Mastercard is a global technology company empowering economies and individuals across over 200 countries. We are dedicated to building a sustainable economy through secure, simple, smart, and accessible digital payment solutions. Our combined technology, innovation, partnerships, and networks deliver unique products and services that help people, businesses, and governments reach their full potential.

We are seeking a highly motivated Lead Software Engineer to champion software development projects and deliver exceptional results. This role involves researching alternative technical solutions for evolving business needs and ensuring team activities meet functional, coding best practices, and non-functional requirements.

As a Lead Software Engineer, you will be responsible for developing and leading software engineering projects, creating enhanced software solutions, and researching alternative technical approaches for changing business needs. You will ensure daily team activities meet required service levels and successfully lead major projects with long-term business implications.

Key responsibilities include developing innovative solutions, partnering with scrum masters/project managers to lead day-to-day development efforts, assisting with programming, creating proof-of-concept applications, and collaborating with business and technical partners. You will also assist in evaluating third-party products, ensure adherence to quality control and software development processes, create and maintain technology road-maps, and communicate effectively with management, business owners, and stakeholders.

This role requires a Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience. A strong understanding of Software Engineering Concepts and Methodologies, along with proficiency in object-oriented programming, coding, and debugging skills, is essential.

Experience with technologies such as Configuration Management tools (Git, Subversion), ExtJS, Java, Spring, Hibernate, SQL, Oracle, and Web Services (SOAP, REST, XML, XSL) is required. Familiarity with JUnits and mocking experience is also expected, with JUnit frameworks like JTest or Mockito being a plus.

Candidates should possess a solid understanding of software design principles, patterns, algorithms, data structures, and multi-threading. Experience with relational databases, including writing efficient SQL queries and Stored Procedures, is crucial. We are looking for a high-energy, detail-oriented individual who can work proactively under pressure in an independent environment, demonstrating initiative and self-motivation.

Strong communication, relationship, collaboration, and organizational skills are vital. The ability to quickly learn and implement new technologies, support multiple concurrent activities, and interface with internal/external resources as part of a diverse, geographically distributed team is expected. Experience in Agile methodologies is required; SAFE Agile experience is a plus.

Additional desirable experience includes IT involvement in all phases of the development life cycle, building relationships with business clients, working with geographically distributed teams, and knowledge of the Java stack with an understanding of architecture and deployment topology.