Mastercard
- Mastercard is hiring tech talent across 7 global technology hubs.
- The payments firm wants software architects and talent in crypto and AI, among others.
- Oran Cummins, EVP of APIs at Mastercard, told Insider what it's like to work there.
- This article is part of Talent Insider, a series containing expert advice to help business owners tackle a range of hiring challenges.
Mastercard wants to be a firm where technologists are excited to work.
The payments giant is actively hiring developers across its seven global technology hubs. To attract and retain top talent, the firm says it is taking steps to make its workplace and work culture a top destination for technologists.
"I think the first sense you get is that this is really a tech space," Oran Cummins, executive vice president of APIs at Mastercard, told Insider. "I think that's the first impression that folks get. They're maybe a little surprised. They may think that they're walking into a traditional financial services company."
Mastercard
The firm is hiring across technology, product, sales, and consulting fields. Within tech, the firm is adding software architects, product developers across IT and cybersecurity, projects and program managers, and talent in crypto, artificial-intelligence strategy, and RiskRecon, a risk management startup that Mastercard acquired in December 2019.
The opportunity to innovate on projects and code that will "ship" — or go live — is a major incentive for technologists joining the firm, according to Cummins.
"We have a saying at Mastercard: If it doesn't scale, it doesn't matter," he said.
"Nobody wants to work on software that nobody uses," he added.
Within Mastercard's open banking business, production code may be released multiple times a day. Other projects, like those that will scale to a global level, may take months of development and planning before they roll out.
One perk: Developers get 'autonomy days' to work on pet projects
Developers are given time to work on their work-related pet projects, too. These are called "autonomy days."
One developer used an autonomy day to create a program that automatically sorts and categorizes customer support emails. Another developed a "dark mode" setting for Mastercard's internal, back-end software interface to reduce eye strain.
He still gets a lot of kudos for that, Cummins said.
The technologists Mastercard wants to hire have a "multiplier effect" in terms of what they can do, what they can deliver, and how they can raise the bar within the organization, according to Cummins.
"It's not just what they're able to build. It's the way in which they build it with future extension in mind. It's built with flexibility," he said. "And when you create well-designed software, it allows you to move fast. It allows you to very quickly diversify the business."
The qualifications and responsibilities listed on Mastercard tech job postings are intentionally vague so as to attract a diverse pool of talent with broad skill sets, Cummins said.
LinkedIn is a leading channel for recruitment, but the firm also sources from other sites like Handshake (a job board designed for college students), Built In (a tech job board), and ColorStack (a job board designed for Black and Latinx computer science students).
The salary range for a lead software engineer based in New York is $158,000 to $245,000, according to an earlier job posting on the Mastercard careers page.
Developers have the opportunity to work from the seven tech hubs located around the globe, including in New York, Dublin, Sydney, and Vancouver. The hubs are Mastercard's centers of innovation and collaboration.
Mastercard
The New York City Tech Hub, for instance, is a modern, multi-level office located on 5th Avenue in the Flatiron District. The walls are covered in live moss and greenery. Floor-to-ceiling windows give a view of the city skyline. And employees have access to the rooftop and balconies as well as portable chargers to enable mobility within the office. There's even a for-purchase coffee bar with a barista.
Employees have the option to work remote, hybrid, or in-person. They can also work remotely from anywhere for up to four weeks per year with the "Work from Elsewhere" benefit.
"It's very much a tech company that happens to be in financial services," Cummins said. "That's the vibe you get as soon as you walk in the door, and that's the day-to-day experience now, too."