below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
91%
of similar roles. Most pay
$168,112–$214,500
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$244k
versus about
$191k
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
96 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$168,500–$248,929
across 90 roles with salary data.
JOB TITLE: Sr Staff Software Engineer
As a Sr Staff Software Engineer, you will join the team responsible for Venmo's identity infrastructure, a foundational system underpinning trust, safety, and compliance for every transaction. You will set the technical direction for the identity platform, owning complex problems involving authentication, authorization, identity verification, and fraud risk systems. Your daily work involves making high-level technical decisions, leading architectural reviews, and partnering with security teams to align on shared standards. You will translate regulatory requirements like KYC, AML, GDPR, and PCI into technical solutions. The role requires deep expertise in protocols such as OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, and FIDO2/WebAuthn. You will utilize backend languages including Python, Java, and Go, while managing infrastructure as code using Terraform on AWS.
What does a Software Engineer earn in California?
Median $214500 from 1140 postings across 73 companies.
Set the technical direction for Venmo's identity platform, including authentication, authorization, and fraud risk systems.
Own complex, cross-cutting technical problems from initial design through production resolution.
Partner with PayPal's platform and security teams to align on shared identity standards and reusable infrastructure.
Lead architectural reviews and define engineering standards for building, scaling, and securing systems.
Translate regulatory and risk requirements like KYC, AML, and GDPR into sound technical solutions.
Identify and proactively address risks such as compliance gaps or scaling bottlenecks before they become incidents.
Own the performance and availability of services and participate in on-call rotations.
Mentor senior engineers by shaping team thinking through design docs, code reviews, and technical debates.
What we're looking for
8+ years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
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, including protocols like 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 comfort with backend systems at scale using Python, Java, or Go and experience with AWS (preferred).
Experience designing systems that meet regulatory requirements such as KYC, AML, GDPR, or PCI (preferred).
Expert knowledge of building services on public cloud and managing infrastructure as code using Terraform (preferred).
Strong communication skills to explain hard technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders (preferred).
OAuth 2.0
OIDC
SAML
FIDO2
WebAuthn
AWS
Terraform
Python
Java
Go
Distributed Systems
Identity and Access Management
KYC
AML
GDPR
PCI
Infrastructure as Code
Backend Systems