Distinguished Software Engineer

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 experience with Java, Python, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar
• 8+ years of full lifecycle system development — conception through architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and production support
• 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
• 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 with multiple of the following: serverless architectures (Fargate, Lambda), event-driven systems, observability platforms, ML/AI pipelines, automated testing frameworks, cloud migration at scale

What Sets This Role Apart

• Thrives at the intersection of deep technical expertise, relationship building, and rapid context switching
• Wants outsized impact across the entire bank rather than a single product
• Builds trusted advisor relationships with senior leaders across Bank Tech
• Communicates technical strategy, risks, and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Navigates organizational complexity — understands who owns what, how decisions get made, and how to unblock teams through influence rather than authority
• Represents Solutions Engineering credibility in intake conversations, helping sponsors understand what's possible and scoping engagements realistically
• Partners with receiving teams during knowledge transfer to ensure clean handovers and long-term ownership
• Develops and maintains deep knowledge of Bank Tech's systems landscape
• Leverages understanding of how the bank's technical systems interconnect to identify risks, dependencies, and integration challenges early
• Applies institutional context to accelerate onboarding and delivery — understands regulatory constraints, deployment patterns, and operational realities that external hires or contractors would miss
• Stays current on bank-wide technical strategy and translates that into actionable guidance for engagement teams
• Mentors and grows engineers across multiple teams, building a bench of technical leaders who can own engagements independently
• Fosters a culture of engineering excellence, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing
• Leads by example through high-quality technical contributions, clear documentation, and principled decision-making
• Actively recruits and develops talent suited to the unique demands of a professional services engineering model
• Operates 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
• Balances multiple concurrent engagements, allocating time and attention to maximize organizational impact
• Thrives with variety — this role serves multiple stakeholders across different domains rather than deep-diving into a single product for years