Staff Software Engineer

Blackhawk Network; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 133,000 - 181,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a talented software engineer to join their dynamic team. In this role, you will develop high-performance payment solutions that are scalable and reliable. You will leverage cutting-edge technologies to enhance backend systems while collaborating with top-tier payment systems. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in Java and distributed systems, coupled with excellent problem-solving skills. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to innovative projects and help shape the future of payment solutions that delight consumers and partners alike.

Benefits

401k with employer match

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

12 paid holidays

Sick pay accrual

Parental leave

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Wellness benefits

Flexible time off

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in software development with a focus on Java and distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of APIs, data structures, and algorithms.
• Proven experience in technical leadership and building scalable platforms.

Responsibilities

• Build scalable, fault-tolerant products with automated failover capabilities.
• Define technical solutions for business problems and write clean, reusable code.
• Mentor team members and lead complex projects in an agile environment.

Skills

Java

Distributed Systems

API Design

Data Structures

Algorithms

Problem Solving

Critical Thinking

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Master's Degree or PhD

Tools

Spring

Spring Boot

MySQL

NoSQL

MongoDB

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

About Blackhawk Network

Today, through BHN’s single global platform, businesses of all kinds can tap into the world’s largest network of branded payment solutions. BHN helps businesses grow revenue, increase loyalty, motivate and reward their teams, disburse funds and engage consumers. Branded payment solutions include the issuance and distribution of gift cards, egifts, corporate payouts and rewards, along with the technology to deliver these products in seamless, integrated ways. BHN’s network spans the globe with more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints. Learn more at BHN.com.

Overview

You will build different parts of our payment network, that have high scale, precision and availability requirements. You will be part of a world-class team delivering awesome features to Blackhawk consumers and partners. You will stretch the limits of backend technologies to deliver functionality. You will be constantly leveraging cutting-edge technologies on the cloud and application stacks to build efficient systems. You will be an awesome team player that can learn and coach simultaneously. You will learn to innovate. You will build relationships with the world's best payments systems while you help them realize their visions. Your work will play an essential part in how developers build state-of-the-art payment experiences that consumers love.

Responsibilities

• Build products that perform, scale, are highly available and fault tolerant with automated failover capabilities.
• Define a complete technical solution for a well-defined business problem which aligns to a platform vision. Write clean, reusable code that’s easier to read and test.
• Proactively influence design to achieve best practices and advocate for technical improvements on the product.
• Contribute to conversations about technical decisions, resulting in changes to one or more standards within a team, creating influence through peer code reviews.
• Show initiative and independently execute process improvements for the team.
• Drive architectural designs for product features and produce artifacts as part of the Discovery phase partnering with Principal Engineers.
• Communicate with senior stakeholders within the enterprise on matters that require explanation, interpretation, and/or advising; typically has responsibility communicating to parties outside of the organization.
• Work to influence parties within the enterprise to agree and accept new concepts, practices, and approaches.
• Articulate problem statements, size opportunities, and bring substantive ideas to leadership on how to improve the organization/product direction.
• Mentor/Coach other members on the same team to be more effective.
• Lead complex projects that span multiple teams from launch to release in a fast-paced agile environment.

Qualifications

Required:

• At least 6 years of experience with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, master's degree, or a PhD, or equivalent experience.
• Solid programming experience building distributed systems using Java technologies.
• Designing high performing APIs with less than 50ms Service Level Agreement (SLA) using Java, Spring, Spring Boot, and relational databases.
• Technical leadership experience – proven expertise in building large scale platforms/products using a modern technology stack.
• Strong computational skills, fluent in data structures, algorithms, and design patterns.
• Solid understanding of relational and non-relational databases (MySQL, NoSQL, MongoDB).
• Strong knowledge of computing concepts such as service-oriented architecture, REST services, fault tolerance, self-healing, network protocols, network programming, multi-threaded programming, performance, reliability, scalability, and security (OWASP).
• Ability to differentiate good and bad design and coding practices.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong in self-direction, problem solving, and critical thinking.
• Deep passion for providing high-quality customer experiences.
• Familiarity with the whole web stack, including protocols and web server optimization techniques.

Preferred:

• Experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) including RDS and EC2.
• Experience with container-based application development using Docker/Kubernetes.
• Technology leadership experience in a modern/complex payment environment.

Benefits

Salary Range for California Residents Only: $133,920.00 to $180,800.00

Salary Range for Illinois Residents Only: $105,770.00 to $142,800.00

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, Blackhawk Network offers benefits including 401k with employer match, medical, dental, vision, 12 paid holidays in the year 2025, 1 hour of sick pay accrual for every 30 hours worked, parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, accident and illness insurance, health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, wellness benefits, and flexible time off for all full-time employees.

EEO Statement

Blackhawk Network provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Blackhawk Network believes that diversity leads to strength. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Blackhawk Network encourages applicants with previous criminal records to apply to all positions and, pursuant to the San Francisco and Los Angeles Fair Chance Acts (and other “Fair Chance” laws), Blackhawk Network will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. For Philadelphia applicants or jobs, please see a copy of Philadelphia’s ordinance on this topic by clicking this link: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-280104.