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.