About ThriveCart
ThriveCart is a leading no-code platform used by over 50,000 creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs worldwide to generate over $2Bn in annual sales. Included within the ThriveCart platform is a powerful landing page builder, affiliate management, cart and checkout functionality and learning management system (LMS), making it a top solution all-in-one solution for digital product sales.
Location
Remote (Europe or in South America)
Must have full authorization to work in country of residence being in Europe or in South America.
Job Overview
We're looking for a Principal Engineer/Head of Engineering to lead ThrivePay—our next-generation payment service that will process billions of dollars for tens of thousands of businesses worldwide.
ThrivePay is our strategic initiative to extract and rebuild ThriveCart's payment processing engine as a standalone, modern payment platform. This isn't just a refactor—it's a greenfield opportunity to build something exceptional.
The Challenge:
- Migrate from monolithic PHP to distributed Node/TypeScript microservices
- Build a PCI DSS compliant payment service that reduces compliance scope
- Support multiple payment processors with a unified API
- Handle high-volume transactions at scale on AWS
- Execute a careful rollout strategy with zero customer disruption
You'll have 3 teams of 3-4 engineers (9-12 people total), the resources of an established company, and the autonomy to make this project successful.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Leadership (50%)
- Design ThrivePay's distributed microservices architecture
- Make hands-on technology decisions (Node/TypeScript, AWS services, infrastructure)
- Establish CI/CD pipelines and automated quality standards
- Ensure PCI DSS compliance from day one
- Contribute code strategically when it matters most
Team Leadership (35%)
- Build and lead 3 high-performing engineering teams
- Mentor engineers and develop future leaders
- Create a culture of ownership and excellence
- Remove blockers and enable your teams to ship
Delivery & Execution (15%)
- Execute on roadmap and deliver incrementally
- Manage phased rollout strategy
- Establish monitoring and reliability practices
Required Skills
- Deep Payment Systems Expertise
- You've built payment integrations with Stripe, PayPal, or similar. You understand authorization, capture, refunds, webhooks, tokenization, and fraud prevention.
- PCI DSS Compliance Experience
- You've built or maintained PCI compliant systems. You know the requirements, scope reduction strategies, and secure coding practices.
- AWS Cloud Expertise
- Production experience architecting systems on AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3, etc.). You understand cloud security, networking, and infrastructure as code.
- Distributed Systems Architecture
- You've designed and built microservices at scale. You know the patterns, the pitfalls, and how to build for reliability.
- High-Volume Systems Experience
- You've optimized for scale, debugged production incidents, and built systems that handle serious traffic.
- Engineering Leadership (3-5+ years)
- You've built and led engineering teams. You know how to hire, develop talent, and ship complex projects on time.
- Technical Depth
- You can contribute code when needed (Node.js/TypeScript preferred), but this isn't a full-time coding role. You're technical enough to earn your team's respect and make sound architecture decisions.
Nice to Haves:
- Production experience with Node.js/TypeScript microservices
- Fintech, payments, or e-commerce background
- Experience with feature flags and gradual rollouts
- Remote/distributed team experience
Learn More About ThriveCart:
Our team thrives on collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth. We foster an open environment with regular knowledge-sharing sessions and encourage active participation in shaping the platform. Our values include:
- Commit to Excellence – We believe in delivering high-quality work and continuous improvement.
- User-Focused Problem Solving – Every design should contribute to solving a real problem for our users.
- Team Collaboration – We work better together, valuing input from every team member.
- Growth Mindset – We embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
