Senior Vice President, Software Engineering – Authentication

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Senior Vice President, Software Engineering – Authentication

Overview

Lead one of Mastercard’s most strategically important global authentication engineering portfolios, advancing secure digital commerce, identity, biometrics, passkeys, and risk-based decisioning to enable trusted, low-friction payments.



Mastercard Authentication securely verifies card-not-present transactions through EMV 3DS solutions, including Identity Check, 3DS Server, and Access Control Server; risk-based authentication; Mastercard Passkeys; digital payment credentials for wallets; and in-store biometric checkout. These capabilities help customers improve approvals, reduce fraud, manage risk, and meet regulatory requirements.



The Senior Vice President, Software Engineering – Authentication has end-to-end accountability for engineering execution, resiliency, security, scalability, modernization, and operational performance. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, Digital Solutions, the role leads a global organization across the United States, India, and Europe and partners with Product, Architecture, Operations, Risk, and regional leadership.



Role

Engineering Leadership and Delivery

Lead the global engineering organization for Mastercard Authentication, spanning EMV 3DS, Risk based Authentication, Mastercard Passkeys and Digital Payment Credentials for Wallet based payments, and innovation for in-store biometric based checkout experiences.

Own end-to-end engineering delivery for authentication platforms with accountability for execution quality, availability, resiliency, scalability, latency, security, and operational performance.

Platform Strategy, Modernization, and Innovation

Set the long-term engineering strategy and modernization roadmap, including architectural convergence across the 3DS estate, cloud and distributed systems evolution, automation, reliability practices, and durable platform simplification.

Accelerate the shift from password and OTP-based authentication to biometric, passkey-based, and reusable authentication models that improve customer experience, increase approval rates, reduce cart abandonment and fraud , and support a more secure payments ecosystem.

Embed AI into the program’s engineering platforms, operating model, and software development lifecycle in alignment with Digital Payments priorities and responsible AI expectations for risk, bias, compliance, and data use.

Product Partnership and Business Alignment

Partner with Authentication Product leadership as the engineering co-founder, jointly shaping roadmap priorities, investment choices, KPI commitments, and go-to-market readiness.

Align cross-functional priorities with Product, Architecture, Operations, Risk, Legal, Commercial, and regional teams to deliver against business, customer, and regulatory expectations.

Risk, Governance, and Operational Excellence

Ensure platforms meet security, privacy, and regulatory obligations, including EMVCo specifications, PSD2/SCA, PCI, and global data-privacy requirements, while operating effectively within a three-lines-of-defense risk model.

Establish the global engineering operating model, governance forums, scorecards, and performance mechanisms needed to run a data-driven organization with a goal of zero unplanned production downtime.

Apply deep technical judgment to inspect plans, challenge assumptions, identify risks early, resolve critical escalations, and raise the bar on engineering discipline.

Organization, Talent, and Investment

Manage the program’s engineering investment, staffing plan, and vendor strategy, including reducing reliance on external development partners by building durable in-house capability.

Build and develop a high-performing global leadership team, strengthening technical depth, organizational capability, succession, and leadership bench across sites.

Enterprise and External Leadership

Represent Mastercard engineering with strategic issuers, acquirers, PSPs, merchants, and industry bodies such as EMVCo, FIDO Alliance, and W3C to help shape the future of authentication.

Serve as a senior member of the Digital Solutions Technology leadership team, contributing to enterprise-level technology decisions beyond the Authentication remit.

All About You

Mastercard seeks a global engineering leader who can solve complex challenges, build trusted technology, and deliver measurable business impact.

Executive Engineering Leadership

Proven executive engineering leader who has built, scaled, and operated mission-critical platforms and led large, globally distributed organizations with accountability for execution, leadership depth, and performance.

Trusted, clear, and accountable leader who develops people, unlocks team potential, and builds confidence across teams, peers, and executives.

Mission-Critical Platform Depth

Deep experience with high-availability, security-critical platforms and strong knowledge of payment authentication, digital identity, or adjacent security domains, including EMV 3DS, ACS, tokenization, passkeys/FIDO, biometrics, and risk-based decisioning.

Strategy, Architecture, and Modernization

Technical depth in cloud architecture, distributed systems, platform engineering, DevSecOps, SRE, infrastructure, databases, networks, and modern software development, with sound architecture and trade-off judgment.

Demonstrated ability to modernize complex legacy estates, simplify and integrate platforms, and improve resilience and scale.

Ability to embed AI, automation, and modern engineering practices into platforms, delivery models, and the software development lifecycle responsibly.

Product, Commercial, and Cross-Functional Partnership

Experience partnering with Product to shape roadmaps, investments, KPIs, and commercial outcomes, with a bias for action and clear communication.

Executive presence to engage senior leaders, customers, partners, standards bodies, and regulators on technical, commercial, and risk topics.

Risk, Regulatory, and Execution Judgment

Fluency in regulated technology environments, including EMVCo, PSD2/SCA, PCI, and global data-privacy requirements, with strong judgment to anticipate risk, challenge assumptions, resolve escalations, and sustain disciplined delivery.

Organization, Talent, and Partner Ecosystem

Track record building senior engineering talent, strengthening succession, and balancing in-house capability with effective partner ecosystems.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.

Total Base Pay Range
220,000.00 - 400,000.00 USD Annual

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.