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

Director, Software Engineering

Director, Software Engineering
Mastercard Foundry R&D – Singapore

Overview:

We are seeking a Director, Software Engineering to join the Mastercard Foundry R&D team. In this role, you will lead highly skilled R&D engineers to explore emerging technologies, build innovative prototypes, and deliver scalable pilot solutions.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished people leader who thrives in a fast‑paced innovation environment and can translate emerging technology into meaningful business and customer outcomes. You will combine technical depth, delivery discipline, and strong communication skills to drive R&D initiatives across domains such as Generative AI, Agentic Systems, IoT, XR, Web3, and Distributed Ledger Technologies, while serving as a role model for modern, AI‑enabled engineering practices.

What You’ll Do:

Lead and Grow High‑Performing R&D Teams

Manage, mentor, and inspire senior engineers and technical leads
Foster an environment of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement through coaching, feedback, and clear goals

Drive Innovation and Technology Exploration:

Guide experimentation and rapid prototyping across emerging technology areas, including Generative AI, agentic systems, IoT, XR, Web3, and Distributed Ledger Technologies
Help teams move from ideas to validated prototypes and pilots

Own End‑to‑End Delivery of R&D Initiatives

Oversee multiple concurrent initiatives from concept through prototype and pilot
Ensure delivery quality through strong engineering practices, agile execution, risk management, and transparent reporting

Provide Technical and Architectural Leadership:

Guide architectural decisions and review designs to ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and extensible
Promote reuse, modularity, and sound engineering trade‑offs across initiatives

Champion AI‑Enabled Engineering Practices

Actively use modern AI tools in your own work
Advocate for responsible adoption of AI‑assisted engineering to improve productivity, quality, and speed of experimentation

Partner with Stakeholders and Represent Foundry R&D:

Collaborate with product, business, and technology stakeholders to shape priorities and solutions
Communicate progress, outcomes, and learnings clearly to senior leadership and partners

What You’ll Bring:

Strong People Leadership:

Proven ability to motivate, develop, and retain highly skilled engineers in R&D or innovation‑driven environments

Innovation Mindset

Curiosity and passion for emerging technologies, with the ability to turn exploration into tangible prototypes and learning outcomes

Execution Focus

Comfort balancing experimentation with delivery discipline, enabling teams to learn fast while making measurable progress

Stakeholder Confidence

Ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly and concisely to diverse audiences, including senior leaders

Hands‑On Credibility

Sufficient technical depth to engage in design discussions, challenge assumptions, and guide teams toward better solutions

Required Skills:

Education & Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience
12+ years of software engineering experience, including 2+ years in engineering leadership or people management roles

Software Engineering Fundamentals:

Strong understanding of modern engineering practices, system design, and architectural patterns for scalable and resilient systems

Project & Delivery Management:

Experience managing multiple parallel initiatives using agile or iterative delivery models
Strong skills in planning, prioritization, risk management, and reporting

Leadership & Communication:

Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage performance, and communicate effectively in written and verbal form

AI Awareness & Adoption:

Practical familiarity with modern AI tools and workflows
Ability to promote effective and responsible AI adoption within engineering teams

Preferred Skills:

Advanced Education & Leadership Experience:

Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field
3–5 years of people leadership experience demonstrating empowerment, mentorship, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking

Emerging Technology Expertise:

Hands‑on or leadership experience in Generative AI, agentic systems, IoT, XR, Web3, or Distributed Ledger Technologies

Innovation or Lab Environment Background:

Experience in R&D labs, innovation hubs, or consulting‑style environments focused on rapid prototyping and experimentation

Enterprise & Platform Experience:

Exposure to large‑scale distributed systems and enterprise integration challenges

Thought Leadership

Contributions to patents, publications, open‑source projects, or internal technology communities

Global & Cross‑Cultural Experience

Experience working with geographically distributed teams and stakeholders across regions

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.