Principal Front End Engineer - Paze

Early Warning; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 172,000 - 258,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare Coverage

401(k) Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Maven Family Planning

Job summary

Early Warning is seeking a Principal Front End Engineer to lead enterprise front-end strategy and architecture, mentoring teams, and shaping major initiatives. You will define standards, ensure quality and accessibility, and collaborate with product, UX, and architecture to advance scalable web platforms.

You will build production-grade web SDKs for secure browser flows, drive modernization, and guide cloud, CI/CD, and testing practices while influencing senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in CS/SE/IS or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in complex software or web systems.
• Experience designing production-grade web SDKs and API design.
• Deep expertise in front-end architecture and enterprise delivery.
• Proven leadership of cross-functional teams and strategic initiatives.
• Strong SDLC, DevOps, automated testing, and modern web tech knowledge.
• Exceptional communication and ability to influence at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive enterprise front-end strategy, architecture, and standards.
• Set guardrails for quality, accessibility, maintainability, testing, and scalability.
• Own technical product design and architecture for critical front-end platforms.
• Collaborate with product, UX, and architecture to align with roadmaps.
• Build production-grade web SDKs for external integrations and secure flows.
• Advocate for best practices and modernization opportunities.
• Provide guidance on cloud alignment, CI/CD, testing, and sustainable practices.
• Serve as senior technical expert and decision-maker on hard issues.
• Mentor engineers and leaders; model engineering excellence.
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive organizational maturity.
• Represent the team in high-impact technical discussions with execs and customers.

Skills

Front-end architecture

JavaScript/TypeScript

Cross-functional leadership

Cloud delivery models

CI/CD

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Web SDKs

Job description

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting‑edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

Overall Purpose

As Paze continues to grow, we're investing heavily in the next generation of our web platform. We're looking for a front‑end engineering leader who has built modern applications from the ground up, understands the rapidly evolving front‑end ecosystem, and can define a scalable architecture that delivers exceptional user experiences while enabling teams to move quickly.

The Principal Front End Engineer is the highest‑level front‑end individual contributor and serves as the enterprise or product technical leader. This role is responsible for defining and advancing the organization’s front‑end engineering vision, setting standards for technical excellence, and shaping major architectural and strategic initiatives across teams. The Principal Front End Engineer is a recognized thought leader, trusted advisor, and catalyst for technical and organizational change, reflecting the source Principal profile’s emphasis on enterprise standards, architecture ownership, mentoring, cross‑functional partnership, and future‑state technical vision.

Essential Functions

• Defines and advances enterprise front‑end engineering strategy, architecture, and standards across multiple teams and initiatives.
• Establishes principles and guardrails for quality, accessibility, maintainability, operational readiness, testing, and scalability.
• Owns technical product design and architecture for critical front‑end platforms and strategic initiatives.
• Partners with product management, software engineering, UX, and architecture to shape engineering approaches and align with technology roadmaps.
• Building production‑grade web SDKs for external partner or merchant integrations for secure browser‑based flows
• Identifies and drives adoption of industry best practices, emerging technologies, and modernization opportunities.
• Provides enterprise‑level guidance on cloud alignment, CI/CD, automated testing, and sustainable engineering practices.
• Acts as a senior point of expertise on difficult engineering issues and strategic technical decisions.
• Mentors engineers and technical leaders across the organization and serves as a role model for engineering excellence.
• Builds trusted relationships across functions and influences change that improves engineering outcomes, delivery capability, and organizational maturity.
• Represents the organization in high‑impact technical discussions with senior stakeholders, customers, or executive leadership as appropriate.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 15 or more years of progressive experience designing and developing complex software or web‑based systems.
• Prior experience designing, building, and supporting production‑grade web SDKs, including JavaScript/TypeScript API design, browser compatibility, versioning, backward compatibility, developer documentation, integration patterns, performance, security, and observability.
• Deep expertise in front‑end architecture, web platform engineering, application design, and enterprise‑scale delivery.
• Proven success leading cross‑functional teams to create technical solutions and drive strategic initiatives.
• Advanced knowledge of SDLC best practices, software development methodologies, DevOps practices, and automated testing approaches.
• Strong experience with modern web technologies, front‑end frameworks, API integration, CI/CD, source control, and cloud‑aligned delivery models.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence all levels of the organization.
• Background and drug screen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science or related technical field.
• Experience leading major modernization efforts involving cloud migration, platform transformation, or large‑scale architecture redesign.
• Expertise in design systems, performance engineering, front‑end observability, and enterprise web governance.
• Broad exposure to related technologies such as monitoring, orchestration, and cloud infrastructure, consistent with the Principal source profile’s preferred qualifications.

Competencies

• Enterprise technical leadership
• Vision and strategy
• Executive communication
• Organizational influence
• Innovation and thought leadership
• Architecture governance
• Mentorship and talent development
• Change leadership

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching. Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently. Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. Requires the ability to communicate with internal and/or external customers. Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

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

The above job description is not intended to be an all‑inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

The Base Pay Scale For This Position In

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL / Washington, DC in USD per year is: $172,000 - $215,000.

New York, NY/ San Francisco, CA in USD per year is: $206,000 - $258,000.

Additionally, candidates are eligible for a discretionary incentive plan and benefits.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness

• Healthcare Coverage –Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre‑tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan –Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Flexible Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non‑Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

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

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.