Lead Software Engineer (Backend & AI)

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 Lead Software Engineer (Backend & AI) We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer (Backend & AI) to drive the design, development, and scaling of advanced backend systems and AI-powered solutions. In this role, you will combine deep backend engineering expertise with strong AI understanding, leading a team to deliver high-performance, data-driven products. You will play a key role in shaping system architecture, integrating AI capabilities, and ensuring production-grade reliability at scale. Key Responsibilities: *Technical Leadership* Lead the architecture and development of scalable backend systems and APIs Design and implement AI-driven features, including AI model integration and inference pipelines Define and enforce best practices for distributed systems, data processing, and system reliability Own end-to-end system design, including performance, scalability, and security *AI & Data Engineering* Collaborate with data scientists/AI engineers to deploy, optimize, and monitor AI models in production Build and maintain data pipelines and infrastructure supporting AI workloads Ensure efficient model serving, versioning, and lifecycle management Optimize performance of AI components (latency, cost, scalability) *Team Leadership & Mentorship* Lead, mentor, and grow a team of backend and/or full-stack engineers Foster a strong engineering culture aligned with Israeli tech ecosystem standards (ownership, fast iteration, innovation) Conduct code reviews and provide technical guidance *Delivery & Execution* Partner with Product, Data, and Business teams to define technical solutions Drive end-to-end delivery of complex projects in a fast-paced environment Break down ambiguous problems into actionable plans Ensure timely and high-quality releases Cross-Functional Collaboration Work closely with AI teams, DevOps, Architects and Product Translate business needs into robust technical solutions Communicate complex technical topics to non-technical stakeholders *Required Qualifications* Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent 8+ years of backend software development experience 2+ years in a leadership or tech lead role Strong programming skills in languages such as Python and Node.js Proven experience building large-scale distributed systems Hands-on experience deploying or integrating machine learning models in production environments Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) *Preferred Qualifications* Experience in AI systems, including APIs for model inference (e.g., LLMs, recommendation systems, NLP, computer vision) Familiarity with MLOps tools (e.g., Airflow, Vertex AI) Experience working with real-time data processing systems (Kafka, Spark, Flink) Background in high-growth startups or Israeli tech companies Experience with microservices and Kubernetes-based architectures *Tech Stack* Backend: Python / Node.js AI: Bedrock, OpenAI, LangChain, LangGraph, Langfuse etc. Data: PostgreSQL, Redis, DynamoDB, Snowflake Infrastructure: AWS / GCP, Docker, Kubernetes Streaming: Kafka CI/CD: GitHub Actions *Key Skills & Competencies* Strong system design and architecture skills Ability to bridge backend engineering and AI domains Excellent leadership and mentoring ability Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment Effective communication in English (Hebrew is a plus) Corporate Security Responsibility 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.