Director of Engineering – Developer Experience

PayPal

  • Chicago, IL
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 13 days ago
The CompanyPayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade.Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.Job Summary: PayPal is seeking an experienced and visionary Director of Engineering to lead 50+ engineers in Developer Experience org. Build world-class tools, platforms & docs empowering developers on PayPal ecosystem. Define strategic roadmap enhancing productivity with LLMs, AI documentation & no-code tooling for seamless API integration. This role will take ownership for:Leadership & People ManagementLead and mentor a growing organization of 50+ engineers across multiple teams.Build and scale high-performing engineering teams with a strong culture of ownership, innovation, and collaboration.Foster a culture of excellence in engineering craft and customer-centric thinking.Vision & StrategyDefine and drive the long-term vision for PayPal’s developer experience, including API platforms, SDKs, documentation, sandbox environments, and self-service tooling.Champion the use of AI/LLM-driven developer assistants, smart documentation systems, and personalized onboarding flows.Innovate with no-code/low-code solutions to expand developer reach and lower barriers to adoption.Execution & DeliveryOversee cross-functional initiatives that span 200+ engineers across the platform, infrastructure, and product teams.Ensure high-quality delivery, scalable system architecture, and operational excellence.Drive the development of agentic interfaces to streamline developer workflows and improve time-to-market.Stakeholder EngagementPartner with Developer Relations, Product, Design, Infrastructure, and Security to deliver cohesive experiences.Influence senior executives and represent DevEx in engineering-wide and company-wide forums.Job Description:Essential Responsibilities:
  • Directs and controls the delivery of business and technical outcomes that comprise multiple projects and operational activities within a domain through organizational and technical leadership
  • Defines engineering health objectives that drive organization health, engineering best practices and operational targets
  • Drives product and technical strategy with cross-functional leaders across the enterprise to deliver Domain goals
  • Responsible for the delivery of programs, establishing annual organizational goals and ensuring performance and results that impact both their domain and potentially enterprise
  • Develops engineering strategy that translates into operational and tactical plans; uses ground-breaking methods to think beyond existing solutions
  • Sets the tri-annual roadmap for a domain level organization. Defines the operational strategy for a domain based on a defined budget
  • Evaluates key business challenges and can complete complex, ambiguous initiatives having impact across engineering; directs the development of new or innovative solutions. Ability to deal with high levels of technical domain level ambiguity.
  • Collaborates with direct team, managers in org, stakeholders, managers in other orgs, external partners and business stakeholders
Minimum Qualifications:
  • Minimum of 15 years of relevant work experience and a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
  • Minimum of 3 years management experience
Preferred Qualification:Proven experience as a Director (or higher) leading engineering teams in a large-scale, matrixed organization.Deep understanding of modern developer tools, CI/CD, API lifecycle, and developer platforms.Strong familiarity with AI/ML, especially in LLMs, AI-generated documentation, and intelligent agent workflows.Experience with no-code/low-code platforms, developer portals, and automated onboarding systems.Demonstrated success in coordinating complex technical programs involving 200+ cross-functional engineers.Ability to define scalable architectural patterns and influence technical strategy at a platform level.Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and organizational navigation skills.
  • Experience delivering developer platforms at a global scale (e.g., APIs used by millions).
Contributions to open-source or developer ecosystem tools.Understanding of developer needs across different ecosystems (REST, GraphQL, Webhooks, etc.).Familiarity with developer-centric AI applications and next-gen IDE integrations.Subsidiary: PayPalTravel Percent: 0-PayPal is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.Actual Compensation is based on various factors including but not limited to work location, and relevant skills and experience.The total compensation for this practice may include an annual performance bonus (or other incentive compensation, as applicable), equity, and medical, dental, vision, and other benefits. For more information, visit . The US national annual pay range for this role is $188,000 to $323,950PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit .For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.Our Benefits:At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset—you. That’s why we offer benefits to help you thrive in every stage of life. We champion your financial, physical, and mental health by offering valuable benefits and resources to help you care for the whole you.We have great benefits including a flexible work environment, employee shares options, health and life insurance and more. To learn more about our benefits please visit .Who We Are:to learn more about our culture and community.Commitment to Diversity and InclusionPayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at .Belonging at PayPal:Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please .We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.

PayPal