Staff Software Engineer - Platform & Infrastructure

PayPal; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 262,000; Full time

Job summary

PayPal is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for its Platform Enablement and Quality team in San Jose. You will lead scalable platform frameworks, developer tooling, and quality engineering solutions, driving reliability and developer productivity across AITech.

You will collaborate with engineers to design high-availability services, implement CI/CD pipelines, and advance internal tooling, with emphasis on observability and platform standardization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant software engineering experience and a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
• BS/MS in CS or equivalent with 8+ years in software engineering.
• Proven track record designing large-scale distributed platform services with high availability.

Responsibilities

• Act as a project or system leader coordinating the activities of other engineers.
• Determine technical tasks and align them with customer and program objectives.
• Improve existing structures and processes and reconcile priorities for optimal solutions.
• Represent PayPal to partners, customers, or industry groups and set engineering standards.

Skills

Java

Python

Go

CI/CD

Microservices

Distributed systems

Observability

Chaos engineering

MLOps

DevEx

OpenTelemetry

Prometheus

Datadog

GitHub Actions

Jenkins

ArgoCD

Education

BS in Computer Science

MS in Computer Science

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

GCP

AWS

Azure

Job description

The CompanyPayPal 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:AITech is a dynamic PayPal unit comprised of Machine Learning, Data, and Software Engineers dedicated to innovation. The Platform Enablement and Quality team within AITech builds the foundational infrastructure, developer tooling, and quality frameworks that power PayPal's AI/ML platform at scale. We enable engineering teams to ship faster, with higher quality and greater confidence through robust CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, developer experience tooling, and platform reliability standards.As a Staff Software Engineer on PayPal's Platform Enablement and Quality team,you will lead the design and implementation of scalable platform frameworks,developer tooling, and quality engineering solutions. You are a technical leaderwho sets the engineering bar for reliability, testability, and developer productivityacross AITech's platform.Job Description:Essential Responsibilities:Acts as a project or system leader, coordinating the activities of other engineers on the project or within the systemDetermines the technical tasks that other engineers will followActions result in the achievement of customer, operational, program or service objectivesProactively improves existing structures & processesExercises judgement in reconciling diverse and competing priorities (time, quality, complexity risk) to identify optimal solutions to problemsNotices patterns and condenses repetition into densely meaningful generalized solutionsCollaborates with management to set/improve standards for engineering rigorTrusted to represent PayPal, Inc to the outside world via interactions with partners, customers, or industry organizationsMinimum Qualifications:5+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications:BS/MS in Computer Science or equivalent with 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in platform or infrastructure engineering.Proven track record designing and building large-scale distributed platform services with high availability and reliability.Deep expertise in quality engineering: test automation frameworks (unit, integration, contract, end-to-end), test pyramid design, and CI/CD pipeline architecture.Strong experience with platform enablement tools: GitHub Actions, Jenkins, ArgoCD, or similar CI/CD systems.Proficiency in Java, Python, or Go; experience building or contributing to internal developer platforms (IDPs).Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure).Experience building observability solutions: metrics, logging, and distributed tracing (OpenTelemetry, Datadog, Prometheus, etc.).Strong understanding of API design, microservices architecture, and distributed systems patterns.Excellent communication skills — ability to influence technical decisions across teams and articulate platform strategy to engineering leadership.Experience with chaos engineering frameworks (Gremlin, or similar). Background in AI/ML platform engineering or MLOps tooling.Experience with developer experience (DevEx) initiatives and internal tooling.Familiarity with compliance and governance standards for platform services in the financial sector.Subsidiary:PayPalTravel Percent:0-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:San Jose, California: ($176,500.00 - $262,350.00 Annually)Additional Location(s) | Pay Range:No other locations are assigned to this requisition currently.Additional compensation for this role may include an annual performance bonus, equity, or other incentive compensation, as applicable.PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. When making an application directly, we will never ask you to share passwords, one-time passcodes (OTP), or verification codes. Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. All communication regarding your application will come from official PayPal email domains. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it immediately. To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit https://careers.pypl.com/contact-us.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:Commitment to Diversity and InclusionPayPal 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] 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.