Principal Backend Engineer

About This Opportunity

Our talent team is representing a confidential software organization seeking an exceptional Principal Backend Engineer. This is a remote position based in the United States, offering you the opportunity to architect and lead the transformation of complex distributed systems while working from wherever you're most productive.

We're looking for a technical leader who can drive architectural roadmaps, mentor engineering teams, and make critical technical decisions that shape the future of enterprise-grade backend infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Drive and define architectural roadmaps for backend systems across multiple teams
• Lead the strategic decomposition of mature applications into scalable, asynchronous microservices
• Define technical strategy, tech stack decisions, and repository organization standards
• Make critical build-vs-buy decisions and evaluate third-party tooling options
• Implement the most complex and business-critical system mechanisms and features
• Architect secure and scalable integration patterns, including identity management and SSO/SCIM integrations
• Audit existing microservices and implement strict bounded contexts
• Design robust, scalable, and standardized APIs with ownership of the entire API schema and contract
• Take ownership of cloud architecture strategy with emphasis on backend resilience, fault tolerance, and performance
• Partner with engineering leadership to define and enforce technical standards across the organization
• Coach and mentor a team of 7-8 engineers, driving technical consensus and complex architectural transitions

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications:

• Expert knowledge of modern backend infrastructure and asynchronous messaging/storage systems (RabbitMQ, Celery, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis)
• Solid foundation in Python, or deep expertise in Go/C++/Rust with working knowledge of Python and ability to quickly master the Python backend ecosystem
• Extensive backend experience with a proven track record in principal-level roles designing complex, distributed systems
• Pragmatic architectural mastery: expertise in designing highly cohesive, loosely coupled systems with deep understanding of software design patterns and architectural methodologies (Domain-Driven Design, Clean Architecture, Hexagonal Architecture)
• Strong background in designing comprehensive client APIs, including entire API schemas and system contracts
• Deep understanding of cloud architecture, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines
• Demonstrated ability to influence engineering practices, drive technical consensus, and lead complex architectural transitions across multiple teams
• Proven coaching and mentoring skills with the ability to elevate team capabilities
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Azure as a cloud platform
• Experience designing and implementing GraphQL APIs
• Experience with Kubernetes or other container orchestration tools
• Experience implementing Identity Management in enterprise applications (SCIM provisioning, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, SAML)
• Polyglot background with experience in Golang, Rust, or C++ for performance-critical domains
• Spec-Driven Development (SDD) and AI-Native Engineering experience: designing formal, machine-readable specifications and strict contracts with tests as the single source of truth

How We Work With You

When you apply through Get A Job.ai, here's what happens next:

• A recruiter from our team will review your application and conduct an initial screening conversation
• If there's a strong match, we'll submit your profile to our client for consideration
• We'll guide you through each stage of the interview process and provide feedback along the way
• Please do not contact the client directly—all communication should flow through Get A Job.ai to ensure the best experience for everyone involved

Pay

Compensation details will be discussed during the screening process based on your experience and qualifications.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Get A Job.ai is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetics, or any other protected characteristic. We are committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process.