Software Architect

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Job Summary

PayJunction is seeking a Software Architect to design and build the enterprise features and payment integrations our partners rely on to move billions of dollars a year, taking open-ended problems from a blank page to production while still writing Java yourself.

PayJunction is relentless and emphatical about helping others. We exist to drive the success of our partners. Specifically, the developers who connect to us, businesses who process payments through us, and all of our team members who work with us at PayJunction.

We believe dreams inspire people to start a business, and others to partner with them. While building dreams, entrepreneurs and business professionals will face many challenges along the way. We believe great partners can make all the difference.

We are your dream partner.

Your success is our success.

Our dream is to help you realize yours.

We exist to drive the success of our partners. We do this by fundamentally changing the way you transact with others. We just happen to make great payment systems. If you love helping others succeed, in a culture that celebrates perfecting your craft, consider partnering with us.

Location

PayJunction takes a Flex First approach to work environments. This means that our team members can choose to work from our Santa Barbara office or remotely from home. We ensure that everyone has the resources and equipment to work where they feel most productive. We trust our teams to make the best decision for their work environment. All PayJunction employees must reside in one of the following states: CA, IL, TX, MN, CO, GA, NY, MA, CT.

Mission

Our Engineering team’s mission is to design, develop, and maintain the products, technology, and systems that drive our partners' success.

Vision

Thousands of partners love and rely on our platform to make payments simple.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead open-ended initiatives from a blank page to production with Product and Engineering leadership, breaking the problem down, directing other engineers, and making the calls that keep the team moving.
• Personally design the highest-risk systems end to end, writing design docs clear enough to build from, with requirements, trade-offs, and failure modes stated up front.
• Stay hands-on: write production Java every sprint, review pull requests promptly, and hold work to a test strategy built for high-risk payment paths.
• Mentor senior engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and pairing, growing the team's design capability so not every decision runs through you.
• Architect enterprise capabilities such as SSO, role-based access, audit trails, and multi-merchant hierarchy, plus versioned APIs partners can build on without breaking changes.
• Keep the core platform processor-agnostic and our processor integrations performing optimally, from message mapping through reversals and settlement reconciliation.
• Design for reliability and PCI from the start: define SLOs and monitoring, remove single points of failure, lead root-cause analysis, and shrink PCI scope by design.
• Raise the team's delivery velocity with AI-assisted development, setting review and security guardrails for AI-generated code.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software engineering, with hands-on ownership of production systems.
• 5+ years of architecture experience as an Architect, Staff, or Principal Engineer, owning designs that span multiple services or teams.
• 5+ years of Java, including web frameworks and the JVM ecosystem, with production Java written in the last 12 months.
• 5+ years mentoring senior and mid-level engineers through code review, design review, and pairing; formal people management not required.
• Production experience with AWS, Linux (Ubuntu/Debian), relational databases (MySQL preferred), CI/CD (Jenkins or comparable), infrastructure as code (Puppet or similar), and observability tooling (Splunk, Grafana, Prometheus, or comparable).
• Designed and operated a high-availability transactional system where downtime or data loss had direct financial or customer impact.
• Currently uses AI coding assistants or agents (Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor, or comparable) in day-to-day production work.
• BS in Computer Science or equivalent applied experience.
• Preferred: payments or fintech experience such as card processing, gateways, or acquiring; experience designing within a PCI DSS-regulated environment.

About PayJunction

Founded in 2000 by three UCSB graduates, PayJunction has grown from a bootstrapped startup to a recognized and respected leader in the payments industry. PayJunction processes more than $12 billion dollars annually for thousands of businesses with solutions that make it easy to accept credit and debit card payments in-store, online, and on-the-go.

Our people-first culture values long-term relationships over short-term profits. Honesty and integrity are part of every interaction with partners, customers and employees. We foster a collaborative work environment, where creative ideas are welcomed, teams are inspired, and success is celebrated. PayJunction is a place where you can find experienced mentors and supportive friends who are committed to your growth.

Total Rewards Plan

• Health, dental, and vision paid 100% by company for you and your dependents
• 401k with 6% match
• FSA and Dependent Care FSA
• Long-term & short-term disability coverage for you paid 100% by company
• 8 paid company holidays per year
• 2 paid floating holidays per year
• 1 paid volunteer day per year
• Paid Time Off
• Home office equipment stipend
• Annual Learning Stipend
• Quarterly “fun budgets” for team bonding events
• Opportunity to be part of a company that is changing a whole industry
• Opportunity for growth within the company
• Opportunity for remote, in-office, or hybrid work

Office Environment

• The opportunity to choose the work environment that best suits you - remote, in-office, or hybrid.
• All remote & hybrid team members can enjoy:
  • Company-provided equipment for your home office
  • An equipment allowance for home office essentials
  • The opportunity to work at one of Glassdoor's Top 30 Best Places to Work in the US, 2020!
• Those who choose to come into the office can look forward to:
  • Bright and open offices in downtown Santa Barbara
  • Stocked snack kitchens
  • Collaborative work spaces with Herman Miller chairs, height-adjustable desks, and a large 32-inch monitors
  • Dog-friendly office

Company Values

• Build the Dream
• Put People First
• Value Long Term Relationships Over Short Term Profit
• Make it Simple
• Be Data Driven
• Own It

The base salary range for this role is $240,000-$275,000 plus our Total Rewards Plan benefit package. Actual base salary offered will vary depending on factors including but not limited to: education, experience, skills and qualifications.

PayJunction is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a work environment where people from all backgrounds and identities thrive. We firmly believe that more diversity and inclusion in our workforce creates a stronger team, product, and culture.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. PayJunction reserves the right to conduct background and/or credit checks on all of its potential employees.