Senior Software Engineer - Enterprise Architecture

American Express•Phoenix, AZ

1d•$123,000 - $215,250

About The Position

Enterprise Architecture is an organization within the Chief Technology Office at American Express and a key enabler of the company’s technology strategy. Its four pillars are Architecture as Code, which operates foundational technologies used across the enterprise; Architecture as Design, which provides solution and technical design for transformation programs and business-critical projects; Governance, which defines technical standards and builds tools to automate compliance controls; and Colleague Enablement, which focuses on colleague development, recognition, training, and enterprise outreach. The Senior Software Engineer designs, develops, and delivers scalable, high-quality full-stack software solutions, using Java and Python for enterprise platforms and services. The role leads the architecture and implementation of distributed systems and owns feature delivery from design and development through deployment, production monitoring, and support. It provides technical leadership within an Agile team, mentors junior engineers, and collaborates with architects, product managers, and cross-functional teams to turn business needs into scalable solutions. The engineer builds and evolves APIs, microservices, and event-driven systems; advances coding, testing, documentation, CI/CD, and developer productivity practices; and addresses system bottlenecks and complex issues through root-cause analysis. The role also contributes to scalable, resilient, observable systems and cloud-native adoption, and influences technical direction through pragmatic solutions. American Express offers comprehensive benefits supporting physical, financial, and mental well-being, along with learning and career development opportunities. The company uses Amex Flex, under which work may be onsite, hybrid, or fully virtual depending on the role and business needs.

Requirements

At least 6 years of professional software development experience, with strong Java expertise and working knowledge of Python for backend or data-driven applications.
Deep experience with Java ecosystems and frameworks such as Spring, Spring Boot, or equivalent.
Proven full-stack development experience, including backend services and modern frontend frameworks such as React or Angular.
Strong experience building RESTful APIs, microservices architectures, and service-to-service integrations.
Solid understanding of distributed systems, concurrency, scalability, and performance optimization.
Hands-on experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Oracle, and/or NoSQL databases such as Cassandra, DynamoDB, or MongoDB.
Experience with containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation.
Experience with messaging and streaming platforms such as Kafka, RabbitMQ, or JMS.
Practical experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP and cloud-native development patterns.
Hands-on experience generating test data and developing and executing unit tests.
Experience with API design standards, OpenAPI/Swagger, versioning, and contract-driven development.
Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.
Proficiency in Agile/Scrum methodologies and modern software development lifecycle practices.
Bachelor’s degree in computer science or engineering, or equivalent practical experience; an advanced degree is a plus.
Must be eligible to work in the United States for American Express; the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

Nice To Haves

Basic understanding of AI/ML concepts and Generative AI technologies, including LLMs, prompt engineering, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
An advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and deliver scalable, high-quality full-stack software solutions using Java and Python for enterprise-grade platforms and services.
Lead the architecture and implementation of distributed systems, ensuring performance, reliability, and maintainability.
Own end-to-end feature delivery, from design and development through deployment, monitoring, and production support.
Act as a senior member of an Agile team and promote best practices in coding standards, testing, documentation, and continuous delivery.
Mentor junior engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing.
Collaborate with architects, product managers, and cross-functional teams to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Build and evolve RESTful APIs, microservices, and event-driven systems, ensuring strong service contracts and backward compatibility.
Improve CI/CD pipelines, test automation, and developer productivity.
Identify system bottlenecks, debug complex issues, and drive root-cause analysis and long-term fixes.
Design systems for scalability, resilience, and observability, including monitoring, logging, and alerting strategies.
Contribute to cloud-native adoption, including containerization, infrastructure-as-code, and auto-scaling architectures.
Influence technical direction by proposing innovative, pragmatic solutions and challenging the status quo.
Take ownership and accountability for delivering high-impact outcomes aligned with team and organizational goals.

Benefits

Competitive base salaries.
Bonus incentives.
6% company match on the retirement savings plan.
Free financial coaching and financial well-being support.
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits.
Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite, or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need.
20+ weeks of paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, for pregnancy, adoption, or surrogacy.
Free access to global onsite wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors, depending on location.
Free and confidential counseling support through the Healthy Minds program.
Career development and training opportunities.