Principal Backend Engineer

Summary

Join Plus Power as a Principal Software Engineer and play a key role in shaping the future of the energy storage industry. Collaborate with a team of engineers and data scientists to build high-impact applications for sustainable energy solutions. You will design and implement backend systems, integrate with BESS technologies, and lead development efforts. This role requires extensive experience in backend software development with Python and AWS, along with strong leadership and communication skills. Plus Power offers a competitive salary, flexible remote work options, unlimited vacation, educational assistance, parental leave, and a comprehensive benefits program.

Requirements

• 10+ years proven experience in high quality backend software development, with strong expertise in developing applications with Python and deploying in cloud environments, particularly AWS using cloud native services
• Experience designing and building scalable distributed systems for mission critical systems, with a focus on data integrity and transactional resilience
• Comfortable working with modern web frameworks, such as Next.js (or willingness to learn)
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, from concept through execution, including managing timelines and expectations
• Strong communication skills, with a focus on proactive and clear interaction in remote teams
• Experience developing APIs and services that integrate data science models into production systems, working closely with data scientists to deploy models as scalable, maintainable services
• Experience integrating monitoring and observability tools into complex systems, ensuring that the codebase provides full diagnostic visibility into application health, and creating clear, easy-to-understand dashboards and reports
• A passion for solving complex technical challenges and a deep commitment to creating meaningful, sustainable solutions in the energy sector
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and providing technical leadership in collaborative settings
• A desire to work in a diverse, inclusive environment that fosters personal and professional growth
• Proficiency in SQL and database design and integration. Proven ability to design tables and effectively integrate them with application code

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of highly reliable and scalable applications for operating BESS assets deployed on the AWS cloud using Python
• Drive the technical vision and roadmap for new features and enhancements
• Implement and advocate for best practices in software development with a relentless focus on high quality code, meaningful testing and guardrails, visibility and observability and continuous improvement
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a growing team of software engineers and data scientists
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams (including product managers, data scientists, and energy traders) to define and execute project goals
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment by modeling effective communication and accountability
• Contribute to the evolution and scaling of our application stack into new markets and assets

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in energy storage systems (BESS) or related domains
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or CloudFormation
• Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as Next.js, React, or similar
• Experience architecting and engineering audit ready or compliance driven systems
• Experience with C, C++, Rust or other lower-level languages
• Experience with the python data science ecosystem (pandas, NumPy, Sklenar, XGBoost, scikit-learn, etc.)
• Experience with/preference for a functional style of software development
• Experience integrating databases with internal and external systems, ensuring smooth data flow, integrity, and auditing for mission critical systems

Benefits

• Highly competitive total compensation from one of North America’s leading energy storage developers, owners and operators
• Flexible, work from home or hybrid work from Plus Power’s offices in San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, and Palm Beach
• The expected salary range* for this position begins at $180,000
• This position is also eligible to participate in our annual bonus program
• Plus Power offers a comprehensive benefits program
• Unlimited vacation
• Flexible remote work
• Educational assistance
• Parental leave
• A highly engaging company culture with opportunities for in-person connection and learning and growth