Chief Software Engineer, Database Architecture

About Us
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.

Job Description

Job Summary

The Chief Software Engineer, Database Architecture will be a senior technical leader within the Payment Products Development team, responsible for designing secure, scalable, and highly available database solutions supporting mission-critical payment systems.

This hands-on architecture role will define database strategy and engineering standards across relational, NoSQL, distributed, and cloud-native technologies. The role will partner with software engineering, infrastructure, security, and product teams to drive database modernization, performance, resiliency, and technical excellence.

All roles require digital fluency, including the ability to work with emerging technologies such as Generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, to support everyday work.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and drive database architecture and engineering standards for high-volume, highly available payment applications.
• Design scalable solutions across relational, NoSQL, distributed, and cloud-native database technologies.
• Lead logical and physical data modeling, schema design, partitioning, replication, performance optimization, and capacity planning.
• Evaluate database technologies and architecture trade-offs based on scalability, availability, latency, security, recoverability, and cost.
• Drive database modernization, cloud migration, automation, and resiliency strategies, including high availability and disaster recovery.
• Partner with engineering, infrastructure, security, and product teams to ensure database solutions meet performance, governance, security, and compliance requirements.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership through architecture reviews, proof of concepts, production-readiness assessments, troubleshooting, and mentoring of engineering teams.

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

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• 12+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 9 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 15+ years of relevant work experience.
• Extensive experience architecting databases for large-scale, highly available, business-critical systems.
• Hands-on experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, or MySQL and NoSQL/distributed technologies such as Cassandra, MongoDB, DynamoDB, or equivalent.
• Strong experience with data modeling, schema design, indexing, partitioning, query optimization, database performance, and capacity planning.
• Experience designing high-availability, replication, backup, recovery, and disaster-recovery solutions.
• Experience with cloud database platforms, database modernization, migration, security, governance, and automated deployment practices.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex architecture decisions, evaluate technical trade-offs, and communicate recommendations across engineering and business stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• 15 or more years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, or MD), PhD with 9+ years of experience.
• Experience as a Database Architect, Principal Database Engineer, Data Platform Architect, or comparable senior technical leader.
• Experience designing database architecture for payments, financial services, or other high-volume transactional environments.
• Deep experience with cloud-native database technologies across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience with distributed systems, microservices, event-driven architecture, and streaming technologies such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience leading database modernization, cloud migration, automation, Infrastructure as Code, and observability initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead hands-on proof of concepts, mentor senior engineers, and influence architecture direction across multiple engineering teams.

Information for US Applicants

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $195,900.00 to $ 314,000.00 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.

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 protect veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.