Principal AI Engineer, Mastercard
$178-284k
Global payments technology company
Be an early applicant
Global payments technology company
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$178-284k
1001+ employees
Company mission
To connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible.
Role
Who you are
- Proven experience designing and deploying AI/ML systems at scale, with deep expertise in LLMs and generative AI
- Advanced proficiency in Python and backend frameworks (e.g., FastAPI, Flask, Node.js)
- Strong understanding of RESTful APIs, microservices architecture, and cloud platforms (Azure preferred; AWS or GCP also valued)
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives while remaining hands-on with code
- Passion for AI safety, prompt engineering, and ethical AI development
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of influencing across teams and disciplines
- Commitment to staying current with the latest AI research, tools, and engineering practices
What the job involves
- As a Principal AI Software Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in architecting and delivering next-generation AI-powered platforms that drive innovation and scale across Mastercard. You will lead by example—designing and building intelligent systems using cutting-edge AI tools, large language models (LLMs), and emerging frameworks
- While this is an individual contributor role, you will collaborate deeply with cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and influence technical direction across the organization
- You will be responsible for developing Agentic AI systems, designing robust backend services, and driving experimentation with novel AI capabilities. Your work will directly impact Mastercard’s ability to deliver secure, scalable, and ethical AI solutions
- Architect & Build Agentic AI Systems- Design and implement advanced AI agents and supporting infrastructure that power Mastercard’s AI platform
- Technical Leadership & Collaboration- Partner with senior engineers, data scientists, and product teams to define technical strategy, share best practices, and drive alignment across initiatives
- AI Experimentation & Evaluation- Lead rigorous testing and evaluation of LLMs, emerging AI technologies, and frameworks to identify opportunities for innovation and improvement
- Prompt Engineering & Optimization- Develop and refine prompt strategies to maximize performance, reliability, and contextual accuracy of LLM-based systems
- Guardrail & Safety Design- Architect and implement safeguards to ensure AI outputs are secure, compliant, and aligned with Mastercard’s ethical standards
- Backend Engineering Excellence- Build scalable APIs, microservices, and data pipelines that integrate seamlessly with AI-powered features
- Continuous Learning – Stay current with the latest developments in AI, LLMs, and software engineering best practices
Our take
Mastercard is in the global payments business, and operates the world's fastest payments processing network. Its products and solutions have become central to everyday commerce across the world, in activities ranging from shopping and travelling to running businesses.
As the economy has become more and more digitised, Mastercard has been a leading player in helping businesses and individuals across the globe embrace card payments and digital banking. One of the world's largest companies, its revenue has seen consistent gain in the last 20 years.
The challenge for modern payments companies is that payments are always changing, as seen in the astronomical rise of contactless payments over the last decade. Mastercard's acquisition of blockchain systems, and an overall focus on leveraging its technology towards a digital economy, has placed the company in good stead to keep up to date with current trends, like cryptocurrency, in the digitised payments world.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
21% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Gym membership
- Share purchase options
- Extra holiday purchase optional
- Work from home opportunities
- Health insurance
Company HQ
Purchase, Harrison, NY
Leadership
Michael Miebach
(CEO)Has served in a variety of roles at the company, including President and CPO. Currently Board Member at IBM, Accion, the World Resources Institute, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the Metropolitan Opera. They are also a Trustee of USCIB.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 172 more jobs at Mastercard