Principal Software Engineer

Overview

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems

Engagement Type: Direct Hire

Location: Remote

Work Model: 100% Remote

Compensation: $150,000-$214,000 base salary plus 10% bonus

Role Overview

We are seeking a Principal Engineer - Distributed Data Systems to act as the data authority within our software engineering organization as we move toward autonomous, stream‑aligned teams.

This is not a Data Analytics, BI, ETL, or DevOps role. This is a principal‑level backend and software engineering position focused on how production applications design, use, and scale their data systems. You are not a centralized gatekeeper; you are an embedded technical leader who enables teams to make strong, independent data decisions.

You will partner directly with application engineers to improve data modeling, performance, reliability, and scalability in real, customer‑facing systems.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as the principal expert guiding application‑level data decisions across engineering teams

Partner with backend and full‑stack engineers to design scalable, resilient, and cost‑effective data architectures

Review application designs and production code to identify data modeling, performance, and scaling risks early

Influence standards and best practices for distributed data systems without becoming a bottleneck

Optimize live production systems under real traffic through query tuning, indexing strategies, execution plan analysis, and resource optimization

Design schemas and data models that support domain ownership, evolution over time, and operational correctness

Guide teams on cloud‑native data usage, balancing scalability, reliability, and cost

Mentor engineers and elevate organizational understanding of modern data system patterns

Required Qualifications

Application and Backend Engineering

Proven experience building and operating production backend systems

Strong understanding of service‑oriented architecture, API design, and runtime considerations

Comfortable reviewing backend code and identifying data‑related concerns early in the development lifecycle

Distributed Data Systems Expertise

Deep, hands‑on experience with relational and NoSQL databases

Experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, DynamoDB, and/or DocumentDB

Strong judgment on trade‑offs between different data models and database technologies

Performance, Scale, and Reliability

Demonstrated experience optimizing high‑traffic production systems

Expertise in query performance tuning, index and schema optimization, execution plan analysis, and cost‑aware scaling

Data Modeling and Architecture

Experience designing schemas that support domain ownership, system evolution, and correctness

Familiarity with event‑driven architectures, data replication and syndication, and temporal data models

Deep experience with data platforms in AWS, Azure, or GCP

Strong understanding of managed database services, cloud‑native scaling patterns, and cost versus performance trade‑offs

Leadership and Communication

Proven ability to mentor and educate engineers

Ability to influence architectural decisions without formal authority

Clear communication skills with engineers and technical leadership

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles\' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.

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