Staff-Software Engineer

At American Express, we are transforming how software is built, deployed, and operated at enterprise scale. The Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) organization is at the center of this transformation, building the engineering capabilities that enable secure software delivery, resilient platforms, intelligent operations, and exceptional developer experiences.

As a Staff Engineer, you will be a senior technical leader responsible for advancing the reliability, scalability, and operational excellence of critical technology platforms. You will work across engineering organizations to solve complex production challenges through software engineering, platform innovation, automation, and AI-powered operational capabilities.

This is a highly influential individual contributor role where success is measured by the systems you build, the engineering practices you shape, and the enterprise impact you create.

Role Summary

As a Staff Engineer within the Site Reliability Engineering organization, you will lead the evolution of enterprise reliability engineering by building scalable platform capabilities that improve system resilience, engineering productivity, and operational efficiency.

You will partner closely with Platform Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Security Engineering, Application Development, and Enterprise Architecture teams to modernize how software is delivered, observed, secured, and operated across the enterprise.

This role requires deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, software engineering, DevSecOps, observability, automation, and AI-enabled operations. You will drive engineering solutions that reduce operational complexity, improve service reliability, eliminate manual toil, and accelerate the organization’s journey toward autonomous operations., Successful Staff Engineers at American Express:

• Solve complex engineering problems through software, automation, and scalable platform solutions.
• Balance innovation with operational excellence, resilience, and security.
• Influence engineering direction through technical expertise rather than organizational authority.
• Remain hands-on by designing systems, reviewing critical implementations, and developing prototypes.
• Build consensus across engineering organizations through collaboration and technical credibility.
• Mentor engineers and cultivate a culture of learning, ownership, and engineering excellence.
• Continuously evaluate emerging technologies that improve reliability, developer productivity, and operational efficiency., We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That’s why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually. US Job Seekers - Click to view the “ Know Your Rights “ poster. If the link does not work, you may access the poster by copying and pasting the following URL in a new browser window: https://www.eeoc.gov/poster.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, or distributed systems.
• Demonstrated experience designing and operating highly available, large-scale distributed systems.
• Strong software engineering background with proficiency in one or more modern programming languages such as Java, Go, Python, or TypeScript.
• Deep understanding of cloud-native architectures, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD, observability, and engineering automation.
• Experience applying SRE principles, including SLOs, error budgets, incident management, production readiness, and operational excellence.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across multiple engineering organizations., Experience with several of the following technologies and practices:

Cloud & Infrastructure

• AWS
• Kubernetes/OpenShift
• Docker
• Terraform
• CloudFormation
• Ansible

Platform Engineering

• GitHub Actions
• Jenkins
• GitLab CI
• Argo CD

Observability & Reliability

• OpenTelemetry
• Prometheus
• Grafana
• Splunk
• Dynatrace
• Elastic
• Chaos Engineering
• Capacity Engineering
• Performance Engineering

Software Engineering

• Java
• Go
• Python
• Event-driven architectures
• Kafka
• Distributed systems design

AI & Automation

• Generative AI
• Agentic AI
• AIOps
• Workflow orchestration
• Intelligent automation platforms
• AI-assisted engineering tools

Pulled from the full job description

• Paid parental leave
• Parental leave
• Health insurance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance, * Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

As a Staff Engineer in the Site Reliability Engineering organization, you will help shape the future of engineering at American Express. Your work will influence how thousands of engineers build, deploy, secure, observe, and operate software across one of the world’s largest financial technology platforms.

You will have the opportunity to build foundational engineering capabilities, modernize enterprise software delivery, advance AI-powered operations, and drive the next generation of autonomous engineering-all while improving the reliability and resilience of services that millions of customers depend on every day.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones’ physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally