Senior Engineering Lead – Payments Platform

Citi

. Lead integration of functions to meet goals, deploy new payments products and capabilities, and enhance payment processing workflows .

Posted 9/25/2026full-timeUnited StatesSenior💰 $141,440 - $212,160 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

ApacheCloudDistributed SystemsGrafanaJavaJenkinsKafkaMicroservicesMongoDBNoSQLOraclePostgresPrometheusPythonRedisRuby on RailsSplunkSpringSpring BootSpringBootSwift

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead integration of functions to meet goals, deploy new payments products and capabilities, and enhance payment processing workflows
Analyze complex business processes, system processes, and payments industry standards to define and develop solutions
Provide advanced applications programming expertise and plan assignments involving large budgets, cross-functional projects, or multiple projects
Develop application methodologies and standards for program analysis, design, coding, testing, debugging, and implementation
Utilize advanced knowledge of system flows and multiple technology areas to achieve payments platform goals
Consult with payments product owners and business stakeholders to identify system specifications and incorporate them into system design
Allocate work and advise or coach developers, analysts, and new team members
Influence and negotiate with senior leaders and communicate with external parties
Assess and manage risk, compliance, controls, and safeguarding of Citigroup, its clients, and assets
Design and build fault-tolerant, loosely coupled microservices using circuit breakers, bulkheads, and active-active replication for 99.99% availability
Integrate AI/ML models for predictive scaling, anomaly detection, and automated self-healing
Develop high-throughput, event-driven architectures using technologies such as Apache Kafka for real-time payment and transaction data processing
Ensure platform design and engineering practices support PCI-DSS, AML/KYC transaction monitoring, and payment scheme compliance

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of hands-on Software Engineering experience
Strong track record of individual technical contribution in enterprise-grade payments or financial transaction processing systems
Subject Matter Expert in applications development using Java technologies, including Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, and reactive programming frameworks
Proficiency in Java and Python
Experience designing, building, and maintaining enterprise-scale payments platforms across complex distributed systems
Experience designing and implementing resilient microservices architectures using circuit breakers, bulkheads, and active-active replication
Experience with event-driven and message-based architectures using Apache Kafka or equivalent platforms
Working knowledge of payment rails, messaging standards, and protocols, including ISO 20022, SWIFT, ACH, RTP, and wire transfer systems
Understanding of payments processing lifecycle, including authorization, clearing, settlement, and reconciliation
Strong knowledge of CI/CD tools including Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, and GitHub Actions
Proficiency with relational and NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle, or Redis
Experience leveraging Artificial Intelligence tools and technologies, including GitHub Copilot, Claude, or Devin
Experience implementing monitoring and observability solutions using Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, or Splunk
Strong systems analysis skills
Familiarity with payments industry regulations and standards is a plus
Relationship and consensus-building skills across payments product, risk, compliance, and operations stakeholders
Bachelor's degree/University degree or equivalent experience
Master's degree preferred

Benefits

Comp & perks

Discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards
Medical, dental & vision coverage
401(k)
Life, accident, and disability insurance
Wellness programs
Paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays