Sr Staff Software Engineer

PayPal; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 246,000 - 334,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Healthcare coverage

Generous paid time off

Job summary

PayPal seeks a Senior Staff Software Engineer in New York to lead the design and delivery of AI-driven software across our digital ecosystem. You will drive real-time personalization, scalable cloud-native systems, and cross-team collaboration to ship high-quality features in a rapid CI/CD environment.

Responsibilities include architecture decisions, API governance, and mentoring engineers while embracing privacy, security, and governance requirements.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in designing and developing large-scale software applications
• Experience with OO design and Java ecosystems
• Experience with microservices, REST/GraphQL, API governance
• Proven ability to build cloud-native, scalable systems
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes in production
• Experience with real-time analytics, personalization, ML in production

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of AI-driven software applications across PayPal’s ecosystem
• Drive personalization features with real-time capabilities
• Architect scalable, cloud-native systems balancing performance and security
• Promote adoption of personalization frameworks and cross-team collaboration
• Deliver high-quality code with automated tests in CI/CD environments
• Partner with product management to translate business problems into engineering solutions

Skills

Object-Oriented Design

Java

Spring Framework

Distributed systems

Microservices

REST APIs

GraphQL

Real-time personalization

Event-driven architecture

ML platforms

LLM integration

Observability

Security governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Kafka

Job description

The Company PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person.

PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other.

We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk.

We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade.

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary: Job Description: PayPal, Inc. seeks Sr Staff Software Engineer in New York, NY

Job Duties: Lead the design, development, and implementation of intelligent, AI-driven software applications and features across PayPal’s digital ecosystem, delivering seamless and frictionless customer experiences. Leverage real-time data, behavioral analytics, and AI-driven decision-making to improve engagement, retention, and conversion. Build scalable, personalized application features that deliver real-time personalization capabilities that adapt dynamically to user context. Architect cloud-native, scalable systems that balance performance, reliability, and security while enabling rapid experimentation and innovation. Drive the adoption of personalization frameworks and tools across teams, enabling consistency, reliability, and faster product integration. Establish and execute the long-term technical strategy for the personalization platform, ensuring alignment with company-wide goals and customer-first principles. Anticipate and capitalize on emerging trends in personalization, recommendation systems, and agentic AI to maintain a competitive advantage. Make technical decisions affecting multiple teams, crossing organizational boundaries. Develop automated tests and deliver high-quality software code to production within a short development cycle in the continuous integration and delivery environment. Partner with product management to ideate solutions to business problems. Partial telecommuting permitted from within a commutable distance.

Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, or foreign equivalent, in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related field plus 12 years of progressively responsible experience in the job offered or a related occupation.

• Experience designing and developing large-scale software applications using Object-Oriented Design and Java, including Spring and related enterprise frameworks (8 years)
• Experience designing and operating large-scale distributed systems with high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance using microservices-based architectures (8 years)
• Experience designing and implementing service-oriented and API-based architectures using REST and GraphQL, including schema design and API governance (8 years)
• Experience building shared backend platforms and reusable frameworks used by multiple engineering teams (8 years)
• Experience building cloud-native systems using containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes, deployed on cloud platforms including Google Cloud Platform (GCP) (7 years)
• Experience designing and implementing real-time, event-driven architectures using messaging and streaming technologies such as Apache Kafka, AMQ, or equivalent systems (7 years)
• Experience working with large-scale customer data, behavioral analytics, and feature engineering using distributed data processing platforms and cloud-based data services (7 years)
• Experience developing personalization and recommendation systems using rule-based systems and machine learning techniques, including ranking and decisioning logic (6 years)
• Experience integrating, deploying, and operating machine learning models in production using ML platforms such as Google Vertex AI, including model training, serving, and lifecycle management (5 years)
• Experience designing and deploying AI-driven decisioning systems that leverage predictive models, real-time context, and experimentation frameworks (5 years)
• Experience developing and integrating Large Language Model (LLM)–based systems using cloud AI platforms, including prompt orchestration, tool or function calling, and evaluation in production environments (4 years)
• Experience designing and operating observability solutions for distributed systems, including logging, metrics, tracing, alerting, and reliability monitoring using industry-standard observability tools (6 years)
• Experience designing AI-powered systems with privacy, security, explainability, and governance requirements in regulated environments (6 years)
• Experience driving technical strategy and architectural decisions that span organizational boundaries, mentoring engineers, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders on system design trade-offs and personalization best practices (5 years)

Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications: EOE, including disability/vets.

The base pay for this role will depend on where you work and the relevant experience and expertise you bring. The expected range of pay for this role by location is:

Primary Location : Pay Range: New York, NY : Salary: $246,305-333,500.00 per annum. 40 hours per week; M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Additional compensation for this role may include an annual performance bonus, equity, or other incentive compensation, as applicable.

Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

Subsidiary: PayPal

Travel Percent: 0

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits: At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most.We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.

Who We Are: Click Here to learn more about our culture and community.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [e-mail].

Belonging at PayPal Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.

Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.

We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.

Notice to Applicants and Employees who reside within New York City. Click here to view the notice.