Director, Software Engineering

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Director, Software Engineering

Responsible for leading a team of Java Engineers and delivery of high-quality software solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner. This role provides technical and people leadership across complex initiatives, establishes engineering standards, and partners with business and technology stakeholders to deliver scalable, secure, reliable, and innovative solutions.

Major Accountabilities

• Establish and monitor objectives for the department and staff members to align with department strategies and broader business goals.
• Lead the definition, development, and delivery of major cross-department initiatives with broad scope and long-term business implications.
• Partner with business stakeholders to identify innovative solutions, drive strategic decisions, and develop business cases aligned with Mastercard objectives.
• Actively identify opportunities for innovation, creative problem solving, and continuous improvement.
• Make presentations to senior management, business owners, and other stakeholders to support informed decision-making.
• Provide recommendations to senior management on technology selection, software architecture, and strategic technical direction for the department.
• Establish and govern engineering standards for software design, software development, secure coding, code review, testing, and overall solution quality.
• Lead implementation of processes and supporting tools based on the evolving needs of the organization.
• Identify process gaps, provide estimates for business solutions, define initial project scope and requirements, and manage scope throughout the project lifecycle.
• Plan overall project scope and define scope for each phase and iteration to meet business needs and time-to-market expectations.
• Drive quality engineering practices, including unit, functional, and integration testing standards to improve reliability and maintainability.
• Guide performance engineering strategies to support scalable, efficient, and resilient applications.
• Establish operational readiness practices that support observability, maintainability, resilience, and effective production support.
• Oversee troubleshooting and incident response approaches to enable systematic problem resolution and continuous learning.
• Ensure projects and efforts are appropriately staffed, trained, and managed.
• Ensure team members have the appropriate skills and behaviors; communicate performance results effectively; and manage each effort within approved manpower and budget guidelines.
• Build and develop diverse, high-performing engineering teams aligned to organizational goals.
• Perform strategic planning, financial planning, administration, and management of the department.
• Lead through ambiguity and complexity by creating clarity, removing barriers, and guiding teams through change.

Knowledge / Experience

• Budget and resource management experience.
• 8-10 years of related experience, including management experience with multiple diverse teams and experience conducting formal performance reviews.
• Experience managing financials for multiple projects and programs.
• Advanced knowledge of project management, strategic planning, financial planning, and related practices.
• Advanced understanding of software engineering concepts, methodologies, and delivery practices.
• Experience establishing or guiding software architecture, technical standards, and engineering best practices across teams.
• Experience driving secure, scalable, maintainable, and reliable software solutions.
• Experience with software quality practices, including code review, unit testing, functional testing, integration testing, and production readiness.
• Experience leading performance, operability, troubleshooting, or resiliency practices for complex technology environments.

Skills / Abilities

• Ability to influence engineering policies, standards, and strategic plans across teams and organizations.
• Full-stack Java development experience
• Strong database design and data management knowledge
• Strong people management skills, including the ability to coach, develop, and lead team members using clear verbal and written communication.
• Ability to provide overall business and technical project planning for product enhancements.
• Ability to shape technical vision and strategy while aligning decisions to enterprise goals.
• Ability to evaluate technical tradeoffs related to architecture, scalability, security, performance, operability, and long-term maintainability.
• Ability to foster an enterprise mindset by encouraging end-to-end thinking and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to drive change, promote innovation, and guide teams through evolving business and technology needs.
• Ability to deliver results through high-impact execution while maintaining a customer-focused approach.

Nice to have:

• Experience with Axon
• Knowledge of card payment processing concepts, including authorization, clearing, and settlement
• AI/GenAI exposure and familiarity with AI-assisted development tools

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of experience and formal education.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro‑rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best‑in‑class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on‑site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on‑site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

O'Fallon, Missouri: $170,000 - $281,000 USD