Lead Software Engineer

We're looking for a Lead Software Engineer who's as comfortable talking about how a business makes money as they are designing a distributed system. This is a hands-on technical leadership role: you'll own initiatives end-to-end, partner closely with product, and help set the technical direction for a team that moves fast and operates with high autonomy.

You'll report to our VP of Engineering and work in a flat structure where ICs lead projects, not just contribute to them. We run parallel initiatives at any given time in small, two-person tribe structures. We expect the people who join us to be the kind who step up, make decisions, and take accountability for outcomes, technical and otherwise.

What you'll do

• Own complex technical initiatives from conception to delivery, including architecture decisions, implementation, and cross-functional coordination with product and business stakeholders.

• Lead cross-functional efforts (tiger teams and initiative-based squads) and serve as the technical point of accountability for the initiatives you're running.

• Design and implement scalable microservices solutions, with particular attention to reliability, performance, and maintainability in a high-volume financial transactions environment.

• Partner with the product to understand the business context and translate it into technical decisions. This means understanding why something matters to the business, not just what needs to be built.

• Raise the technical bar across the team through code review, architecture feedback, and knowledge sharing with less senior engineers.

• Leverage AI tooling as a core part of how you work. We're an AI-forward team and expect you to have a sophisticated, evolved setup, not just basic usage.

What you'll bring

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, ideally including time at a fintech, high-growth startup, or company operating at scale.

• Proficiency in Golang, Rust or openness to work with it.

• Experience designing and evolving scalable architectures — microservices, distributed systems, or monoliths — with a clear point of view on the tradeoffs of each.

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, and cloud platforms (we're on AWS).

• Demonstrated ability to lead a project from soup to nuts. This means technical execution, stakeholder communication, and delivery accountability.

• Business acumen: you understand how software products make money, you care about it, and it informs how you make technical decisions.

• English communication skills sufficient to collaborate effectively with our teams in the US, Canada, and Brazil (our engineering team is based in Brazil!).

• Experience in fintech or payments is a strong plus, but the more important signal is whether you've worked somewhere that expected you to understand the full picture.

Nice-to-haves

• Background as an Engineering Manager, Staff Engineer, Lead Engineer or Tech Lead with a desire to return to hands-on technical work.

• Experience at companies serving US-based markets. Familiarity with the communication norms and business context that come with that.

• Comfort with event-driven architectures (RabbitMQ or similar).

• A sophisticated AI-assisted workflow: multiple models, custom agents, specialized contexts, integrated into planning and implementation, not just Copilot autocomplete.

• Track record of mentoring engineers and raising team output, not just individual output.

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 on each job posting reflects the approximate total target compensation for the position. Within the range, individual pay is determined by factors including relevant skills, experience, education/training.

• Equity opportunities so you can share in our growth and success.

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

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

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 & AI: 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.