Principal Software Engineer

JOB SUMMARY

We're looking for a pragmatic, hands-on Lead Software Engineer who gets things done. You'll spend significant time writing code while helping elevate the technical skills of the broader team. This role is ideal for someone who thrives on modernizing legacy systems, champions emerging technologies and development practices, leverages AI-assisted development tools to accelerate delivery, and excels at building centralized platform services that serve multiple web and mobile applications. You'll balance individual contribution with technical leadership, helping less experienced engineers grow their craft through practical guidance and code review in an Agile environment.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Build and Ship

Act as an individual contributor, writing production code daily

Design and develop cloud-native applications using Spring Boot and Spring Cloud

Build scalable microservices architecture serving multiple host-side and mobile applications

Modernize legacy systems and migrate outdated tech stacks to current platforms

Leverage AI-powered development tools (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to accelerate feature development

Create robust, scalable solutions with emphasis on maintainability, security, and performance

Champion and integrate new technologies and development practices that solve real business problems

Lead Through Example

Provide technical leadership and guidance to multiple software engineers

Mentor developers through pairing sessions, code reviews, and practical guidance

Lead technical decision-making while actively contributing to the codebase

Guide team members through technical challenges

Introduce and evangelize modern development practices

Share best practices for AI-assisted development and cutting-edge tooling

Foster team collaboration and a culture of continuous learning

Technical Execution & Strategy

Partner with product, QA, and technical teams for test strategy and release planning

Diagnose and resolve performance and stability issues

Proactively monitor, identify, and escalate systemic issues

Document and communicate technical specifications to diverse audiences

Make and defend architectural decisions

Implement observability, monitoring, and logging best practices

Work with container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes preferred)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience

10+ years of professional backend development experience

2+ years in a technical leadership position

Proven track record of building cloud-native applications and centralized platforms

Strong experience modernizing legacy systems and introducing new technology stacks

History of leading technical teams through complex projects

Experience with AI-assisted development tools and workflows

Track record of mentoring and growing technical talent

Willingness to maintain hands-on technical involvement

Core Technical Skills

Expert-level proficiency in Spring Boot and Spring Cloud

Strong experience with microservices architecture patterns

Deep understanding of distributed systems concepts and challenges

Hands-on experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes preferred)

Proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)

Experience building APIs and services that serve web and mobile applications

Strong background in both relational and NoSQL databases

Knowledge of service-oriented and event-driven design patterns

Platform & Architecture Expertise

Designing scalable, maintainable, and secure systems

Building centralized platform services for multiple client applications

API design and versioning strategies

Authentication and authorization at scale

Performance optimization and tuning

Cross-platform compatibility

Understanding of observability, monitoring, and logging best practices

DevOps & Modern Practices

Experience with agile development practices

CI/CD pipeline design and implementation

Infrastructure as Code

Automated testing strategies

Monitoring and observability tools

Feature flags and progressive delivery

Innovation & Technology Adoption

Track record of researching and vetting new technologies

Ability to champion and successfully implement new development practices

Experience evaluating and integrating emerging technologies

Understanding of technology trends and their business applications

Ability to balance innovation with pragmatic delivery

Leadership Skills

Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Ability to mentor developers and provide technical guidance

Track record of making architectural decisions and defending technical choices

Ability to influence and drive adoption of new practices across teams

Collaborative mindset with genuine interest in helping others grow

Soft Skills

Bias toward action and shipping working solutions

Strong problem-solving and debugging skills

Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results

Comfortable challenging the status quo constructively

Ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions

NICE TO HAVE

Experience with message queuing and event streaming (Kafka, RabbitMQ)

Familiarity with service mesh architectures

Knowledge of GraphQL or gRPC in addition to REST

Experience with serverless architectures

Understanding of distributed tracing and APM tools

Background in platform economics and cost optimization

Experience with chaos engineering and resilience testing

Knowledge of compliance frameworks (SOC2, GDPR, HIPAA)

Experience with mobile backend development

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

You're consistently shipping features and platform improvements

Multiple applications are successfully leveraging services you've built

The team has adopted new technologies and practices that improve velocity

Legacy systems are being systematically modernized

System performance, stability, and observability are continuously improving

Engineers you mentor are leveling up their skills

Development teams are shipping faster because of platform services and patterns you've established

You're known as the person who brings forward-thinking solutions and makes things happen

You've successfully balanced hands-on coding with technical leadership

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

SOLERA HOLDINGS, INC., AND ITS US SUBSIDIARIES (TOGETHER, SOLERA) IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. THE FIRM'S POLICY IS NOT TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY APPLICANT OR EMPLOYEE BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, MARITAL STATUS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITY, AND GENETIC INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER BASIS PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE FIRM ALSO PROHIBITS HARASSMENT OF APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES BASED ON ANY OF THESE PROTECTED CATEGORIES.