Lead Software Engineer

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters — to you, to your community, and to the world.

Progress starts with you.

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 tackle complex distributed systems and solve massive-scale problems centered on new payment flows, business and data solutions, cyber security, and B2C platforms.

Commercial and Money Movement Solutions (CMS) at Visa is a dynamic organization driving innovation in commerce and payments. CMS is a key business pillar focused on enabling and expanding money movement solutions and platforms for commercial clients—including micro, small, and mid-sized companies, large corporations, government institutions, and other payment enablers. Our team is passionate about building scalable, secure, and high-impact solutions that touch millions of users worldwide. As part of Visa’s Technology Organization, CMS engineers work on complex distributed systems, new payment flows, business and data solutions, cyber security, and B2B platforms.

We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer who is:

• Extremely curious and enthusiastic about AI, especially AI for Development
• Eager to keep up with the latest AI trends and help CMS leverage AI to its fullest potential
• Proactive in connecting and collaborating with AI engineers across Visa to bring relevant scenarios and technology into our team
• Able to identify unique opportunities for CMS to build and deliver new AI development capabilities
• A thought leader who raises organizational awareness on how to best use AI
• Skilled at combining great communication with deep technology expertise—just as comfortable creating a newsletter or video as digging into code

The Work Itself

• Champion AI Development: Identify and deliver new AI capabilities for CMS, acting as an internal evangelist for best practices and innovation.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Build relationships with AI engineers across Visa, integrating new technologies and scenarios into CMS projects.
• Trendspotting & Evangelism: Stay ahead of AI trends, sharing insights through engaging content (newsletters, videos, presentations) and technical contributions.
• Full Stack Engineering: Architect and develop robust, scalable systems using modern frameworks and languages (e.g., Java, Python, React, Angular, Kubernetes, Docker).
• Design & Build: Influence Visa’s standards for scalability, security, and reusability while developing solutions for diverse customers—merchants, B2B, and government.
• Mentorship & Learning: Mentor team members and foster a culture of continuous learning and experimentation in AI and software engineering.

Essential Functions

• Consult with product owners to gather and refine requirements, focusing on AI-driven and full stack solutions.
• Drive advanced architectural solutions, integrating AI and full stack capabilities across the CMS technical ecosystem.
• Provide domain expertise and foster standard processes in user documentation and knowledge sharing.
• Lead the development and delivery of new features, especially those leveraging AI, from end-to-end.

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

Basic Qualifications:
10+ 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
Master’s degree in Math, Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field AND minimum eight (8) years of experience in a directly related field.
OR Bachelor’s degree in Math, Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field AND minimum ten (10) years of experience in a directly related field.
OR Minimum thirteen (13) years of directly related experience.
The Skills You Bring
AI Enthusiasm: Passionate about AI, with a growth mindset and a drive to learn and experiment with new technologies.
Full Stack Expertise: Proficiency in front-end (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Angular) and back-end (Java, Python, C++, PHP) development.
Collaboration: Experience working with cross-functional teams, especially in AI and software development.
Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts through written, visual, and verbal channels.
Builder & Learner: Experience building scalable web applications and services, with a constant drive to learn new tools and approaches.
Thought Leadership: Ability to act as an internal evangelist for AI, influencing best practices and organizational strategy.

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

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.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for this position is 173,100.00 to 276,800 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.