Distinguished Engineer (Card Tech)

Company: Capital One
Location: Washington
Posted on: January 20, 2026

Job Description:

Distinguished Engineer (Card Tech) As a Distinguished Engineer at Capital One, you will be a part of a community of technical experts working to define the future of banking in the cloud. You will work alongside our talented team of developers, machine learning experts, product managers and people leaders. Our Distinguished Engineers are leading experts in their domains, helping devise practical and reusable solutions to complex problems. You will drive innovation at multiple levels, helping optimize business outcomes while driving towards strong technology solutions. At Capital One, we believe diversity of thought strengthens our ability to influence, collaborate and provide the most innovative solutions across organizational boundaries. You will promote a culture of engineering excellence, and strike the right balance between lending expertise and providing an inclusive environment where the ideas of others can be heard and championed. You will lead the way in creating next-generation talent for Capital One Tech, mentoring internal talent and actively recruiting to keep building our community. Distinguished Engineers are expected to lead through technical contribution. You will operate as a trusted advisor for our key technologies, platforms and capability domains, creating clear and concise communications, code samples, blog posts and other material to share knowledge both inside and outside the organization. You will specialize in a particular subject area, but your input and impact will be sought and expected throughout the organization. In this role, you will partner with the Capital One Travel Data & Personalization team to architect the next generation of our Travel Intelligence Platform, serving as the primary architect for the foundational data schemas and orchestration layers that power our entire travel ecosystem. Your mission is to move beyond reactive tools by establishing a holistic Agentic AI framework—a vision where reasoning-based agents bridge the gap between high-scale data orchestration and real-world execution. You will be responsible for building an ecosystem that simultaneously enables classic machine learning model development for predictive insights while scaling agentic systems to automate complex workflows. This enables proactive journey management, where AI anticipates needs and prepares recommendations while incorporating human-in-the-loop approval when necessary. A key component of your strategy will be designing our growth marketing engine, where you will lead the strategic selection and architectural integration of our technology stack to ensure seamless, hyper-personalized, and value-optimized customer acquisition. By unifying these intelligent systems with a robust and scalable data architecture, you will transform how millions of customers discover, book, and experience travel within our premium portfolio. If you are ready to provide thought leadership and build engineering excellence across Capital One's engineering teams, come join us in our mission to change banking for good. Key responsibilities: Articulate and evangelize a bold technical vision for your domain Decompose complex problems into practical and operational solutions Ensure the quality of technical design and implementation Serve as an authoritative expert on non-functional system characteristics, such as performance, scalability and operability Continue learning and injecting advanced technical knowledge into our community Handle several projects simultaneously, balancing your time to maximize impact Act as a role model and mentor within the tech community, helping to coach and strengthen the technical expertise and know-how of our engineering and product community Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree At least 9 years of experience in software engineering (including solution architecture and enterprise design patterns). At least 7 years of experience in Data Engineering or Machine Learning Engineering, specifically building and maintaining large-scale production data pipelines (PySpark, SQL, Airflow). At least 5 years of experience in Cloud Native Architecture (AWS preferred), including container orchestration (Kubernetes/KubeFlow) and serverless design. At least 3 years of experience in a Technical Leadership role (Principal, Staff, or Distinguished Engineer), leading cross-functional initiatives without direct reporting lines. Preferred Qualifications: 10 years of experience in Software Engineering and Solution Architecture with a focus on high-scale data systems. 3 years of experience in Machine Learning Engineering , specifically implementing LLMs or Agentic workflows in production. Deep expertise in Data Design (Delta Lake, Snowflake, or Iceberg) and Streaming (Kafka). Proven track record of building MarTech or Personalization engines that scale to millions of users. Strong communication skills with the ability to translate "Agentic AI" concepts into business value for CX & Growth Marketing leadership. Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position. The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked. New York, NY: $287,800 - $328,500 for Distinguished Engineer McLean, VA: $263,900 - $301,200 for Distinguished Engineer Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter. This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan. Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website . Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.No agencies please. Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries. If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com . All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site. Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).

Keywords: Capital One, Sterling , Distinguished Engineer (Card Tech), IT / Software / Systems , Washington, Virginia