Director, Software Engineering

Visa’s Technology Organization is a community of problem solvers and innovators reshaping the future of commerce.   We operate the world’s most sophisticated processing networks capable of handling more than 65k secure transactions a second across 80M merchants, 15k Financial Institutions, and billions of everyday people.   While working with us you’ll get to work on complex distributed systems and solve massive scale problems centered on new payment flows, business and data solutions, cyber security, and B2C platforms.     

The Opportunity: 

As a Director of Software Engineering, you will lead a high-performing team within our Risk & Identity Solutions group, shaping the next generation of our real-time Fraud Detection Engine. You will guide the design, development, and deployment of secure, scalable, and resilient distributed systems leveraging AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies to deliver industry-leading solutions.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you will inspire and motivate your team to deliver exceptional results in a fast-paced, high-impact environment, ensuring both high productivity and uncompromising product quality. You will collaborate closely with product, architecture, and operations teams to bring innovative ideas to life, ideas that power the trust and security behind some of the world’s biggest brands, including Meta, Nike, FedEx, and Apple.

Essential Functions:

• Lead & Inspire: Set vision, provide direction, and foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Deliver at Scale: Architect and oversee the development of large-scale, enterprise-class applications with a focus on high availability, performance, and security.
• Drive Innovation: Introduce and integrate new technologies, tools, and processes to build the next generation of risk and fraud detection services.
• Collaborate Across Functions: Partner with product management, architecture, and security teams to translate business requirements into impactful technical solutions.
• Champion Engineering Excellence: Lead by example in adopting best practices for software craftsmanship, CI/CD pipelines, and secure coding.
• Mentor & Grow Talent: Coach team members, provide career development opportunities, and build a succession pipeline for future leaders.
• Represent & Evangelize: Be the face of the team in internal forums, cross-functional meetings, and external industry events.

Why Join Us:

• Impact at Scale – Your work will secure billions of transactions globally for some of the world’s most recognized brands.
• Cutting-Edge Tech – From AI-driven fraud prevention to containerized microservices, you’ll work with the latest tools and methodologies.
• Empowered Teams – We believe in autonomy, ownership, and delivering end-to-end solutions.
• Culture of Growth – Continuous learning, mentorship, and career advancement are part of our DNA.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in the office will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager. 

Basic Qualifications:
14+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 7 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 4 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 13+ years of relevant work experience.

Preferred Qualifications:
12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
Bachelor’s degree in Software Development or related field with 12+ years of software development experience, or 10+ years with an advanced degree.
Proven track record in leading engineering teams delivering high-quality, large-scale enterprise applications.
Expertise in agile development environments using CI/CD tools such as ArgoCD, GitHub, Maven, Jenkins, and Sonar.
Strong understanding of security in software development, including code and data flow reviews.
Demonstrated ability to motivate teams and deliver results in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
Strong background in AI/ML-driven product development.
Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Hands-on experience in debugging, Unix systems, and supporting operational teams.
We do not expect that any single candidate would fulfill all of these characteristics. For instance, we have exciting team members who are really focused on building scalable systems but didn’t work with payments technology or web applications before joining Visa.

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.