Principal Software Engineer - Java/Polygot

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal Software Engineer - Java/Polyglot based in the United States.

This is a highly hands-on technical leadership role focused on designing, building, and scaling distributed software systems. You will help shape architecture and technical direction for high-traffic platforms supporting millions of insurance leads and transactions. The role combines deep Java expertise with polyglot development across languages such as Kotlin, Python, Go, and TypeScript. You will drive decisions around microservices, APIs, cloud-native infrastructure, performance, reliability, security, and observability. Beyond individual contribution, you will mentor experienced engineers and collaborate closely with Product, DevOps, and Data teams. This is a fully remote opportunity for candidates located in select U.S. states and authorized to work without visa sponsorship.

Accountabilities:
The Principal Software Engineer will provide hands-on technical leadership across architecture, software development, platform reliability, and engineering collaboration.

- Own the architecture and design of distributed systems supporting millions of insurance leads and transactions.

- Define and influence technical direction, engineering standards, architecture decisions, and strategic technology roadmaps.

- Evaluate technologies and frameworks that can improve system performance, maintainability, scalability, and reliability.

- Lead by example through hands-on coding, technical reviews, system optimization, and implementation of high-quality software.

- Develop and support backend and platform capabilities using Java and additional languages such as Kotlin, Python, Go, and TypeScript.

- Design and evolve microservices, RESTful APIs, event-driven architectures, and integrations with internal and external services.

- Ensure engineering solutions meet security, reliability, compliance, and maintainability expectations.

- Optimize systems for latency, throughput, availability, and overall performance.

- Establish and support strong observability practices, including profiling, logging, metrics, and alerting.

- Collaborate with Product, DevOps, and Data teams to deliver scalable APIs, services, and platform capabilities.

- Mentor senior and mid-level engineers and contribute to a high-performing, collaborative engineering environment.

- Support cross-team alignment and help translate complex technical decisions into clear recommendations for technical and non-technical stakeholders.

- Contribute to special projects, ad hoc initiatives, and other activities supporting broader engineering and organizational objectives.

- Consistently meet established performance and delivery standards as business needs evolve.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate brings extensive backend engineering experience, strong architectural judgment, and the ability to combine hands-on development with technical leadership.

- 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant experience in backend or platform engineering.

- Advanced proficiency in Java and hands-on experience with at least one additional language such as Kotlin, Python, Go, or TypeScript.

- Proven experience designing, building, and scaling distributed systems and microservice architectures in high-traffic environments.

- Strong experience with RESTful APIs, event-driven architectures, and integrations with internal and external systems.

- Deep understanding of system performance, reliability, and observability, including profiling, logging, metrics, and alerting.

- Practical experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.

- Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and modern cloud-native engineering practices.

- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and software quality practices.

- Strong understanding of scalable and resilient systems design, API architecture, and platform engineering.

- Experience incorporating security, privacy, and compliance requirements into architecture and implementation.

- Proven ability to guide technical decisions and influence engineering direction across teams.

- Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

- Experience collaborating closely with Product, DevOps, and Data teams.

- Demonstrated mentoring and technical leadership capabilities.

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent practical experience may be considered.

- Must currently reside in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia .

- Must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Benefits:

- Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

- Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid sick time.

- Flexible scheduling and flex-time options.

- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for health and dependent care.

- Company-paid short-term and long-term disability coverage.

- No-cost mental, emotional, and physical well-being support through the First Stop Health app.

- 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% company match .

- Paid designated holidays without requiring employees to work.

- Fully remote work environment.

- Opportunity to influence large-scale distributed systems and technical architecture.

- Opportunities to mentor engineers and contribute to strategic technology direction.

- Collaborative environment that values diverse experiences, talents, and perspectives.