Principal Backend Engineer, Payments Platform

This position is posted by Jobgether on behalf of a partner company. We are currently looking for a Principal Backend Engineer, Payments Platform in the United States.

The Principal Backend Engineer will lead the design, development, and evolution of a global payments platform, shaping the technical vision and architecture that supports millions of businesses moving money securely and efficiently. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution, driving scalable, reliable, and resilient systems while mentoring engineering teams and influencing cross-organizational initiatives. You will collaborate with product, security, and risk teams to ensure technical decisions align with business objectives and regulatory requirements. The position offers a hybrid or remote-first work environment, opportunities to innovate, and the chance to tackle complex fintech challenges with a direct impact on the organization’s growth and global payments strategy.

Accountabilities

• Define and drive the long-term architecture and technical strategy for the payments platform, translating multi-year vision into actionable initiatives.
• Architect, design, and implement highly scalable, reliable, and performant systems that support global payments operations.
• Evaluate existing systems to determine reuse, evolution, or redesign, and plan smooth migration paths to modernized solutions.
• Contribute hands-on to production code, review complex designs, and guide operational excellence practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product, security, risk, and platform engineering—to deliver cohesive, compliant solutions.
• Promote observability, reliability, and performance standards across engineering teams.
• Mentor Staff and Senior engineers, fostering technical leadership and a culture of innovation and excellence.

Requirements

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with substantial experience designing and operating large-scale distributed systems in production.
• Proven track record as a Principal/Architect-level technical leader influencing technical strategy and driving cross-organization initiatives.
• Expertise in building scalable, resilient, and high-performance backend systems with operational excellence (monitoring, on-call, incident response, observability).
• Strong proficiency in at least one modern backend language (C#, Java, Golang, C++) and experience with cloud-native platforms (AWS preferred).
• Advanced knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases and large-scale data modeling.
• Experience in regulated industries, particularly payments or fintech, with deep understanding of compliance requirements.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills; able to influence senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Mentorship experience and ability to elevate engineering capabilities across teams.
• Hands-on mindset with the ability to guide teams through complex architectural challenges and pragmatic migrations.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
• Hybrid or remote-first work arrangement with flexible schedule.
• Generous paid leave, including parental leave, and support for physical and mental wellbeing.
• 401k contribution matching and employee share plan.
• Professional development opportunities, career growth, and mentorship.
• Access to wellness programs, employee resource groups, and family support initiatives.
• Modern office environments with amenities, snacks, and collaborative spaces.

Jobgether is a Talent Matching Platform that partners with companies worldwide to efficiently connect top talent with the right opportunities through AI-driven job matching.

When you apply, your profile goes through our AI-powered screening process designed to identify top talent efficiently and fairly.
🔍 Our AI evaluates your CV and LinkedIn profile thoroughly, analyzing your skills, experience, and achievements.
📊 It compares your profile to the job’s core requirements and past success factors to determine your match score.
🎯 Based on this analysis, we automatically shortlist the three candidates with the highest match to the role.
🧠 When necessary, our human team may perform an additional manual review to ensure no strong profile is missed.

The process is transparent, skills-based, and free of bias, focusing solely on your fit for the role. Once the shortlist is completed, we share it directly with the company that owns the job opening. The final decision and next steps (such as interviews or additional assessments) are then made by their internal hiring team.

Thank you for your interest!