Lead Software Engineer

Pay range: USD $170,000.00 - $200,000.00 / Year

Your opportunity

At Schwab, you are empowered to make an impact on your career. Here, innovative thought meets creative problem solving, helping us "challenge the status quo" and transform the finance industry together.

We believe in the importance of in-office collaboration and fully intend for the selected candidate for this role to work on site in the specified location(s). This role is expected to be in the office 4 days a week.

Schwab Technology Services enables the future of how clients manage their money by providing innovative and reliable technology products and services as part of our ongoing commitment to democratize access to investing and financial planning.

As part of Schwab's AI Engineering & Operations team, you will be building the next generation Generative AI solutions that shape the future of technology at Schwab. In this role, you will contribute to the development and deployment of AI products that are instrumental in driving data-informed business decisions and elevating client experiences. You'll collaborate across teams to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing AI systems that align with Schwab's innovation strategy and operational goals.

We're seeking a Lead Software Engineer who will design and deliver production-grade GenAI applications, enhancing the client journey and driving tangible business value. You'll collaborate closely with architects, engineers, and business leaders to align solutions with Schwab's strategic goals, and mentor junior team members-cultivating best engineering practices and a culture of continuous learning.

In this pivotal role, you'll not only advance technical standards and solve complex challenges but also lead rapid iterations from concept to production. You will bring curiosity, creativity, and technical depth to help shape the next era of AI at Schwab, with a special emphasis on site reliability, monitoring, observability, and operations. You'll ensure that the systems you build are robust, reliable, and well-monitored, implementing best practices for observability and operational excellence to maintain high performance and uptime for mission-critical AI applications.

What you will do:

• Design, build, and deliver GenAI applications that elevate client experience and generate positive business impact.
• Champion reliability, monitoring, observability, and operational best practices for AI systems and data pipelines.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align solutions with enterprise strategy and technical standards.
• Provide leadership by mentoring and coaching junior engineers, fostering strong practices, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Lead by example in solving complex technical challenges and driving rapid iteration from concept to deployment.
• Implement and maintain monitoring, alerting, and incident response frameworks to ensure system health and reliability.
• Advance engineering standards, focusing on operational excellence and quality across all deliverables.
• Exhibit strategic vision, initiative, and adaptability while navigating complex situations and driving organizational alignment.

What you have

To ensure that we fulfill our promise of "challenging the status quo," this role has specific qualifications that successful candidates should have:

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of software development experience, with 4+ years as a hands-on senior engineer
• 5+ years building complex products from scratch, nurturing them in production, and ensuring operational reliability.
• 3+ years developing applications and data pipelines interfacing with large datasets.
• 5+ years working with containers and cloud-native applications, operationalizing them in the public cloud with infrastructure as code.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and execute through others, deliver balanced and actionable feedback, and manage multiple priorities
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong computer science fundamentals and experience across the tech stack.
• Commitment to quality - driving high standards including writing tests at all levels.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to clearly convey ideas and feedback.
• Strong emotional intelligence, maturity, and executive presence, inspiring confidence and creating followership at all organizational levels.
• Mentoring junior engineers and supporting their technical growth through code reviews and guidance.
• Highly detail-oriented and process-focused with a mindset of continuous learning and improvement.
• Ability to solve complex problems with ambiguous or incomplete data in distributed systems.
• Demonstrated business domain knowledge relevant to previous products.
• Curiosity about new technologies and processes, proactively sharing knowledge and seeking improvement.
• Experience with Python, Java, and front-end development preferred but not required.
• Master's or advanced degree in Computer Science or related field.

In addition to the salary range, this role is also eligible for bonus or incentive opportunities.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without employer sponsorship.

What's in it for you

At Schwab, you're empowered to shape your future. We champion your growth through meaningful work, continuous learning, and a culture of trust and collaboration-so you can build the skills to make a lasting impact. Our Hybrid Work and Flexibility approach balances our ongoing commitment to workplace flexibility, serving our clients, and our strong belief in the value of being together in person on a regular basis.

We offer a competitive benefits package that takes care of the whole you - both today and in the future:

• 401(k) with company match and Employee stock purchase plan
• Paid time for vacation, volunteering, and 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years of service for eligible positions
• Paid parental leave and family building benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Health, dental, and vision insurance

Client-provided location(s): Austin, TX

Job ID: CharlesSchwab-2026-118911

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2026-02-13T19:21:31