Senior Staff Software Engineer, Payments

ABOUT THE ROLE ---------------- We are seeking a seasoned technical leader to serve as the Senior Staff Engineer and Technical Lead for the Payments Compliance organization at Airbnb. This role will play a critical part in shaping the technical vision and architectural direction for the Compliance engineering landscape, ensuring that our compliance systems are cohesive, scalable, and aligned with broader company priorities. WHAT YOU'LL DO -------------- As a Senior Staff Engineer and Technical Lead, you will be responsible for: - Owning the end-to-end system design vision for the Compliance organization, setting the architectural direction for an engineering organization of nearly 30 engineers across multiple teams. - Driving foundational architectural shifts, including the move from an account-centric model to a customer-centric one, and rethinking how we model identity, risk, and enforcement across the platform. - Leading the technical strategy for expanding KYC capabilities, supporting small and medium businesses, reimagining business onboarding and account structures, enabling KYC through third-party APIs, and extending verification to third-party payees. - Architecting systems that adapt to the evolving digital identity landscape, including new verification standards, government-issued digital credentials, and shifting privacy regulations. - Ensuring our technical foundations are flexible enough to absorb unforeseen regulatory mandates with aggressive timelines, without destabilizing existing systems or requiring disproportionate engineering investment. - Partnering with technical leaders across multiple organizations to drive alignment on shared capabilities and cohesive system design, reducing duplication and compounding technical debt. - Working closely with Product, Design, Policy, Legal, Operations, and other cross-functional partners as part of a globally distributed team to define and ship impactful features. - Leading and mentoring engineers, raising the technical bar and developing the next generation of technical leaders within Compliance. - Advocating for and driving systemic improvements by identifying patterns to streamline development, reduce toil, and increase technical quality and operational excellence over time. WHAT YOU'LL NEED ---------------- - 15+ years of technical experience, with 10+ years of relevant industry experience in a fast-paced tech environment. - Prior knowledge of Regulatory Compliance standards (AML, KYC, sanctions screening) and demonstrated experience designing and implementing those controls at scale. - Proven track record of setting technical direction and architectural strategy for a large engineering organization, with the ability to drive alignment across organizational boundaries. - Experience designing systems that span multiple teams and domains, with a focus on cohesion, reusability, and long-term maintainability over initiative-by-initiative solutions. - Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence senior technical and non-technical stakeholders across the company. - Strong problem solver with deep experience operating and leading on-call for production systems at scale. WHY REMOTE ------------ As a remote team member, you will be part of a globally distributed team that values flexibility and collaboration. You will have the opportunity to work with cross-functional partners and technical leaders across multiple organizations to drive alignment and innovation. BENEFITS --------- - Competitive salary and benefits package - Opportunity to work on a complex and challenging project that has a significant impact on the company's growth and success - Collaborative and dynamic work environment - Flexible work arrangements and remote work options - Opportunities for professional growth and development - Access to cutting-edge