Staff Systems Engineer- Distributed Compute Engineering

Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

Make an impact with a purpose-driven industry leader. Join us today and experience Life at Visa.

Visa’s Technology Organization is a global community of innovators and problem-solvers reshaping the future of commerce. We run one of the world’s most advanced payment processing networks—capable of securely handling 65,000+ transactions per second across 80M merchants, 15K financial institutions, and billions of consumers worldwide.

Joining Visa means tackling massive-scale challenges in distributed systems, cybersecurity, data platforms, and next-generation payment flows. You’ll work on cutting-edge technology that powers commerce for everyone, everywhere.

The Opportunity:

This role sits within Visa’s Distributed Compute Engineering group, part of our Operations and Infrastructure organization. We deliver Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) capabilities that underpin Visa’s global payment ecosystem.

You’ll be at the forefront of global infrastructure innovation, bringing advanced technologies to life and making them operational at scale. This is your chance to influence how Visa builds and runs the backbone of digital payments.

The Work Itself:

As a Distributed Compute Engineer, you’ll design, implement, and optimize high-performance computing environments that power Visa’s global operations. Your work will involve:

• Building and maintaining compute platforms that support mission-critical payment processing.
• Driving automation and orchestration to deliver infrastructure at scale.
• Partnering with engineering teams to integrate next-gen hardware and emerging technologies into Visa’s ecosystem.
• Solving complex challenges in performance, reliability, and security for distributed systems.

Every decision you make will impact billions of transactions and help keep commerce flowing worldwide.

Essential Functions:

• Extensive Datacenter Experience: Skilled in managing complex, geographically distributed IT infrastructures to ensure high availability and performance.
• Advanced Technical Knowledge: Deep understanding of high-performance, highly available, and secure computing systems utilizing x86 and GPU technologies.
• Enterprise Server Expertise: In-depth knowledge of server components (storage and network controllers, HBAs, SSDs) critical for maintaining high-performance compute environments.
• Processor and GPU Systems Proficiency: Strong grasp of Intel/AMD architectures, GPU systems, memory hierarchy, and hardware-level security to enhance system performance and reliability.
• Out-of-Band, UEFI, and BIOS Expertise: Comprehensive understanding of out-of-band management, UEFI, BIOS settings, and their impact on system performance and security.
• Hardware Lifecycle Management: Experienced in firmware and OS driver certifications to ensure longevity and reliability of compute resources.
• Scripting Proficiency: Advanced skills in PowerShell and Python to automate and optimize infrastructure tasks.
• Team and Independent Work: Highly motivated, collaborative team player with strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities; capable of mentoring junior staff and working independently.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Basic Qualifications
•5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 2
years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD,
MD) or 0 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 8+ years of relevant work
experience.

Preferred Qualifications
•6 or more years of work experience with a Bachelors Degree or 4 or more years
of relevant experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD)
or up to 3 years of relevant experience with a PhD
•Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Systems,
Computer Engineering, Electrical or other relevant engineering field
•Broad knowledge in hardware, software, network, and applications
deployments through automation.
•Hardware and infrastructure automation experience in at least one of the
following server product lines - HP ProLiant, Dell PowerEdge.
•Operating Systems: In-depth experience with RHEL 8 and 9, Rocky 8 and9, and
or Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04.
•Exceptional technical, analytical, and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to simplify complex concepts and mentor junior team members effectively.
•Experience in system monitoring with tools supporting unattended operations.
•Engineering Knowledge to troubleshoot and solve storage issues (Hosts, SAN
switches, and Storage Devices).
•Engineering knowledge in TCPIP networking – link aggregation redundancy,
switches, routing, and load-balancing.
•Ability to write technical designs, documentation, and presentations for
Compute Infrastructure.
•Ability to provide level 3 support and guide level 2 administrators on problem
resolution.

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.  Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is 124,700.00 to 180,650.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.