Senior Director, Software Engineering - Card Architecture

Capital One; New York (NY); On-site; USD 343,400 - 392,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Performance incentives

Job summary

Capital One in New York seeks a Senior Director of Software Engineering to lead Card Architecture, driving AI-native development and rapid delivery. You will mentor a high-velocity team, ship production-ready code, and translate complex architectures into actionable solutions, balancing leadership with hands-on coding.

The role requires deep experience in software/data engineering and cloud platforms, with a track record of delivering next-generation products in a fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• At least 9 years of software/data engineering experience.
• At least 7 years of people management experience.
• At least 3 years of experience with cloud-based data platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Experience with AI/LLM tooling is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-velocity team of engineers.
• Incubate AI-native workflows and leverage LLMs to accelerate development.
• Operate as a hands-on leader who ships production-ready code.
• Collaborate with product teams to translate intent into functional architectures.
• Explain AI-generated architectures to stakeholders and ensure alignment with intent.
• Lead design and code reviews to ensure high-quality AI-enabled output.

Skills

Leadership

Hands-on coding

AI-native development

Architectural design

Agile

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

Tools

Claude

Windsurf

Copilot

AWS

Job description

Senior Director, Software Engineering - Card Architecture

We are seeking a Senior Director of Software Engineering to join our team and fundamentally redefine the speed and quality of software development. We are a high-velocity, mission-driven group obsessed with bridging the gap between Intent and Execution (I=E). In this role, you won't just manage; you will operate as a "Player-Coach," functioning both as a high-leverage developer who ships production-ready code in hours as well as mentoring a team to become elite AI-native builders. You will own the technical benchmark, leveraging agentic development tools to its absolute limits through rigorous, spec-driven design to solve complex problems with unprecedented urgency. This leader must have the ability to attract top-tier talent and the technical "whisperer" skills to ensure AI-generated output is flawless, secure, and scalable. Success requires an innovative mind, a proven track record of delivering next-generation products, and a passion for AI-native execution. You are a master of technical specifications who can translate complex architectures into simple, actionable reality. If you are a high-agency leader ready to define the 100x engineer era and make a massive, visible impact on our company trajectory, this is your team.

You Will

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-velocity team of engineers, fostering a culture of AI adoption and rapid execution
• Embrace and incubate AI-native workflows, leveraging Claude and LLMs to fundamentally change the math on development speed
• Operate as a "Player-Coach," remaining deeply hands-on to ship production-ready code and solve complex technical problems
• Collaborate with product teams to transform intent into functional reality using rigorous, spec-driven design
• Partner with stakeholders to explain AI-generated architectures, ensuring the final product matches initial intent flawlessly
• Work within Agile cycles to design, audit, and support technical solutions, serving as the ultimate fail-safe for AI output
• Lead efforts to bridge I=E (Intent = Execution), guaranteeing high-leverage output without technical debt or hallucinations
• Conduct design and code reviews to ensure AI-generated code meets world-class standards for quality and integrity

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• At least 9 years of experience in software engineering or data engineering
• At least 7 years of people management experience
• At least 3 years of experience with cloud-based data platforms (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform)

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering or data engineering
• 2+ years of experience with LLM coding assistance tools such as Claude, Windsurf, Copilot or comparable tools
• 3+ years of experience with AWS
• Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

New York, NY: $343,400 - $392,000 for Sr. Dir, Software Engineering Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website.

Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace.

Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

Any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).

At Capital One, we’re building a leading information-based technology company. Still founder-led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit.