Software Engineer, AI & Cloud Applications

Software Engineer, AI & Cloud Applications

Position Location: Austin, TX

The Senior Software Architect will lead the design, development, and delivery of modern, cloud-native applications on AWS. This role serves as a hands-on technical leader responsible for end-to-end ownership of full-stack solutions, including application architecture, cloud infrastructure, AI-enabled capabilities, and production operations. The ideal candidate will partner with globally distributed engineering and business teams to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing software solutions while driving architectural excellence and engineering best practices.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Western Union will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

Role Responsibilities

Design, develop, and maintain full-stack applications using modern technologies including React, Next.js, TypeScript, Python, and Java.

Lead the architecture and implementation of scalable, cloud-native solutions across distributed systems and microservices environments.

Build and enhance AI-enabled product capabilities using Amazon Bedrock, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector search, and related technologies.

Develop and maintain backend services, selecting the most appropriate technologies and frameworks for performance, scalability, and maintainability.

Design and implement REST and GraphQL APIs, ensuring clear service contracts and backward compatibility.

Build and support real-time application capabilities using WebSockets, Server-Sent Events (SSE), AppSync subscriptions, and event-driven messaging patterns.

Architect and operate event-driven solutions leveraging AWS services such as EventBridge, SNS/SQS, Kinesis, MSK, and Step Functions.

Design, deploy, and manage AWS infrastructure using Infrastructure-as-Code practices, including AWS CDK.

Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines, automating application deployments, testing, quality controls, and infrastructure provisioning.

Ensure application security, scalability, reliability, performance, and cost optimization across all solutions.

Drive operational excellence through system monitoring, observability, alerting, troubleshooting, and production support.

Review application and infrastructure designs, providing technical guidance and architectural oversight across engineering teams.

Partner with product, business, and engineering stakeholders to translate business requirements into effective technical solutions.

Mentor engineers, promote engineering best practices, and contribute to the overall technical growth of the organization.

Own services throughout their lifecycle, from initial design through production support and continuous improvement.

Role Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field with 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent work experience.

5+ years of hands-on experience developing modern web applications using TypeScript, React, and Next.js.

3+ years of professional experience developing backend services using Python.

5+ years of experience designing, developing, and supporting enterprise-scale REST and GraphQL APIs.

5+ years of hands-on experience designing and implementing cloud-native solutions on AWS.

3+ years of experience using Infrastructure-as-Code solutions, preferably AWS CDK.

5+ years of experience building and operating microservices-based architectures in production environments.

3+ years of experience designing and implementing event-driven architectures using messaging and streaming technologies.

3+ years of experience developing and supporting real-time application capabilities, including WebSockets, SSE, or subscription-based architectures.

3+ years of experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes.

5+ years of experience applying software architecture principles, design patterns, distributed systems concepts, data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented design methodologies.

3+ years of experience working within Agile environments utilizing Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices.

3+ years of experience operating and supporting production systems with a focus on observability, monitoring, reliability, and operational excellence.

1+ years of experience building or integrating AI/ML-powered capabilities into enterprise or customer-facing applications.

Demonstrated experience leading complex technical initiatives and collaborating effectively across globally distributed engineering teams.

Strong communication skills with the ability to influence technical direction, communicate architectural decisions, and align stakeholders around engineering solutions.

Proven ability to assess business requirements and deliver scalable, secure, and innovative technology solutions aligned with organizational objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

3+ years of experience with AWS CDK and multi-environment cloud deployment strategies.

2+ years of experience building solutions using Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, or comparable AI/ML platforms.

1+ years of experience implementing RAG architectures, vector search, embeddings, prompt engineering, or LLM optimization techniques.

3+ years of experience developing or modernizing Java-based enterprise applications.

3+ years of experience designing and supporting large-scale event-driven, streaming, or real-time platforms.

3+ years of experience driving AWS performance tuning, cloud cost optimization, and security best practices.

Experience building and operating distributed systems, SaaS platforms, or multi-tenant applications at scale.

Experience within Financial Services, FinTech, Payments, or other highly regulated industries.

Prior experience serving as a technical lead, software architect, or mentor for engineering teams.

Experience developing customer-facing web and mobile applications using modern front-end frameworks and cloud-native architectures.

Workplace Option

HYBRID – Western Union values in-person collaboration, problem solving, and ideation whenever possible. We believe this fosters common ways of working and supports how we execute initiatives for our customers. The expectation is to work from the office a minimum of three days a week.

BENEFITS AND OTHER DETAILS

Benefits

You will also have access to short-term incentives, multiple health insurance options, accident and life insurance, and access to best-in-class development platforms, to name a few ( https://careers.westernunion.com/global-benefits/ ). Please see the benefits below specific to your country. If applicable, additional role-specific benefits will be mentioned during your interview process or in an offer of employment.

Your United States specific benefits include:

• •Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• •Paid Time Off
• •Parental Leave
• •Global Adoption Assistance
• •401K Plan

For residents of Colorado, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania: Please do not respond to any questions on this initial application that may seek age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You may also redact this information from any materials you submit during the application process. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Salary

The base salary range is $195,000 – $220,000 USD per year; total on-target earnings include a base salary and short-term and long-term incentives that align with individual and company performance. Actual salaries will vary based on candidates’ qualifications, skills, and competencies.

Other Details

We are passionate about honoring our emp