AI Insights
Stripe

Engineering Manager, Payments API

Stripe · San Francisco, California, US
full-timesenior (8-20 yrs)Posted 68d ago
Engineering LeadershipM2IC + ManagementHybrid (3d)Visa Sponsored
StackAPI DesignDistributed SystemsLarge-Scale System DesignEngineering ManagementPayments InfrastructureTechnical RoadmappingMentorshipCross-Functional CollaborationProduction OperationsHigh Availability SystemsCheckout IntegrationsSoftware Architecture

Summary

Stripe is hiring an experienced Engineering Manager to lead the Payments API team, owning strategy and execution of core Checkout primitives (Elements, CheckoutSession) while mentoring technical leaders and ensuring five-nines reliability at global scale.

About the role

Who we are

About Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone’s reach while doing the most important work of your career.

About the team

The Payments organization focuses on developing products and platforms that enable users to accept payments from customers efficiently, create new payment and payout methods, and utilize their vaulted credentials across the internet. 

The team is looking for an engineering leader that is able to be both technically involved as well as engaged in developing the strategy for the organization and the people.

What you’ll do

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead the team at the forefront of delivering best-in-class Checkout services that power Elements with CheckoutSession and define and drive our payment integrations into the future. You will work closely with Optimized Checkout teams, playing a critical role in owning the strategy and execution of our core Checkout primitives. Your leadership will ensure we balance rapid innovation with the five-nines reliability required to support the world's largest enterprises and the growing global economy.

This is a role for a strategic leader who excels at navigating complex technical and product challenges. You will drive the evolution of our Checkout services, helping to abstract immense complexity into simple, powerful integrations for our users. Beyond the immediate technical goals, you will be a cultural pillar for the team, mentoring the next generation of technical leaders and shaping an engineering and product vision that defines the future of commerce.

Responsibilities

  • Scope, design, build, and maintain APIs, services, and large-scale systems that reliably and efficiently handle billions of money movement requests
  • Debug and solve critical production issues across services and multiple levels of the stack
  • Partner with Engineering Managers to create roadmaps that deliver milestones toward a cohesive engineering vision. 
  • Serve as a role model for our high engineering standards and bring consistency to the many codebases and processes you will encounter
  • Arbitrate critical decisions correctly that fully consider software best practices, Stripe system realities, and numerous stakeholders’ preferences and concerns
  • Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization such as experts product, design, infrastructure, and operations
  • Teach and mentor the next generation of technical leaders at Stripe

Who you are

We’re looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. If you meet these requirements, you are encouraged to apply. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Minimum requirements

  • 3+ years of experience in an engineering management role.
  • 8+ years of full-time software development experience.
  • Demonstrated track record of successfully hiring, developing, and mentoring engineers.
  • Ability to lead by example in fast-paced, high-impact, and ambiguous environments.
  • Commitment to high operational rigor when working with production systems.
  • Experience building extensible software solutions that scale with business growth.
  • Adept at thriving in a collaborative, cross-functional, and cross-timezone environment, while fostering a positive team culture.

 

What you'll do

1Scope, design, build, and maintain APIs, services, and large-scale systems that handle billions of money movement requests
2Debug and solve critical production issues across services and multiple levels of the stack
3Partner with Engineering Managers to create roadmaps that deliver milestones toward a cohesive engineering vision
4Serve as a role model for high engineering standards across multiple codebases and processes
5Arbitrate critical technical decisions considering software best practices, Stripe system realities, and stakeholder concerns
6Collaborate with product, design, infrastructure, and operations stakeholders across the organization
7Teach and mentor the next generation of technical leaders at Stripe
8Own strategy and execution of core Checkout primitives including Elements and CheckoutSession
9Ensure five-nines reliability for systems supporting the world's largest enterprises

Requirements

3+ years of engineering management experience with a demonstrated track record of hiring, developing, and retaining engineers
8+ years of full-time software development experience with expertise in large-scale, high-availability distributed systems
Strong ability to scope, design, and drive the execution of complex API and service architectures handling billions of transactions
Experience balancing rapid product innovation with strict operational reliability (five-nines uptime) in production environments
Proven capability to lead cross-functional technical strategy and mentor the next generation of engineering leaders

Nice to have

Payments domain expertise
FinTech infrastructure experience
Experience with Checkout or payments integration products
Cross-timezone team leadership

Role overview

Role family
Engineering Leadership
Level
M2 — backend
Experience
8–20 years
Type
Hybrid (IC + Management)
Remote policy
Hybrid (3 days)
Visa sponsorship
Available

Tech stack analysis

INFRASTRUCTURE
High-availability infrastructure (five-nines SLA)Distributed systems at scale

Salary estimate

$280K – $400K
AI-estimated salary range
Confidence82%
Reasoning

Stripe is a top-tier FinTech company headquartered in San Francisco. Engineering Manager roles at Stripe at this seniority level (8+ years SWE, 3+ years EM, payments domain) typically command $280K–$400K+ total compensation including base salary ($200K–$240K) and significant RSU grants, based on Levels.fyi data for Stripe EM roles. Payments is a highly valued domain. The broad total comp range reflects RSU variability.

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Green flags

5 items
Explicit mentorship mission: role is positioned as a 'cultural pillar' responsible for developing the next generation of technical leaders, signaling strong internal growth investment.growth

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Benefits breakdown

HEALTH & WELLNESS
Medical insurance (inferred)
Dental insurance (inferred)
Vision insurance (inferred)
Mental health support (inferred)

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Hiring insights

JD quality
8/10
Urgency
medium
Autonomy
high
Team size
medium (5-15)

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Red flags

PRO3 items
Emphasis on 'fast-paced, high-impact, and ambiguous environments' combined with five-nines SLA ownership could indicate high operational pressure and on-call expectations.work life balance

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Interview insights

PRO
Rounds
5
Duration
6 wks
Difficulty
very hard
Take-home
No

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Career path

PRO
Next roles
Senior Engineering ManagerDirector of EngineeringVP of Payments Engineering

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About the company

Stripe is the financial infrastructure platform that powers online payments for millions of businesses — from startups to Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Google, and Shopify. Processing hundreds of billions of dollars annually, Stripe offers payment processing, billing, treasury, fraud prevention, and financial APIs used in 195+ countries.

HQSan Francisco, CA, USA
Interview difficultyvery hard
Build vs Maintainboth
Cross-functionalYes