Job Overview

American Express is hiring a Software Engineer II for its technology organization in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is a full-time hybrid opportunity for an engineer who wants to work on scalable, reliable and mission-critical technology within an enterprise environment. The role sits within Enterprise Platforms, an engineering area responsible for technology capabilities that support important American Express business lines.

The position has a strong backend engineering focus. You will contribute to distributed applications designed to provide strong performance, availability and service continuity while helping modernize capabilities beyond legacy mainframe-based systems. The work includes reactive Java or Kotlin development, microservices, event-driven architecture, messaging, cloud-based systems and data platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance backend software within an agile, cross-functional engineering team.
• Build scalable distributed applications with an emphasis on performance, reliability and maintainability.
• Design and implement lightweight reactive microservices for enterprise applications.
• Contribute to APIs, developer portals, tutorials and SDK-related platform capabilities.
• Work with product owners and stakeholders to refine upcoming features and ensure technical requirements are understood.
• Participate in architecture discussions, technical design reviews and code reviews.
• Apply caching and other performance techniques to improve application responsiveness and scalability.
• Build event-driven solutions using messaging and asynchronous API patterns.
• Help maintain infrastructure that is secure, extensible, reliable and capable of meeting defined service levels.
• Support mission-critical platforms and contribute to high availability and service continuity.
• Mentor and support less experienced engineers through technical guidance and collaboration.
• Use modern developer tools and GenAI-assisted engineering practices to improve development productivity.
• Ensure delivered solutions are testable, intuitive and practical to maintain.

Required Skills

The role requires strong backend development experience with Java 17 or later and/or Kotlin. Candidates should have practical knowledge of Spring Boot and Spring WebFlux and understand how reactive microservices can be designed for scalable enterprise applications.

A solid understanding of distributed systems and event-driven architecture is important. Experience with Kafka, webhooks and asynchronous API design is directly relevant. Candidates should also be comfortable working with relational databases such as PostgreSQL and have exposure to NoSQL technologies such as Cassandra.

Performance engineering is another important part of the position. The successful candidate should understand how caching and application-level optimization can be used to improve system performance. Experience supporting high-availability platforms is valuable because the engineering environment requires dependable service continuity.

Preferred Skills

Experience in financial technology or FinTech is identified as a strong advantage. Candidates who have worked on large-scale cloud architectures, mission-critical applications or distributed systems may be particularly well suited.

Additional value comes from experience with GenAI development tools, modern developer environments and collaborative engineering practices. Familiarity with tools such as GitHub Copilot, IntelliJ and VS Code can support the development workflow described for this role.

Education

The provided job description does not state a mandatory degree or specific educational qualification. Candidates should therefore focus on demonstrating relevant professional software engineering expertise and practical technical experience.

Experience

No specific number of years of professional experience is stated in the supplied job details. The role is positioned as Software Engineer II and expects hands-on capability in backend engineering, reactive programming, microservices, distributed systems, cloud architecture and enterprise application development.

Required Technologies

• Java 17+
• Kotlin
• Spring Boot
• Spring WebFlux
• Kafka
• PostgreSQL
• Cassandra
• REST and asynchronous API concepts
• Webhooks
• Reactive programming
• Microservices
• Event-driven architecture
• Distributed systems
• Cloud-based architecture
• Caching solutions
• GenAI development tools
• GitHub Copilot
• IntelliJ
• VS Code

Soft Skills

Strong communication and collaboration are essential. The engineer should be able to work effectively with product owners, stakeholders and other members of a cross-functional agile team. The role also values constructive disagreement, so candidates should be comfortable expressing different technical opinions while keeping discussions professional and solution focused.

Self-direction is important because the work may involve ambiguity and evolving requirements. A learning-oriented mindset, openness to experimentation and willingness to evaluate different technical approaches will help the engineer succeed. Team contribution is also emphasized, with collaboration and shared outcomes taking priority over individual preferences.

Benefits of Working in this Role

American Express states that employees are supported through competitive base salaries, bonus incentives, financial-well-being and retirement support, and benefits covering areas such as medical, dental, vision, life insurance and disability, depending on location. The company also describes career development and training opportunities, paid parental leave where applicable, wellness resources and confidential counseling support.

The role also provides exposure to modern backend engineering practices, distributed systems, reactive programming, event-driven architecture, cloud technologies and GenAI-assisted development. These areas can help an engineer deepen technical expertise while contributing to enterprise-scale platforms.

Work Mode

This is a hybrid role. The job information identifies a hybrid working arrangement for the Chennai position.

Location

The position is based at DLF Downtown, Taramani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600113, India. The listed workplace arrangement is hybrid.

Who Should Apply

This opportunity is suitable for software engineers with strong backend development capabilities and practical experience building scalable services. Candidates who understand Java or Kotlin, Spring-based reactive development, microservices, Kafka, relational and NoSQL databases, distributed systems and cloud architecture should consider applying.

It is especially relevant to engineers who enjoy solving complex backend problems, improving system performance and reliability, and working closely with product and engineering teams. Professionals with FinTech exposure or experience supporting highly available enterprise platforms may have an additional advantage.

Career Growth

The role offers opportunities to strengthen expertise in backend engineering, reactive systems, distributed architecture and enterprise cloud platforms. Engineers can also develop broader capabilities through architecture discussions, cross-functional collaboration, mentoring and exposure to GenAI-assisted software development. Working on important platform capabilities can provide valuable experience in designing systems where reliability, scalability and service continuity are central requirements.

Application Advice

Before applying, tailor your resume to highlight hands-on work with Java 17+, Kotlin, Spring Boot, Spring WebFlux, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Cassandra and distributed systems where applicable. Describe measurable engineering contributions such as performance improvements, scalable service development, event-driven integrations or reliability improvements without overstating your experience.

Also highlight experience with cloud architecture, mission-critical platforms, GenAI development tools and agile delivery if these skills are part of your background. Since American Express lists a hybrid arrangement in Chennai and an application deadline of September 4, 2026, candidates should review the current official posting and submit their application before the stated deadline.