Senior Principal Payment Tech Development Manager

This role serves as a high-impact enterprise leader, strategic influencer, and head of a high-performing engineering organization. Responsibilities include directing the end-to-end design, development, testing, certification, and delivery of contact/contactless chip technologies, mobile payments, and emerging payment devices. A critical focus is leading the development of card- and wallet-related functional and security requirements, test plans, and tools for D-PAS card personalization and Mobile D-PAS Wallet validations—key prerequisites for D-PAS product acceptance. As a technical authority and people leader, the Senior Manager will build, scale, and inspire a world-class engineering team while championing cross-functional alignment, managing executive and multi-party stakeholder ecosystems, and driving strategic vendor relationships.

Responsibilities

• People Leadership & Talent Architecture
  • Recruit, hire, and build a high-performing engineering and validation organization; design team structures to support evolving payment technology roadmaps.
  • Own performance management, goal setting, and career development for direct reports; cultivate next-generation technical leaders and people managers.
  • Foster an inclusive culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and accountability within development and testing teams.
  • Strategically manage resource allocation, capacity planning, and headcount budgeting to balance immediate delivery needs with long-term initiatives.
• Product Development & Technical Direction
  • Lead engineering teams in designing and developing next-generation payment technologies across card acceptance and payment devices (contact/contactless chips, mobile, and cloud-based payments).
  • Serve as the final technical authority for product technology specifications, balancing functional innovation with rigorous security features.
• Stakeholder Management & Collaboration
  • Act as the primary liaison and trusted advisor to executive leadership, business partners, and global cross-functional teams, translating technical payment roadmaps into clear business outcomes.
  • Manage complex, matrixed relationships with internal and external stakeholders to drive alignment on payment standards, specifications, and deployment strategies.
  • Standardize communication channels to resolve competing priorities across business lines, ensuring seamless product integration and delivery.
• Testing, Certification & Global Compliance
  • Establish and oversee comprehensive testing requirements, test plans, and procedures for cutting-edge payment technology products.
  • Own the strategy and development of requirements/tools for Card Personalization Validation and Mobile Provisioning Validation processes.
  • Collaborate in defining global certification requirements and compliance programs to ensure high-quality, standardized product rollouts.
• Vendor, Partner & Industry Management
  • Manage high-value relationships with external vendors, including card/chip manufacturers, test laboratories, tool providers, and mobile developers.
  • Represent the organization in global standardization bodies to influence the future of payment specifications.
  • Establish SLAs and governance models to ensure external partners align with corporate benchmarks.
• Risk Management & Governance
  • Anticipate systemic risks, technical bottlenecks, or customer-impacting vulnerabilities; design mitigation strategies and lead executive-level escalations.

Requirements

• High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent certification.
• At least 6 years of payment technology research and development experience.
• At least 4 years of experience supporting, partnering, or interacting with internal/external business clients.
• At least 4 years of people management and performance management experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or Technology.
• Experience managing and scaling engineering teams in a fast-paced corporate environment.
• Experience leading large-scale deployment projects involving EMV payments systems, mobile payment technologies (including cloud-based payments), and secure elements.
• Deep understanding of EMV Functional and EMV Security requirements.

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

Pay

• McLean, VA: $177,700 - $202,800 per year.
• Anytown, IL / Riverwoods, IL: $161,500 - $184,300 per year.
• Other locations: Pay range subject to local market rates.

This role is eligible for performance-based incentive compensation, including cash bonuses and/or long-term incentives (LTI).

Benefits

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial, and other benefits that support total well-being. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.