Director-Software Engineering

Joining Amex Tech means discovering and shaping your contribution to something big. Here, you can work alongside talented tech teams and build a unique career with the Powerful Backing of American Express. With a range of opportunities to work with the latest technologies, and a commitment to back the broader engineering community through open source, our mission is to power your success. Because Amex Tech is powered by our technology, our culture, and our colleagues.

The Technology organization enables and accelerates the company’s growth strategies, delivering global capabilities and services in support of Amex’s customers and colleagues, while maintaining 24/7 servicing and availability to ensure an uninterrupted, high-quality customer experience. Technology provides the foundation for everything we do in the company while driving differentiation through building and leveraging innovative technology and data insights.

The U.S. Consumer Services and Membership Digital Experiences Technology team (USCDT) brings together foundational strategic technology capabilities in digital experience engineering (Mobile and Web), marketing and advertising technology, enterprise communications, travel and lifestyle, and dining technology. It employs a ground-breaking focus with development responsibilities for customer-facing capabilities that deepen and expand digital engagement, as well as core technical capabilities that cut across business lines and customer segments.

The Personalization, Brand, and Communications Technology (PBCT) team, within USCDT, brings together many of our targeting efforts and stitch together multiple connections that customers have with you.

The Role

As a Director, Software Engineering, you will develop and deploy complex software solutions, with a strong focus on Cloud based engineering, various Java technologies, API design and user experience. You should be able to define innovative solutions, have a pragmatic approach to application architecture, and be excited to work on a varied tech stack. You will be expected to have a deep understanding of the functional platforms, but also plan, manage, and execute the technology roadmap, while being an exemplary leader who attracts, hires, and develops the best talent. You are required to have a futuristic mindset, ability to question status quo and technologically advance the platforms, while exhibiting collaboration with other enterprise teams.

This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced, Scaled Agile environment with a team of engineers, product owners and several technology stakeholders. You should be familiar with modern software development methodologies and be able to dive deep and rapidly iterate ideas despite ambiguity.

• Performs assessments of 3rd party technology solutions to determine suitability for use in the emerging platform.
• Collaborate successfully with product owners, designers, and a broad set of internal tech partners (across multiple internal groups).
• Ensure product releases are high quality, deliver excellent user experiences, perform seamlessly at scale, and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Partner with peers in technologies to identify opportunities for code sharing, common services, joint development.
• Keep up with the latest industry research and emerging technologies to ensure we are appropriately leveraging new techniques and capabilities.
• Demonstrate accountability while leading a team of 10+ engineers with passion, enthusiasm, loyalty and integrity.
• Own and lead HR processes such as performance reviews, talent development.
• Recruit top talent with technical skills and non-technical skills and ability to build a high-performing, self-managing team of software engineers.
• Lead teams in interactive product and software development using lean principles.
• Drive strategic change in tools and process. Consistently question assumptions, challenge the status quo, and strive for improvement.

• You will be expected to have hands-on experience and deep understanding of the functional platforms
• Bring a hands-on technical foundation; able to engage the team on coding practices, architecture, design, get under the hood of complex integrated architectures, coding systems, and interface design.
• Extensive background in Software Engineering, with 10+ years of demonstrable experience building and deploying large scale software products.
• Strong experience in design and Agile software development, code reviews for full stack solutions.
• Hands-on experience with Java, REST APIs, Cloud engineering, building digital experiences.
• Strong understanding and experience in CICD and DevOps, system and platform resiliency.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely to non-technical individuals.
• Hands on experience with technology planning and road mapping.
• Proven track record to lead problem analysis and resolution.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering or Information Systems degree or equivalent work experience; Advanced Degree preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge and experience of working with LLMs and AI agents, with understanding of how to utilize AI workflows to enable and accelerate software development.
• Knowledge of American Express Marketing & Data platforms, and software development practices a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills required, with ability to create and deliver effective presentations to executive leadership and technical architects across the organization is a plus.
• Proven ability to develop and execute against a platform vision, strategy, and priorities.
• Deep appreciation for the importance of elegant solutions to technical challenges.
• Flawless interpersonal skills and ability to partner with executive leadership to drive technical solutions forward.
• Passion, energy, personal accountability, and a desire to lead others to excellence. Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.