Vice President of Software Engineering

Mastercard; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 260,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Mastercard seeks a visionary, hands-on VP of Software Engineering to build and scale the Decision Stream platform. You will partner with Product, Architecture, AI, and Platform Engineering to drive strategy, architecture, and execution at scale.

You will lead engineering teams, influence standards, ensure reliability and security, and foster ownership, curiosity, and collaboration across Mastercard’s global ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on background in cloud-native architectures, microservices, APIs, data platforms, and event-driven systems.
• Proven experience leading software engineering teams delivering large-scale distributed platforms.
• Track record of building highly available, resilient, mission-critical systems at scale.
• Excellent collaboration, communication, and leadership across functions.
• Experience with AI/ML platforms and intelligent decisioning systems is a plus.
• Background in payments, fraud, risk, or financial services is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor engineering teams, serving as a role model and builder leader.
• Shape architecture, design, and technology decisions across platforms and services.
• Drive execution from concept through production adoption with strong operational discipline.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud-native architecture

Distributed systems

Microservices

API design

Data platforms

Event-driven systems

People management

Architectural decisions

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Advanced CS degree

Tools

Kafka

Flink

Kubernetes

Job description

• Decision Stream is Mastercard’s next-generation AI-native decisioning platform, designed to power intelligent, real-time decisions across fraud, authentication, payments, and risk. Built with a startup mindset and enterprise-scale ambition, the platform combines innovation, speed, and engineering excellence to redefine decisioning across Mastercard’s global ecosystem
• We are seeking a visionary and hands‑on VP of Software Engineering to help build and scale the platform. This leader will partner closely with Product, Architecture, AI, and Platform Engineering teams to drive technology strategy, architecture, engineering execution, and organizational growth
• Serve as a senior technology leader and role model for engineering teams
• Drive architecture, design, and technology decisions across distributed systems, streaming, AI, and cloud‑native platforms
• Engage deeply with engineers, architects, and product leaders to solve complex technical challenges
• Influence engineering standards, software quality, and operational excellence
• Help shape and deliver a highly scalable, resilient, and secure decisioning platform operating at Mastercard scale
• Balance long‑term platform vision with day‑to‑day execution
• Drive simplicity, reliability, performance, and continuous innovation
• Recruit, mentor, and develop exceptional engineering talent
• Foster a culture of ownership, technical curiosity, accountability, and collaboration
• Build strong technical leadership across engineering teams
• Partner closely with Product and business stakeholders to align engineering investments with customer and business value
• Drive execution from concept through production adoption
• Establish operational rhythms, engineering metrics, and continuous improvement practices
• Operate as a builder, innovator, and servant leader
• Combine strategic thinking with hands‑on technical engagement
• Demonstrate curiosity, ownership, and a bias for action
• Lead through technical credibility, coaching, and execution excellence
• Inspire teams to solve hard problems and deliver meaningful business outcomes
• Expected to regularly engage in architecture reviews, design discussions, technology trade‑off decisions, and critical problem‑solving, while helping define the long‑term technology vision for Decision Stream

Strong hands‑on technical background in cloud‑native architectures, microservices, APIs, data platforms, and event‑driven systemsProven experience leading software engineering teams building large‑scale distributed platformsTrack record delivering highly available, resilient, and mission‑critical systems at scaleStrong collaboration, communication, and leadership skillsDemonstrated ability to influence architecture and engage deeply in technical design discussionsExperience with AI/ML platforms and intelligent decisioning systemsExperience with technologies such as Kafka, Flink, Kubernetes, and modern cloud platformsBackground in payments, fraud, risk, or financial servicesExperience building new platforms, products, or transformational technology initiatives