Principal Engineer - Digital Assets

Early Warning Services LLC; Scottsdale (AZ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Early Warning Services, LLC is seeking a hands-on, senior technical leader to set standards for quality across multiple teams. You will own architectural design for cross-border money movement and digital asset settlement systems, mentor engineers, and partner with product to align roadmaps.

The role requires deep FinTech experience, leading distributed systems in regulated environments, and strong communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
• Fifteen or more years of software development experience, with at least eight years in FinTech.
• Proven experience leading design and evolution of complex, large-scale payment or cross-border platforms in regulated environments.
• Deep technical understanding of digital asset or stablecoin-based systems, including security, scalability, and reliability considerations.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams to create technical solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable presenting to all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of SDLC, Agile/LEAN methodologies, and DevOps practices.
• Proven track record designing and building complex end-to-end systems (full-stack).
• Hands-on experience with technologies such as Java RESTful services, microservices, Spring, messaging frameworks (Kafka, Tibco EMS, JMS), Oracle PL/SQL, and JavaScript frameworks (e.g., jQuery, AngularJS).
• Hands-on experience with test automation across unit, component, integration, and functional tests.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools (Git, Maven, Jenkins, etc.).
• Solid understanding of modern cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure).
• Experience with code repositories and project-tracking tools (Git, SVN, Jira, Confluence).
• Background check and drug screen as required.

Responsibilities

• Own architectural design and technical patterns for cross-border money movement and digital asset settlement systems.
• Resolve complex technical and scalability challenges across distributed, regulated payment platforms.
• Mentor engineers and guide teams in building secure, resilient, and compliant global payment solutions.
• Partner with product management to craft product strategy, write product descriptions, and ensure alignment to technology roadmaps.
• Be a thought leader: serve as a senior point of expertise on software engineering issues, industry trends, and developing technologies. Coach and mentor team members.
• Take ownership for creating technical product design and architecture.
• Create and conduct presentations for small-to-medium size groups.
• Work closely with customers to understand their needs and build partnerships to improve Early Warning products.
• Collaborate with software engineering, product, and architecture to shape engineering approaches and share knowledge.
• Develop, scope, and shape a departmental-wide technical vision for the future.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to influence and motivate others; act as an internal catalyst for progressive change management.
• Support the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.

Skills

Software architecture

Leadership

Java

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

Regulated payments

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring engineers

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

MS or PhD (preferred)

Tools

Kafka

Spring

Oracle PL/SQL

Jenkins

Git

Job description

Overview

At Early Warning, we power and protect the U.S. financial system with solutions like Zelle and Paze. We partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Locations: Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York with a hybrid work model to support collaboration.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

This is a hands-on, individual contributor technical leadership role focused on setting standards for excellence in quality across multiple teams. You will partner with cross-functional teams, contribute to a broad range of initiatives, and stay current with technologies and industry best practices to bring them into the engineering organization.

Essential Functions

• Own architectural design and technical patterns for cross-border money movement and digital asset settlement systems.
• Resolve complex technical and scalability challenges across distributed, regulated payment platforms.
• Mentor engineers and guide teams in building secure, resilient, and compliant global payment solutions.
• Partner with product management to craft product strategy, write product descriptions, and ensure alignment to technology roadmaps.
• Be a thought leader: serve as a senior point of expertise on software engineering issues, industry trends, and developing technologies. Coach and mentor team members.
• Take ownership for creating technical product design and architecture.
• Create and conduct presentations for small-to-medium size groups.
• Work closely with customers to understand their needs and build partnerships to improve Early Warning products.
• Collaborate with software engineering, product, and architecture to shape engineering approaches and share knowledge.
• Develop, scope, and shape a departmental-wide technical vision for the future.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to influence and motivate others; act as an internal catalyst for progressive change management.
• Support the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field (or equivalent experience).
• Fifteen or more years of software development experience, with at least eight years in FinTech.
• Proven experience leading design and evolution of complex, large-scale payment or cross-border platforms in regulated environments.
• Deep technical understanding of digital asset or stablecoin-based systems, including security, scalability, and reliability considerations.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams to create technical solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable presenting to all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of SDLC, Agile/LEAN methodologies, and DevOps practices.
• Proven track record designing and building complex end-to-end systems (full-stack).
• Hands-on experience with technologies such as Java RESTful services, microservices, Spring, messaging frameworks (Kafka, Tibco EMS, JMS), Oracle PL/SQL, and JavaScript frameworks (e.g., jQuery, AngularJS).
• Hands-on experience with test automation across unit, component, integration, and functional tests.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools (Git, Maven, Jenkins, etc.).
• Solid understanding of modern cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure).
• Experience with code repositories and project-tracking tools (Git, SVN, Jira, Confluence).
• Background check and drug screen as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Computer Science or another technical field.
• Knowledge of Splunk, Altiris, and Zabbix.
• Hands-on experience with AWS.
• Experience with database design and architectures.
• Terraform or other cloud orchestration expertise.
• Experience with monitoring and alerting systems (e.g., AppDynamics).
• Experience with additional programming languages (C#, Ruby, Python, PHP).
• Knowledge of ACH/EFT and real-time payment networks (RTP, FedNow).

Physical Requirements

Standard office environment. Primarily sedentary with extensive computer use. May require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Ability to lift up to 10 pounds occasionally. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to use documents and office equipment. Ability to communicate with internal and external customers. Ability to perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

Additional Information

Candidates must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States at the date of hire.

The above job description is not all-inclusive. The base pay scale for this position varies by location and is subject to change. Benefits and discretionary incentive plans are provided where applicable. For more details, refer to the benefits page and interview process notes.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Early Warning Services, LLC is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws.