Lead Software Engineer

We're seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to join our engineering team and drive technical excellence across our platform. This is a technical leadership role focused on architecture design, system scalability, and knowledge sharing rather than people management. You'll be responsible for designing and implementing solutions that improve and simplify our systems while mentoring other engineers through technical guidance.

As our Lead Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to shape our technical direction, lead cross-functional initiatives, and establish engineering best practices that will scale with our growing team.

What you’ll do

• Design, architect and implement/code scalable microservices solutions that handle high-volume financial transactions.

• Lead system design decisions with a focus on scalability, resilience, and performance optimization.

• Leverage your expertise to propose improvements and enhance reliability and maintainability in current and future features.

• Lead cross-functional teams (such as tiger teams, but not limited to it) for specific technical initiatives and collaborate with product and engineering teams to prioritize technical roadmap items.

• Take ownership of complex technical projects from conception to delivery.

What you’ll bring

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.

• Proficiency in Golang (highly preferred) or proficiency in one of these: Java, C#, or C++.

• In-depth experience with microservices architecture and distributed systems, showcasing strong skills in designing and implementing scalable architectures

• Experience with DevOps and Infrastructure best practices, having worked with Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, and cloud platforms (we work with AWS, but experience with others is highly valuable).

• Prior background in financial services (fintech) or the payments industry.

• Strong English communication skills for technical knowledge sharing and cross-functional work with our teams in the US, Canada, and Brazil.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with high-volume, data-intensive applications beyond just payments.

• Comfortable with event buses/queues (RabbitMQ or similar technologies).

• Experience in both startup and scale-up environments.

• Track record of mentoring and developing other engineers in both big and small teams.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary tailored to your experience, skills, and expertise

• The total compensation range for this role is 90k - 102k USD, plus equity. The range displayed reflects the approximate total target compensation for the position. Within the range, individual pay is determined by factors including relevant skills, experience, and education/training

• Equity opportunities so you can share in our growth and success (we just raised a Series A!)

• Unlimited PTO and flexibility when you need it the most.

• Yearly learning & development stipend and laptop reimbursement to help you grow and do your best work.

• Claude Code for all Engineers.

• Opportunity to work with a global, dynamic team making real impact in the rapidly growing payments industry.

Why Choose Alternative Payments?

At Alternative Payments, you’ll do work that truly matters.

• Own your impact: Lead meaningful, high-impact projects and collaborative initiatives that are shaping the future of FinTech and redefining how businesses get paid.

• Collaborate: Work with a diverse, innovative team where every voice is heard and great ideas come from anywhere.

• Grow with us: Your career journey is top of mind. We prioritize internal growth and give you the space to shape your path based on your goals — whether that’s deepening your expertise in your domain or exploring something new.

• Thrive in a supportive culture: As a scaling start-up, there’s a lot to be done and initiative is key. We believe in shared learning, open communication, and building each other up. When one of us grows, we all do.

Our Values

• Transparency & Honesty: We communicate openly and truthfully with partners, investors, and each other so everyone understands where we stand and where we’re headed.

• Resourcefulness: We stay scrappy, find creative solutions, and make progress even when the path isn’t obvious. We have a bias for action and seek out the information and resources necessary to make decisions and move quickly.

• Partnership: We win and lose together. We collaborate with our partners, investors, and teammates to tackle big challenges and reach shared goals.

• Revolutionary & Boldness: We challenge conventions, take calculated risks, and build better, stronger solutions that move our business and the industry forward.

• Accountability: We take ownership of our decisions and results. We follow through on our commitments knowing our work directly impacts our partners, our team and our business.

Applying to Alternative Payments

We’re looking for candidates who are ready to step in and make an impact from day one. We know that sometimes people hold back unless they meet every requirement, but if you’re excited about the role, bring relevant experience, and are ready to contribute, we want to hear from you!

All resumes are reviewed by our small but mighty talent team. While we may use AI tools to help prioritize applications, real people are behind every resume review and hiring decision. We’re also committed to an inclusive and accessible process. If you require reasonable accommodation during the hiring process, please let us know upon being selected to interview.