Web Architect

PayPal•San Jose, CA

About The Position

Increases results & effectiveness of all software engineers in a large domain Sets the technology roadmap for a domain Adapts their role to the need, selecting the most effective means of realizing their technical goals Exercises wide latitude in determining objectives and approaches to assignments and takes initiative to achieve results Handles ambiguous and unfamiliar situations and uses creativity to deliver decisive resolutions Uses discovery & exploratory research, not being limited to technical domains, to make successful decisions Identifies themes & trends that span projects and teams, and finds broadly impactful opportunities for improvement Uses professional savvy to determine when industry-standard solutions can be adopted, versus when a problem space warrants a novel solution (“build/buy”) Mentor others as a means of propagating technical influence, and to enhance the performance of their organization Architecture Strategy & Technical Direction Own the web architecture vision for Checkout, aligning long-term platform strategy with near-term product priorities. Define and evolve standards for modern web engineering, such as micro-frontend strategies, shared UI foundations/design systems, SSR/SPA tradeoffs, BFF/API-for-frontend patterns, and edge/CDN architecture. Lead architecture governance: establish decision frameworks, run architecture reviews, and maintain reference architectures and standards documentation. Performance, Reliability & Operational Excellence Build a culture of observability and data-driven iteration: client telemetry, tracing, logging, funnel instrumentation, experimentation frameworks, and actionable dashboards. Ensure Checkout web architecture is secure-by-design: threat modeling, authentication/session patterns, secure coding and dependency practices, and robust PII handling. Improved resilience and observability: faster detection, diagnosis, and mitigation of customer-impacting issues. Increased engineering velocity through reusable foundations, reference implementations, and platform enablement. 10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience. Operate as a senior technical leader across multiple squads: align stakeholders, resolve architectural conflicts, and unblock execution. Mentor senior engineers and technical leads; elevate standards through design reviews, code review practices, and technical deep dives. Influence product strategy with technical insight—identifying platform investments that reduce toil, increase delivery velocity, and improve user outcomes. 12+ years of experience building and operating large-scale web systems, including recent depth in modern front-end architecture. Demonstrated Principal-level impact: driving architecture across multiple teams, influencing roadmaps, and delivering measurable improvements in platform health and business outcomes. Expert in modern web engineering and architecture, including: JavaScript/TypeScript and component-based architectures (e.g., React or equivalent) Build systems and bundling optimization, monorepo strategies, dependency governance Server-side and edge patterns (Node.js, SSR, caching, CDN/edge computing) and BFF/API design collaboration Strong track record in: Performance engineering (profiling, rendering pipelines, caching, bundle splitting, CWV optimization) Observability (client telemetry, tracing, metrics, experimentation analysis) Quality and release engineering (CI/CD, progressive delivery, test strategy, rollout safety) Excellent communication: able to articulate complex technical decisions clearly to engineering and non-engineering stakeholders and drive alignment at senior levels. Experience with high-scale checkout/payments, identity, fraud/risk, or other high-trust consumer flows. Experience operating globally distributed systems with strict latency and uptime requirements. Accessibility expertise (WCAG) and experience building inclusive, scalable UI foundations. Experience building platform libraries/frameworks used broadly across an organization. Sets architecture direction for a critical product surface and creates clarity amidst ambiguity. Influences across org boundaries with strong technical judgment and pragmatic decision-making. Builds durable standards and guardrails that improve quality and speed simultaneously. Models operational excellence and raises the engineering bar through mentorship and leverage.

Requirements

10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.
12+ years of experience building and operating large-scale web systems, including recent depth in modern front-end architecture.
Demonstrated Principal-level impact: driving architecture across multiple teams, influencing roadmaps, and delivering measurable improvements in platform health and business outcomes.
Expert in modern web engineering and architecture, including: JavaScript/TypeScript and component-based architectures (e.g., React or equivalent) Build systems and bundling optimization, monorepo strategies, dependency governance Server-side and edge patterns (Node.js, SSR, caching, CDN/edge computing) and BFF/API design collaboration
Strong track record in: Performance engineering (profiling, rendering pipelines, caching, bundle splitting, CWV optimization) Observability (client telemetry, tracing, metrics, experimentation analysis) Quality and release engineering (CI/CD, progressive delivery, test strategy, rollout safety)
Excellent communication: able to articulate complex technical decisions clearly to engineering and non-engineering stakeholders and drive alignment at senior levels.

Nice To Haves

Experience with high-scale checkout/payments, identity, fraud/risk, or other high-trust consumer flows.
Experience operating globally distributed systems with strict latency and uptime requirements.
Accessibility expertise (WCAG) and experience building inclusive, scalable UI foundations.
Experience building platform libraries/frameworks used broadly across an organization.

Responsibilities

Sets the technology roadmap for a domain
Adapts their role to the need, selecting the most effective means of realizing their technical goals
Exercises wide latitude in determining objectives and approaches to assignments and takes initiative to achieve results
Handles ambiguous and unfamiliar situations and uses creativity to deliver decisive resolutions
Uses discovery & exploratory research, not being limited to technical domains, to make successful decisions
Identifies themes & trends that span projects and teams, and finds broadly impactful opportunities for improvement
Uses professional savvy to determine when industry-standard solutions can be adopted, versus when a problem space warrants a novel solution (“build/buy”)
Mentor others as a means of propagating technical influence, and to enhance the performance of their organization
Own the web architecture vision for Checkout, aligning long-term platform strategy with near-term product priorities.
Define and evolve standards for modern web engineering, such as micro-frontend strategies, shared UI foundations/design systems, SSR/SPA tradeoffs, BFF/API-for-frontend patterns, and edge/CDN architecture.
Lead architecture governance: establish decision frameworks, run architecture reviews, and maintain reference architectures and standards documentation.
Build a culture of observability and data-driven iteration: client telemetry, tracing, logging, funnel instrumentation, experimentation frameworks, and actionable dashboards.
Ensure Checkout web architecture is secure-by-design: threat modeling, authentication/session patterns, secure coding and dependency practices, and robust PII handling.
Operate as a senior technical leader across multiple squads: align stakeholders, resolve architectural conflicts, and unblock execution.
Mentor senior engineers and technical leads; elevate standards through design reviews, code review practices, and technical deep dives.
Influence product strategy with technical insight—identifying platform investments that reduce toil, increase delivery velocity, and improve user outcomes.
Sets architecture direction for a critical product surface and creates clarity amidst ambiguity.
Influences across org boundaries with strong technical judgment and pragmatic decision-making.
Builds durable standards and guardrails that improve quality and speed simultaneously.
Models operational excellence and raises the engineering bar through mentorship and leverage.