This role pays more than
84%
of similar roles. Most pay
$174,050–$237,800
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$244k
versus about
$206k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About PayPal
PayPal is a leading global digital wallet and online payment system, founded in 1998, that allows individuals and businesses to send, receive, and manage funds securely in over 200 markets.
PayPal currently has
79 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$167,149–$238,700
across 79 roles with salary data.
As a Sr Staff Software Engineer on the Venmo team, you will serve as a subject matter expert for the company's foundational identity infrastructure. You will set the technical direction for the identity platform, including authentication, authorization, identity verification, and fraud risk systems. Your daily responsibilities involve making high-level technical decisions across organizational boundaries, leading architectural reviews, and mentoring senior engineers to improve overall design quality and reliability. You will partner with product, legal, and security teams to translate complex regulatory requirements like KYC, AML, and GDPR into robust technical solutions. To succeed, you must possess expertise in distributed systems, backend languages such as Python, Java, or Go, and cloud infrastructure using AWS and Terraform. You will also utilize protocols including OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, and FIDO2/WebAuthn to secure high-stakes transaction data at scale.
What does a Software Engineer earn in California?
Median $214000 from 776 postings across 67 companies.
Set the technical direction for Venmo's identity platform including authentication, authorization, and fraud risk systems.
Resolve complex, cross-cutting technical problems from initial design through production.
Align with PayPal's platform and security teams on shared identity standards and infrastructure.
Lead architectural reviews and define engineering standards to improve system reliability and security.
Translate regulatory requirements like KYC, AML, and GDPR into scalable technical solutions.
Mentor senior engineers by shaping team thinking through design docs, code reviews, and technical debates.
Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to authentication flows, compliance gaps, and scaling bottlenecks.
Manage the performance and availability of services while participating in on-call rotations.
What we're looking for
Must have 8+ years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Preferred: Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer science or a related field of study.
Preferred: 12+ years of software engineering experience with significant time spent on identity, authentication, or security-critical systems at scale.
Preferred: Deep expertise in identity and access management protocols including OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, and FIDO2/WebAuthn.
Preferred: Proven track record of defining and shipping large-scale distributed systems and leading technical strategy across multiple teams.
Preferred: Hands-on experience with backend systems (Python, Java, Go) and cloud infrastructure (AWS).
Preferred: Experience designing systems that meet regulatory requirements such as KYC, AML, GDPR, or PCI.
Preferred: Experience managing infrastructure as code using Terraform.
OAuth 2.0
OIDC
SAML
FIDO2/WebAuthn
Python
Java
Go
AWS
Terraform
Distributed Systems
Identity and Access Management
KYC
AML
GDPR
PCI
Infrastructure as Code
Security Engineering