Staff Software Engineer
PayPal · San Jose, California, United States of America ·
- Work mode
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Staff
- Category
- Software engineering
- Experience
- 2+ years
- Company size
- 1000+
- Salary
- USD 176,500 – 262,350 / year
PayPal · San Jose, California, United States of America ·
Lead cloud infrastructure initiatives for Venmo, designing and automating secure, scalable AWS-based systems using Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and IaC tools to ensure high availability and developer productivity.
The Company
PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.
We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.
We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade.
Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.
Job Summary:
This job acts as a project leader, coordinating the activities of other engineers, determining technical tasks, and improving existing structures and processes. It involves making technical decisions, collaborating with management to set standards, and representing the company to external partners.Job Description:
Essential Responsibilities:
Expected Qualifications:
Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications:
At Venmo, we are creating a product that people love. We strive to create a delightful user
experience while connecting the world and empowering people through payments. We are
looking for intellectually curious people who want to be inspired and inspire others to change
the world.
Engineering is a craft, and at Venmo we want the internals of our software to be as elegant as
the end user experience we are designing. We spend our days scaling our infrastructure and
building new features to meet and exceed our users’ needs and wants. We work with a product
team that is data-driven and human-centered in its design principles. We teach and learn from
one another and push each other to be at our creative and analytical best.
Our team is dedicated to ensuring the seamless operation of all user-facing services, as well as
production and development systems. We manage Venmo’s infrastructure comprehensively,
encompassing operations, automation, security, compliance, and release engineering. While we
are focused on Cloud Engineering, our work integrates elements of Site Reliability Engineering
(SRE) and DevOps projects as well.
On the DevOps front, we oversee CI/CD infrastructure, develop smart and secure pipelines,
implement self-service secret management systems, create development environments, and
establish microservices scaffolding and testing frameworks. The quality of the systems we build
is paramount to the company, and we prioritize it highly. Our infrastructure must be delivered
automatically, thoroughly tested, and scanned for vulnerabilities through synthetic tests.
As a Staff Engineer, you will support our critical domains, leading major initiatives related to
your domain. You will be part of the architect group that defines the future of the Company’s
technical development. This individual will be a hands-on contributor that teaches by example
and mentors other engineers and product owners on how to improve their development, using
our systems, by driving best practices. We have a lot of independence in our decisions, but we
are kept accountable for the results.
Our technical stack:AWS, EKS, Docker, GitHub Enterprise, CDK, Terraform, GitHub Actions, Datadog, Bash, Python,Go
As a Staff Engineer, you will:
• Contribute and help drive the strategic direction to one or more of our domains, leading
initiatives in your area of expertise.
• Act as a hands-on contributor, while leading by example
• Mentor senior and junior engineers
• Enjoy a high degree of independence in decision-making while being accountable for
results of yourself and your team
• Be part of a team dedicated to driving the scalability and reliability of Venmo’s AWS
cloud infrastructure
• Provide guidance, thought leadership, and mentorship to application teams to build and
strengthen their cloud competencies
What You’ll Do
• Lead major initiatives end-to-end: internal teams rarely have dedicated project managers
You will define the design, identify stakeholders, navigate risks and changes, coordinate
colleagues' work, implement solutions, and be accountable for timely and quality project
delivery.
• Continually raise the bar through assisting fellow engineers in developing and delivering
their code more efficiently and securely.
• Troubleshoot incidents, identify root causes, fix and document problems, and implement
preventive measures.
• Coach and mentor engineers on design principles and best practices.
• Recognize, validate and evangelize emerging technologies and architectures that align
with business objectives.
• Strategically and tactically leading by example, making meaningful contributions to the
improvement of engineering teams’ production operations.
• Develop and improve tools and automation to manage infrastructure and application
configuration as code.
• Enhance the quality, reliability, and stability of our infrastructure and operations.
What We’re Looking For
• Bachelors and/or master's in computer science or related field of study
• 7+ years' experience in software development or a related field
• 5+ years' experience operating distributed applications 24x7x365, as part of a Cloud
Engineering, DevOps, and/or SRE team.• 2+ years technical leadership experience
• Extensive hands-on experience with designing, implementing and supporting
infrastructure (AWS experience preferred) to support global-scale services
• Deep hands-on experience with IaaS and PaaS solutions from AWS (or similar cloud
provider):
• Hands-on programming and scripting (Python, Java, Bash, Go)
• Hands-on experience with containers & container orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes
• Strong communication skills with the ability to understand and explain technical issues
to a non-technical audience
Subsidiary:
VenmoTravel Percent:
0-
The base pay for this role will depend on where you work and the relevant experience and expertise you bring. The expected range of pay for this role by location is:
Primary Location | Pay Range:
San Jose, California: ($176,500.00 - $262,350.00 Annually)
Additional Location(s) | Pay Range:
Texas - (Virtual): ($160,500.00 - $238,700.00 Annually)
Austin, Texas: ($160,500.00 - $238,700.00 Annually)
Northern California - (Virtual): ($169,000.00 - $250,800.00 Annually)
Arizona - (Virtual): ($152,500.00 - $226,600.00 Annually)
Scottsdale, Arizona: ($152,500.00 - $226,600.00 Annually)

Additional compensation for this role may include an annual performance bonus, equity, or other incentive compensation, as applicable.PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. When making an application directly, we will never ask you to share passwords, one-time passcodes (OTP), or verification codes. Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. All communication regarding your application will come from official PayPal email domains. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it immediately. To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit .
For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.
Our Benefits:
At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most. We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.
Who We Are:
Click Here to learn more about our culture and community.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [email protected].
Belonging at PayPal:
Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.
Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.
We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.