Principal Engineer/Head of Engineering - Payments

**About ThriveCart:** ThriveCart is a leading no-code platform used by over 50,000 creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs worldwide to generate over $2Bn in annual sales. Included within the ThriveCart platform is a powerful landing page builder, affiliate management, cart and checkout functionality and learning management system (LMS), making it a top solution all-in-one solution for digital product sales. **Location:** Remote (Europe or in South America) *Must have full authorization to work in country of residence being in Europe or in South America.* **Job Overview:** We're looking for a Principal Engineer/Head of Engineering to lead ThrivePay—our next-generation payment service that will process billions of dollars for tens of thousands of businesses worldwide. ThrivePay is our strategic initiative to extract and rebuild ThriveCart's payment processing engine as a standalone, modern payment platform. This isn't just a refactor—it's a greenfield opportunity to build something exceptional. The Challenge: * Migrate from monolithic PHP to distributed Node/TypeScript microservices * Build a PCI DSS compliant payment service that reduces compliance scope * Support multiple payment processors with a unified API * Handle high-volume transactions at scale on AWS * Execute a careful rollout strategy with zero customer disruption You'll have 3 teams of 3-4 engineers (9-12 people total), the resources of an established company, and the autonomy to make this project successful. **Key Responsibilities:** **Technical Leadership (50%)** * Design ThrivePay's distributed microservices architecture * Make hands-on technology decisions (Node/TypeScript, AWS services, infrastructure) * Establish CI/CD pipelines and automated quality standards * Ensure PCI DSS compliance from day one * Contribute code strategically when it matters most **Team Leadership (35%)** * Build and lead 3 high-performing engineering teams * Mentor engineers and develop future leaders * Create a culture of ownership and excellence * Remove blockers and enable your teams to ship **Delivery & Execution (15%)** * Execute on roadmap and deliver incrementally * Manage phased rollout strategy * Establish monitoring and reliability practices **Required Skills:** * **Deep Payment Systems Expertise** * You've built payment integrations with Stripe, PayPal, or similar. You understand authorization, capture, refunds, webhooks, tokenization, and fraud prevention. * **PCI DSS Compliance Experience** * You've built or maintained PCI compliant systems. You know the requirements, scope reduction strategies, and secure coding practices. * **AWS Cloud Expertise** * Production experience architecting systems on AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3, etc.). You understand cloud security, networking, and infrastructure as code. * **Distributed Systems Architecture** * You've designed and built microservices at scale. You know the patterns, the pitfalls, and how to build for reliability. * **High-Volume Systems Experience** * You've optimized for scale, debugged production incidents, and built systems that handle serious traffic. * **Engineering Leadership (3-5+ years)** * You've built and led engineering teams. You know how to hire, develop talent, and ship complex projects on time. * **Technical Depth** * You can contribute code when needed (Node.js/TypeScript preferred), but this isn't a full-time coding role. You're technical enough to earn your team's respect and make sound architecture decisions. * **AI Experience** * You have built and implemented AI tools and Agents. **Nice to Haves**: * Production experience with Node.js/TypeScript microservices * Fintech, payments, or e-commerce background * Experience with feature flags and gradual rollouts * Remote/distributed team experience **Learn More About ThriveCart**: Our team thrives on collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth. We foster an open environment with regular knowledge-sharing sessions and encourage active participation in shaping the platform. Our values include: * Commit to Excellence – We believe in delivering high-quality work and continuous improvement. * User-Focused Problem Solving – Every design should contribute to solving a real problem for our users. * Team Collaboration – We work better together, valuing input from every team member. * Growth Mindset – We embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.