Our Purpose
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we're helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.
Title and Summary
Software Engineer I, Launch Program 2026 - United States
This role is not eligible for Mastercard's work authorization sponsorship. As such, candidates must be eligible to work in the United States, now as well as in the future, without employer sponsorship. For example, students or recent graduates in the United States on an F1 visa (including those with CPT or OPT authorization) are not eligible for this role.
Overview
Mastercard works to connect and power a sustainable and inclusive global economy. We are a vehicle for commerce, a connection to financial systems for the previously excluded, a technology innovation lab, and the home of Priceless®. We ensure every employee has an opportunity to be a part of something bigger and to change lives. We believe in connecting everyone to endless, priceless possibilities.
About the Team
Mastercard software engineering teams are obsessed with security, reliability, performance, and are driven to deliver solutions that delight our customers. We are looking for talented software engineers to develop advanced technologies and applications that are revolutionizing payments. Software engineers at Mastercard build the systems that process transactions, analyze data, and detect fraud to gain insight into the direction of the economy on behalf of our customers. We are focused on building simple, safe, and smart solutions that instill trust in every interaction. Our industry expertise is enhanced by our commitment to being a force for good in the world and to doing well by doing good.
Launch Program
The Launch program is a development program that is supplemental to the role and is designed to help you transition from being a student to being a Mastercard employee. In this program, you will participate in:
Four-day orientation focused on getting to know Mastercard, building your skills, and be a force for good (Mastercard's culture)
Technical orientation focused on an introduction to tools, policies, and processes that are key to your role
Professional skills workshops
Launch Innovation Week
Social impact - pro bono team challenge
Global Volunteer Challenge
Role Description
As a Software Engineer I, you will have the opportunity to:
Write high-quality code with a focus on security, design, and maintainability.
Contribute to all phases of software development from design through rollout.
Find real-life solutions for our clients and the world.
Note: specific responsibilities and development tools/languages used will vary based on team placement.
Qualifications
Currently enrolled in a bachelor's or accelerated master's program graduating between December 2025 - June 2026.
Less than 1 year of professional work experience (not including internships).
Project-based experience (personal, academic, internship) in one or more general-purpose programming languages such as: Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, etc.
Familiarity using persistent data stores such as relational databases, NoSQL, etc.
Uses defensive coding, logging, and alerts to help prevent issues.
Experience writing automated tests to verify code correctness and expected behavior.
Experience with source control management (e.g., git), deployment, and task management tools.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and familiarity with common debugging tools and information to diagnose issues such as stack traces, memory profiling, code tracing, etc., using all debugging techniques/ tools and logs.
Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the @type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.
Corporate Security Responsibility
All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:
Abide by Mastercard's security policies and practices;
Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.
In line with Mastercard's total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more.
