resiliency, and performance across all phases of development and production operations.
• Foster Agile development practices, continuous integration, automated testing, and continuous delivery.
• Collaborate with global teams to manage priorities, dependencies, and deliverables across multiple initiatives.

All About You

• Proven experience as a Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Technical Lead, Architect, or Engineering Manager leading software development teams.
• Strong hands‑on programming experience in C and C++, including modern C++ standards, multithreading, memory management, and performance optimization.
• Experience building and supporting high-performance, low-latency, mission-critical distributed systems in a Linux or Unix-based environment.
• Working knowledge of Java and related enterprise development frameworks is a plus.
• Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, object-oriented design, design patterns, and software architecture principles.
• Familiarity with relational databases and data technologies such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar platforms.
• Experience with cloud technologies, containerization, and orchestration platforms, including Docker and Kubernetes, is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, DevOps practices, and observability tooling.
• Ability to drive technical strategy while effectively managing people, projects, and stakeholder expectations.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience working in Agile development environments with distributed global teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent practical experience.

This role is not eligible for Mastercard’s work authorization sponsorship. As such, candidates must be eligible to work in the United States, now as well as in the future, without employer sponsorship.

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 [e-mail] 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time;
• jury duty leave;
• 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 01/04/2027. If the fill date has passed, Mastercard intends to fill this position as soon as possible.

Pay Ranges

O'Fallon, Missouri: $140,000 - $231,000 USD