Software Engineer, Payments Product Lead

Location: Palo Alto, California Aptos is a people-first blockchain on a mission to help billions of people achieve universal and fair access to decentralized assets in a safe and scalable way. Founded by some of the original creators and maintainers that researched, designed, and built the Diem blockchain to serve this purpose, we have dedicated several years toward this mission. We believe the open-source Diem technology we have developed is an important foundation of a safe and scalable web3 world where everyone has more equitable opportunities to grow and access financial assets with lower fees and fewer intermediaries. Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") encompasses our mission and ethos for why we build. About this role Aptos is a high-performance Layer 1 designed for financial services: sub-second settlement at sub-cent cost, production reliability institutions build on, and native stablecoins including assets exclusive to the network. We are consolidating our commercial efforts into one financial services company — payments, tokenization, and trading — and payments is the first chartered business: a ring-fenced unit with its own P&L, an exclusive global settlement partnership already signed, first-party products already shipped (keyless onboarding, multisig treasury, confidential payments), and clear evidence gates at 90 days, 6 months, and 24 months. This role is the founding technical leader of that unit. You are hire number one of the engineering team, and the build you lead defines the business. What you'll own The Aptos Payment API. Spec, ship, and run the single API businesses integrate against — wrapping partner infrastructure today, with an orchestration engine routing across a licensed partner network as the business earns it. You write the spec bottoms-up from partner and client requirements. Partner-facing engineering. You are the technical face of the unit: requirements intake, integration leadership, and technical diligence with banks, EMIs, PSPs, stablecoin issuers, and e-wallet platforms. You can run those calls alone and write the requirements doc after. The trust infrastructure. Revenue attribution and reconciliation (the system that proves which volume is ours), a single-window KYC/KYB integration, a testnet sandbox that lets any prospect try the stack before compliance onboarding, and a native-asset-only settlement policy — no bridges. Integration with the trading stack. Our trading team builds the RFQ liquidity and tokenized-FX systems; you own the payments side of that seam — routing corridor FX through their venue, defining the API contract between the two systems, and making the handoff invisible to clients. The team and the calls. Hire and lead the first two engineers; grow the team only as revenue triggers fire. Make the build-vs-buy decisions (orchestration components, KYC tooling) with written memos at each gate. Your first 90 days Publish the Payment API v1 spec and ship the testnet sandbox. Stand up revenue attribution v1 and harden USDT/USDC settlement rails to production grade. Ship the first client integration hands-on, end to end. Draft the orchestration build-vs-buy memo that frames the unit's biggest technical decision. These are not aspirations — they are the unit's first gate, and the role's report card is the engineering column of the business's scorecard. What we're looking for 8+ years building payment infrastructure at production scale — PSP or orchestrator-class systems: cross-border rails, on/off-ramps, virtual accounts, reconciliation. Hands-on chain-native settlement experience: stablecoin rails, ramp integrations, wallet infrastructure. Move or Rust a plus; strong engineering judgment on any stack a must. Front-facing gravitas: banks, issuers, and regulated partners treat you as a peer. You've led external technical relationships, not just internal roadmaps. A product engineer's instincts: you build bottoms-up from what clients and partners actually need, and you treat existing internal products as assets to resell — not constraints to build around. Player-coach by default: you ship code, then hire people better than you at parts of it. Nice to have APAC corridor experience — e-wallet ecosystems, QR rails, regional licensing landscapes. Enough FX and market-structure fluency to be a strong counterpart to the trading team on the RFQ integration. Working familiarity with payments regulation (money transmission, MiCA, Singapore PS Act) — enough to design with counsel, not practice law. A prior 0→1: founding engineer, first technical hire, or owner of a product line from blank page to revenue. Why this role is unusual Distribution is solved before you start. An exclusive settlement partnership routes committed volume to the network — you build against real flow, not hoped-for flow. The business is chartered. Written gates, a stop condition, and growth triggers tied to revenue — you'll always know exactly where the business stands and what your work must prove next. The scope compounds. What starts as one API becomes an orchestration network and a tokenized-currency framework, integrated with a trading venue's liquidity — the technical agenda grows with every gate the business clears. You define the org. Every engineering hire after you is your call, made against revenue evidence. The base salary range for this full-time position is $160k - $260k. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and typical maximum target for new hire salaries for the position of a candidate based in the Bay Area at any level. We do hire exceptionally talented professionals with decades of experience in their field. As such, our range may be higher than what is displayed. Our base salary ranges are determined by experience and location, and we hire at all levels for multiple roles. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location, job-related skills demonstrated during the interviews, working experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only and do not include equity, tokens, or benefits. #LI-PG1 Our Benefits 100% insurance premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents (US Employees) Equipment of your choice Flexible vacation time, 11 holidays, and floating company days off Competitive Salary Protocol Token Grants 401k matching (US Employees) Fun and inclusive in-person and digital events Aptos is committed to diversity in the workplace, and we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not hire on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal law. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need. We are committed to providing a safe and secure hiring process for all applicants. Unfortunately, there are individuals who may attempt to impersonate Aptos or our employees for fraudulent purposes. To protect yourself, please be aware of the following: We will never ask you for payment of any kind during the application or onboarding process, including fees for background checks, training, or equipment. We will always communicate with you using our official company email domain. We will never request your personal financial information, such as your social security number or bank account details, during the initial application stages or via email or a video/voice call when onboarding.