Payments Platform Architect & First Engineering Lead

Aptos Labs; New York (NY); On-site; USD 160,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance coverage

Equipment of your choice

Flexible vacation

Competitive salary

Protocol Token Grants

401k matching

Team events

Job summary

Aptos Labs is seeking the founding technical leader for its new payments unit. You will own the Aptos Payment API, drive partner integrations, and shape the engineering agenda for a bank-grade payments platform.

As the hire number one, you will build the team, write memos for gate decisions, and align technical choices with revenue goals. The role offers a competitive base salary and the chance to define a pivotal fintech stack in the Bay Area.

Qualifications

• 8+ years building payment infrastructure at production scale (PSP or orchestrator-class systems).
• Hands-on chain-native settlement experience: stablecoin rails, wallet infrastructure.
• Front-facing gravitas with banks, issuers, and regulated partners.
• Product engineer instincts: build bottoms-up from client needs and treat internal assets as reusable.
• Player-coach: ship code and hire people stronger than you at parts of the stack.

Responsibilities

• Own the Aptos Payment API: spec, ship, and run with partner network.
• Lead partner-facing engineering: requirements intake, integrations, and technical due diligence.
• Own the trust infrastructure: reconciliation, KYC/KYB, testnet sandbox, and settlement policy.
• Integrate the payments side with the trading stack: define API contracts and enable seamless handoffs.
• Hire and lead the first two engineers; write memos at gates to guide build-vs-buy decisions.

Skills

Payment infrastructure

Chain-native settlement

External tech relationships

Product engineering instincts

Leadership / mentorship

Hiring / team building

API design

Orchestration systems

Regulatory awareness

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Aptos Labs is seeking the founding technical leader for its new payments unit. You will own the Aptos Payment API, drive partner integrations, and shape the engineering agenda for a bank-grade payments platform.

As the hire number one, you will build the team, write memos for gate decisions, and align technical choices with revenue goals. The role offers a competitive base salary and the chance to define a pivotal fintech stack in the Bay Area.