Senior Payments Engineer

WHO WE ARE

ActBlue is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating cutting-edge technology that fuels Democratic victories and enables progressive causes to thrive. 

Our vision is simple: building change through the power of people. Since our founding, we’ve been building innovative solutions to revolutionize grassroots fundraising – if you’ve donated to a Democratic campaign or a progressive organization online, you’ve probably used our platform! We believe in empowering small-dollar donors by helping thousands of groups — from local candidates to national movements — mobilize their communities and create a lasting impact. Every member of our team is deeply committed to advancing our shared mission and core values. Together, we are shaping the future of democracy. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

ActBlue Technical Services is seeking a Senior Software Engineer I to join our Payments team and help build the technology that powers ActBlue's significant daily transaction volume. The Payments Team's critical areas include payment processing, recurring contributions, fraud mitigation, and internal tools that help teams within ActBlue with their payment-related workflows.

Senior Software Engineer Is work in concert with product teams, platform teams, ops teams, and the security team. As a member of the Payments team, you will provide technical leadership in architecting and scaling our payments infrastructure while contributing to our inclusive environment and fostering a culture that brings out the best in yourself and your colleagues.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Architect, refactor, and enhance payments systems to ensure secure, scalable, and reliable feature delivery across the payment life cycle from initial authorization to payout.
• Provide technical leadership and vision in developing, testing, monitoring, and rolling out the next generation of our payments system.
• Guide the design and execution of high-impact technical solutions while balancing effort, scope, and trade-offs specific to payment processing challenges.
• Recommend system-level improvements to address security, scalability, and reliability concerns in our payments infrastructure.
• Act as a go-to consultant for guidance on payment-related system issues and complex transaction scenarios.
• Lead the execution of large projects involving multiple engineers, complex requirements, and high ambiguity.
• Break down initiative-level work into multiple epics and contribute technical expertise to team roadmap prioritization.
• Consistently debug the toughest issues throughout the stack, regardless of the environment, identifying root causes or viable workarounds.
• Design frameworks to foster a culture of defensive testing within Engineering, particularly around payment processing workflows.
• Collaboratively design and champion best practices and design patterns to improve platform maintainability.
• Demonstrate technical leadership through writing documentation, establishing effective monitoring, and fostering clear communication.
• Set the standard for software quality through maintainable code that adapts to future design and roadmap decisions.
• Coach and mentor other engineers, creating spaces where individuals feel engaged, valued, and heard.
• Engage with your manager as a thought partner on core work and personal development to increase your impact on the team and the organization.
• May support supplementary projects as assigned, ensuring timely and efficient completion in line with organizational objectives and standards.

WHAT YOU BRING

• 3-5+ years or equivalent of professional experience working with teams and delivering projects.
• Significant experience with server-side web application development, preferably with Ruby on Rails.
• 3+ years or equivalent experience with developing payment systems (ie. Stripe, Paypal, Checkout, Sift)
• Experience leading the execution of large projects involving multiple engineers, complex requirements, and high ambiguity.
• A track record of effective collaboration with other engineers to develop abstractions and patterns that make it easy to build reliable software.
• An aptitude for reasoning about and troubleshooting complex systems.
• Proficiency in relational databases, preferably Postgres.
• Understanding of performance, scalability, and security concerns, particularly as they relate to payment processing.
• Eagerness to explore and refactor legacy code.
• A team player mentality. You keep the end user in mind and enjoy hearing feedback from your teammates, yet know when and how to defend your own ideas in a respectful manner.
• Comfort collaborating with a distributed team of many remote colleagues.
• An inclusive, generous working style: You like to mentor, collaborate, and elevate your team by supporting your peers.
• Excitement for the learning and growth of yourself and your teammates.
• Proactiveness, communication skills, and the ability to learn quickly.

WORK & BENEFITS SNAPSHOT

This posting is for a full-time, remote, salaried position. Travel may be required on a limited basis to attend all-staff and departmental retreats (2-4 times per year). Additional travel may be required for select positions. 

Registered States*: 

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Washington D.C.

*While ActBlue is currently registered to support remote work in the states listed above, we possess the ability to register in additional states as needed. If you are located in a state not listed, we may still be able to proceed with your application, but please note that the offer process may take longer to accommodate registration requirements.

Work Schedule: This role requires availability during established, regular business hours (Mon-Fri) and is expected to be a part of an on-call rotation which will result in working nontraditional hours as needed.

Work Environment: Employees can expect to work with distributed teams across all U.S. time zones. Our roles require extended technology usage, and proficiency with virtual communication tools such as Zoom and Slack. Regular attendance in virtual meetings is inherent to every position.

Salary Range Details:

Salary Range: $157,791 - $170,499 - $183,207

ActBlue is committed to consistent compensation practices across our organization. Final salary offers will take into account factors such as candidate experience, interview performance and current team salary parity. 

Benefits: 

• Flexible work schedules and an unlimited time-off policy
• Fully paid and trans-inclusive health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families; plus fully-paid health reimbursement arrangement to use for out of pocket expenses and fully-paid short- and long-term disability 
• Fully paid basic and AD&D life insurance and a voluntary supplemental life insurance option
• Dependent and health care flexible spending account options
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits for employees 
• Automatic 2% Employer-paid 401K contribution, plus up to an additional 6% match on employee contributions
• A minimum of three months paid medical, family and parental leave (for all new parents, adoptions included)
• Commuter or home-office benefits, including a $1,000 home-office setup allowance for all new full-time remote employees
• Additional perks including quarterly snack deliveries and digital subscriptions to the Boston Globe & New York Times

ActBlue is unable to sponsor work visas at this time.

UNION INFORMATION

The terms and conditions of this position are subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the Communications Workers of America, the exclusive bargaining agent of covered ActBlue employees.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

As part of our hiring process, ActBlue will conduct a background check at the time of offer. This will be completed in compliance with applicable laws and will not be initiated without your consent.

INCLUSION STATEMENT FROM ACTBLUE

ActBlue is committed to equal employment opportunities and fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace. We celebrate unique perspectives, honor the dignity of all individuals, and recognize that diverse backgrounds and identities strengthen our mission.

If you’re passionate about our work and see yourself in this role, we encourage you to apply—even if you don’t meet every requirement.

We also provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring process and employment. To request an accommodation, email [email protected].