Director of Engineering - Merchant & Payments

About the Role

Join Zip Co as the Director of Engineering for Merchant & Payments, where you will lead the technological direction for one of our most crucial platforms. This role offers the rare chance to impact the commerce landscape by guiding high-performing engineering teams that develop trusted platforms used by millions of customers and merchants. Operating mainly onsite with hybrid flexibility and team connection days in Sydney or Melbourne, you'll collaborate closely across Product, Design, and Architecture teams to enable seamless merchant onboarding, payment acceptance, and growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the engineering roadmap aligned with Zip's long-term business objectives for the merchant and payments domain.
• Lead the ongoing evolution of merchant and payments infrastructure encompassing onboarding, orchestration, trust mechanisms, settlement, and merchant enablement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to deliver smooth merchant experiences from acquisition through sustained business growth.
• Drive innovation by integrating AI and emerging technologies to enhance customer and merchant experiences.
• Cultivate a culture of innovation, accountability, and engineering excellence by mentoring and inspiring engineering leaders.
• Promote best practices in engineering, sustainable delivery models, and operational excellence across multiple teams.
• Provide technical oversight for cloud-native, distributed system platforms, balancing innovation with resilience, security, and reliability.
• Engage with executive stakeholders and external partners to help shape the future landscape of payments and digital commerce.
• Advocate for continuous enhancement through experimentation, learning, and technology innovation.

Qualifications and Experience

• Significant leadership experience scaling engineering organizations in fintech, payments, digital commerce, or marketplace sectors.
• In-depth knowledge of modern payments systems, including orchestration, tokenization, acquiring, fraud management, trust, clearing, and settlement.
• History of defining technology strategies that balance platform evolution with commercial results.
• Expertise in cloud-native architectures and distributed systems at enterprise scale.
• Experience applying AI to boost customer experiences, merchant functionalities, or engineering team productivity.
• Proven success in leading senior engineering leaders and fostering inclusive, high-performance cultures.
• Strong commercial insight with ability to influence senior executives across the business.
• Familiarity with technologies such as AWS, Kubernetes, and microservices architectures.
• Passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and driving teams through change.
• Openness to emerging AI tools and a growth-oriented mindset.
• Capability in risk identification and management, emphasizing effective leadership across roles.
• Alignment with company values: Customer First, Own It, Stronger Together, and Change the Game.

Employee Benefits

• 25 days of paid annual leave, including birthday leave and quarterly wellness days.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks for supporting caregivers.
• Family support policies, including bereavement leave for miscarriage and domestic violence leave.
• Comprehensive mental health and wellness support with an annual $299 wellbeing allowance, free access to EAP services for employees and family, discounted private health insurance, and fitness discounts.
• Two paid volunteering days annually.
• Access to lifestyle savings and benefits via Flare Benefits Hub and Novated Leasing.
• Fee-free access to Zip products and discounts with affiliated merchants.
• Engaging team events, vibrant office environments, daily free breakfast, and weekly free lunches.

Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

Zip Co fosters a workplace that celebrates diversity across age, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, veteran status, and more. The recruitment process is designed to be accessible and inclusive, with accommodations made upon request to ensure fairness.

About Zip Co

Zip Co Limited (ASX: ZIP) is a leading digital financial services company offering innovative, customer-centric products that connect millions of shoppers and merchants in Australia, New Zealand, and the US. Zip specializes in point-of-sale credit and digital payment services, backed by strong company values that guide its operations and growth.