Staff Software Engineer

Blackhawk Network, Inc.•Pleasanton, CA

76d•Hybrid

About The Position

Today, through BHN's single global platform, businesses of all kinds can tap into the world's largest network of branded payment solutions. BHN helps businesses grow revenue, increase loyalty, motivate and reward their teams, disburse funds and engage consumers. Branded payment solutions include the issuance and distribution of gift cards, egifts, corporate payouts and rewards, along with the technology to deliver these products in seamless, integrated ways. BHN's network spans the globe with more than 400,000 consumer touchpoints. Learn more at BHN.com. We're seeking a Staff Software Engineer for our Pleasanton, CA office to design and implement platform solutions that power seamless recipient experiences across our global network. You'll work from concept through production, partnering closely with Product Managers and other Engineers. You will build robust systems that enable millions of users to engage with our digital ecosystem. Note: This is a hybrid role, with two days a week in our Pleasanton, CA office.

Requirements

8+ years of Java application development with focus on large-scale, distributed systems
Proven track record of building platforms that process high transaction volumes with strict uptime requirements
Experience with payment systems, e-commerce platforms, or financial technology solutions preferred
Background in API design, microservices architecture, and cloud-native development
Strong proficiency in Java, Spring, nodejs
Hands-on experience with REST APIs, GraphQL and modern web architectures
Solid understanding of software engineering fundamentals, design patterns, and scalable systems
Demonstrated ability to own complex systems and drive technical strategy
Excellent debugging, troubleshooting, and performance optimization skills
Comfortable providing production support as needed
Experience in CI/CD pipelines and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar)
Familiarity with observability tools (e.g. New Relic, Splunk)
Prior experience in user-facing or enterprise-scale platforms
Strong communication and cross-team collaboration skills
Experience mentoring engineers and driving technical decision-making across teams
Proven ability to balance technical excellence with business requirements and delivery timelines
Track record of successful cross-functional collaboration in fast-paced environments
Systems thinking approach to complex technical challenges
Customer-focused mindset with understanding of user experience implications
Data-driven decision making and commitment to measurable results
Passion for building scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions

Responsibilities

Design, and maintain large-scale distributed systems supporting order management, payment processing, and customer engagement
Technical decision-making for API-first platforms that integrate with multiple business systems and external partners
Drive performance optimization and scalability improvements across core revenue-generating platforms
Design and implement secure, reusable widget architectures for card servicing, payment acquisition, and customer personalization
Build embeddable solutions that maintain PCI compliance while enabling rapid deployment across web and mobile applications
Create integration frameworks that connect catalog management, order processing, payments, fraud/risk, and settlement systems
Design PCI-compliant architectures using tokenization, sandboxed iframes, and strict access controls
Implement security layers including rate limiting, bot protection, and vulnerability assessments
Ensure all platform solutions meet enterprise security standards and regulatory requirements
Partner with Product Management to translate growth funnel strategies into technical implementations
Work closely with cross-functional teams (Payments+, Fraud/Risk, Infosec) to deliver integrated solutions
Mentor software engineers and provide technical guidance on architecture decisions
Lead incident response and post-mortem analysis to improve system reliability
Implement observability solutions for monitoring, metrics, and performance analysis
Establish development best practices and tooling that accelerate team productivity
Author comprehensive technical documentation and operational runbooks