Distinguished Software Engineer
Capital One · Philadelphia, PA · 2 wk ago
Engineering$269k–$307k/yrFull-time
Key Responsibilities
- Provide hands-on technical contributions across active engagements — architecture decisions, code reviews, prototypes, and proof-of-concepts that set the quality bar
- Define and drive technical direction for engagements spanning multiple domains (payments, account servicing, observability, cloud infrastructure, ML)
- Decompose complex, ambiguous problems into practical solutions with clear milestones and exit criteria
- Ensure non-functional quality across engagements: performance, scalability, operability, and security
- Make pragmatic technology choices that balance engineering ideals with delivery timelines
- Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with VPs, Senior Directors, and engineering leaders across Bank Tech
- Communicate technical strategy, risks, and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Navigate organizational complexity — understand who owns what, how decisions get made, and how to unblock teams through influence rather than authority
- Represent Solutions Engineering credibility in intake conversations, helping sponsors understand what's possible and scoping engagements realistically
- Partner with receiving teams during knowledge transfer to ensure clean handovers and long-term ownership
- Develop and maintain deep knowledge of Bank Tech's systems landscape: payments, account servicing, data platforms, core banking systems, and cloud infrastructure
- Leverage understanding of how the bank's technical systems interconnect to identify risks, dependencies, and integration challenges early
- Apply institutional context to accelerate onboarding and delivery — understanding regulatory constraints, deployment patterns, and operational realities that external hires or contractors would miss
- Stay current on bank-wide technical strategy and translate that into actionable guidance for engagement teams
- Mentor and grow engineers across multiple teams, building a bench of technical leaders who can own engagements independently
- Foster a culture of engineering excellence, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing
- Lead by example through high-quality technical contributions, clear documentation, and principled decision-making
- Actively recruit and develop talent suited to the unique demands of a professional services engineering model
- Operate effectively in a SWAT-style model: rapidly orient to new problem domains, deliver high-impact contributions in compressed timelines, then transition cleanly to the next priority
- Balance multiple concurrent engagements, allocating time and attention to maximize organizational impact
- Thrive with variety — this role serves multiple stakeholders across different domains rather than deep-diving into a single product for years
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree
- At least 7 years of experience in software engineering
- At least 7 years of experience with cloud computing (AWS)
- At least 5 years of experience working across multiple technical domains or in a consulting or professional services engineering capacity
- Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science or a related field
- 10+ years of software engineering experience with broad exposure across distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, and application development
- 10+ years of professional experience in Java, Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar
- 8+ years of full lifecycle system development — conception through architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and production support
- Experience at Capital One or a large financial institution with understanding of regulated environments, compliance requirements, and enterprise-scale systems
- Demonstrated track record of building relationships and influencing technical decisions across organizational boundaries without direct authority
- Experience leading technical direction in a consulting, professional services, or rotational engineering model where context-switching across domains is the norm
- Experience with multiple of the following: serverless architectures (Fargate, Lambda), event-driven systems, observability platforms, ML/AI pipelines, automated testing frameworks, cloud migration at scale
- Experience leveraging interactive AI tooling to accelerate productivity, utilizing capabilities beyond basic code completion
- Strong written and verbal communication skills — ability to produce clear ADRs, technical briefs, and stakeholder-facing materials
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science or a related field
- 10+ years of professional experience in Java, Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar
- 8+ years of full lifecycle system development — conception through architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and production support
- Experience at Capital One or a large financial institution with understanding of regulated environments, compliance requirements, and enterprise-scale systems
- Experience leading technical direction in a consulting, professional services, or rotational engineering model where context-switching across domains is the norm
- Experience with multiple of the following: serverless architectures (Fargate, Lambda), event-driven systems, observability platforms, ML/AI pipelines, automated testing frameworks, cloud migration at scale
- Experience leveraging interactive AI tooling to accelerate productivity, utilizing capabilities beyond basic code completion
- Strong written and verbal communication skills — ability to produce clear ADRs, technical briefs, and stakeholder-facing materials