Principal Software Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Virginia
Virginia is one of the strongest markets for principal software engineer roles with visa sponsorship, driven by the Northern Virginia tech corridor, federal contractor ecosystem, and cloud infrastructure hubs in Reston, McLean, and Arlington. Major employers including Amazon Web Services, Leidos, SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Capital One actively hire at this level.
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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
Principal Software Development Engineer
Job Overview: Leads major projects and creates the development and delivery of quality software solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner. Research alternative technical solutions for changing business needs. Responsible for assuring the daily activities of the team meet the requirements of SLA’s.
About the Role:
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Successfully lead definition, development, and delivery of major cross-department initiatives with broad scope and long-term business implications. Collaborate with business and technical partners to identify and scope the opportunities, quantify costs, outline potential value and ROI, identify risks, benefits, and constraints. Partner with business to identify innovative solutions and drive strategic decisions. Develop business case in alignment with the MasterCard objectives. Lead scenario planning process and creation, validation and review of estimates, costs, and benefits. Actively look for opportunities for Innovation and creative problem solving. Make presentations to the Senior Management, Business Owners and other Stakeholders and help them in decision making process.
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Perform Proofs of Concepts (PoCs) to assess and identify the technologies per the needs of the organization. Provide recommendation to Senior Management on selection of technologies and strategic technical direction for the department. Lead creation of roadmaps that align with the department strategy and long-term business vision and objectives. Coach and mentor team members, enable knowledge sharing via brownbag sessions on new and upcoming technologies, methodologies, and application appropriate frameworks.
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Lead implementation of processes and supporting tools per the evolving needs of the organization. Identifying process gaps, provide estimates for business solutions, define the initial scope/requirements of the project, and manage the scope during the lifecycle of the project. Plan overall project scope as well as define scope for each phase and iteration to meet business needs/time-to-market needs.
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Define and Lead Quality Assurance and Quality Control processes in the department. Ensure compliance to quality methodology and development of quality metrics by the team. Create guidelines, processes, and standards to ensure high overall quality of product and incident free deployment.
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Instruct and guide the team to ensure that appropriate processes and documentation is in use by the team. Ensure compliance to the defined standards. Actively look for opportunities to modify and enhance standards per the needs of the department. Develop documentation templates, lead and enforce development of artifacts throughout the solution development lifecycle.
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Ensure compliance of Audit Requirements by proactively educating team on Compliance Requirements and Integrating Compliance Requirements in SDLC. Represent team during Compliance Audits.
All About You:
- Extensive background in delivering secure solutions in Financial Services Sector is preferred.
- Expertise with Software Engineering Concepts and Methodologies.
- Proven track record in selection and implementation of methodologies with focus on Lean methodology, delivery of High Efficiency Solutions leading to productivity gains is required.
- Demonstrate MC Core Competencies.
- Experience in vendor relationship management, vendor selection, RFI/RFP process, SOW is highly desired.
- Proven ability to embody MC Leadership Principles.
- Proven capacity to lead and influence matrix based project team members and work as a member of a diverse and geographically distributed team.
- Experience in operations environment is highly desirable.
- Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Information Technology, Computer Science or Engineering or equivalent experience.
Skills/ Abilities:
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Must be politically savvy, high-energy, detail-oriented, proactive, and able to function under pressure in an independent environment. Possess the ability to have a high degree of initiative and self-motivation to drive results.
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Demonstrate ability to organize, manage, plan, and control several concurrent initiatives with conflicting needs.
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Candidate must possess a superior coding background with Java/Spring or Python. Additional required technical requirements are AWS, Databricks/Snowflake.
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Experience using AI to assist in shaping/design applications as well as understand associated risks applicable to using AI.
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Must display strong communication skills - both verbal and written – and leadership and relationship skills with ability to influence others without having direct authority.
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Proven ability to sell solutions, persuade cross-functional group, garner support for solutions and bring group to a consensus and strong ability in collection and formulation of data, development of Metrics and dashboard reporting.
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. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.
Pay Ranges
Arlington, Virginia: $195,000 - $323,000 USD
O'Fallon, Missouri: $170,000 - $281,000 USD
Principal Software Engineer Job Roles in Virginia
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Search Principal Software Engineer Jobs in VirginiaPrincipal Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for principal software engineers in Virginia?
Northern Virginia hosts a concentration of employers with established visa sponsorship programs for principal software engineers. Amazon Web Services, Capital One, Leidos, SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Neustar have filed H-1B visa petitions for senior engineering roles in the state. Defense and federal IT contractors are particularly active, though some roles require security clearances that can complicate sponsorship for foreign nationals.
Which visa types are most common for principal software engineer roles in Virginia?
The H-1B is the most common visa category for principal software engineers in Virginia. Software engineering roles consistently meet USCIS specialty occupation standards, which require a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific technical field. L-1A and L-1B visas are also used by multinational employers like Amazon and Leidos for intracompany transfers into senior engineering positions. The O-1A applies for engineers with exceptional achievement.
Which cities in Virginia have the most principal software engineer sponsorship jobs?
Northern Virginia dominates, with Reston, McLean, Arlington, and Herndon accounting for the majority of principal software engineer sponsorship activity. This corridor sits adjacent to Washington D.C. and is home to the AWS U.S. East data center region, numerous federal contractors, and a dense cluster of cybersecurity firms. Richmond has a smaller but growing tech presence, particularly in fintech and healthcare technology companies.
How to find principal software engineer visa sponsorship jobs in Virginia?
Migrate Mate filters job listings specifically by visa sponsorship availability, making it straightforward to search for principal software engineer roles in Virginia without manually screening hundreds of postings. Because sponsorship at this seniority level is employer-specific and not always advertised clearly, using a platform built around sponsorship data saves significant time. Migrate Mate indexes roles across Northern Virginia's tech and federal IT sectors where senior engineering demand is highest.
Are there state-specific factors that affect visa sponsorship for principal software engineers in Virginia?
Virginia's large federal contractor ecosystem introduces a factor absent in most states: security clearance requirements. Many principal software engineer roles tied to government contracts require active clearances, which can affect sponsorship eligibility for foreign nationals still in the naturalization process. Outside the defense sector, Northern Virginia's commercial tech market operates like other major hubs, with prevailing wage determinations set at Level III or Level IV for principal-level roles under DOL guidelines.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored principal software engineer jobs in Virginia?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.