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

Overview:
Mastercard’s Data Analytics and AI Program is seeking a Director, Software Engineering to lead the design and delivery of full-stack applications and data platforms within a fast-paced, agile environment. This leader will partner closely with product, data, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable, high-quality solutions that generate measurable customer and business impact.
As part of the Services Technology organization, the Data Analytics and AI program is a strategically critical and rapidly evolving initiative, delivering a portfolio of products across Portfolio Optimization, Merchant & Customer Ad Insights, and Location Insights. This is a high-growth area where data, AI, and engineering converge to unlock next-generation capabilities for Mastercard and its customers.

This is a hybrid role based in Arlington, VA or O’Fallon, MO, requiring three days per week onsite. You will lead a global organization of ~25 team members, including 4–5 direct reports, spanning the US, India, and Europe, with significant emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, stakeholder management, and global execution.

Role:
• Define and drive end-to-end technology and product strategy across applications, architectures, and engineering practices.
• Architect, build, and scale complex, distributed systems across multiple engineering teams.
• Champion improvements in developer experience, engineering tooling, and best practices, including the adoption of AI to improve productivity and engineering effectiveness.
• Partner closely with Product Management to shape and execute product and technology roadmaps.
• Lead, coach, and develop engineers and engineering managers across global, cross-functional teams.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks in collaboration with senior technology leaders.
• Drive modernization of platforms with a focus on scalability, security, reliability, and performance.
• Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous technical learning.
• Set high standards for engineering excellence and elevate team performance.
• Navigate complex cross-team dependencies and drive alignment across stakeholders.
• Promote agile ways of working and enable teams to adapt quickly to changing priorities and insights.
• Engage and influence senior stakeholders on technology direction and product decisions.
• Anticipate and plan for future scaling needs aligned with business growth and customer demand.

All About You:
• Proven experience as a Software Engineering Manager or Director in an agile, production-scale environment.
• Experience leading multiple engineering teams and developing engineering leaders in a global, distributed setup.
• Strong track record of defining architecture, design, and delivery of large-scale, multi-team systems.
• Hands-on familiarity with full-stack, data, and cloud technologies such as Databricks, AWS, Airflow, .NET/C#, Java, Spring Boot, React, Redux, TypeScript, SQL Server, Python, Spark, Hive, Impala, NiFi, Sqoop, or similar.
• Strong technical foundation with ability to quickly learn and adopt new technologies.
• Relentless focus on customer value, business outcomes, and delivery excellence.
• Experience improving engineering organizations, structures, and delivery processes at scale.
• Ability to influence across teams, functions, and geographies to drive technical alignment.
• Proven success leading distributed global teams across multiple regions.
• Strong understanding of SDLC methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) and when to apply them.
• Proven ability to build, mentor, and retain high-performing engineering leaders.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to influence executive, business, and technical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical thinking and decision-making capabilities in ambiguous and complex environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience.

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 [email protected] 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

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• 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

Arlington, Virginia: $195,000 - $323,000 USD

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