Principal Software Engineering

Summary

Join Demandbase as a Principal Software Engineer and lead technical direction across projects involving scalable microservices, distributed systems, and modern data platforms. Collaborate with product and engineering leadership, participate in technical design reviews, and mentor engineers. This role requires a strong track record of delivering impactful software in complex environments and a passion for leveraging AI and automation. You will champion modern engineering practices and integrate generative and agentic AI capabilities into the platform. Based in San Francisco, CA, this position offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

• A seasoned Staff+ engineer with a strong track record of delivering impactful software in complex technical environments
• Interest in leveraging AI and automation to improve developer experience and product capabilities
• Proven ability to drive large-scale technical initiatives with cross-functional alignment
• Strong communicator who can bridge technical and business priorities, and foster collaboration across teams
• A hands-on technical leader who is comfortable engaging in architecture discussions and digging into complex systems when needed
• Passion for helping engineers grow through mentorship, feedback, and clear goals
• Strong background in agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.)
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 2–3 years in a Staff Engineer or Principal Engineer role
• Demonstrated success leading delivery of distributed systems or cloud-native platforms
• Proficient in one or more modern backend languages (Java, Scala, Python preferred)
• Experience with modern CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration (Kubernetes), and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Deep understanding of system design, architectural trade-offs, and performance tuning at scale
• Hands-on experience with AI-driven development tools and their integration into engineering workflows
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent real-world experience

Responsibilities

• Drive technical direction and architecture across projects involving scalable microservices, distributed systems, and modern data platforms
• Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to translate product vision into actionable technical roadmaps
• Stay hands-on by participating in technical design reviews, code reviews, architectural planning, and incident retrospectives
• Support engineering teams in delivering high-impact work while maintaining quality, security, and system resiliency
• Partner with Staff and other Principal Engineers to integrate generative and agentic AI capabilities into our platform to drive customer outcomes
• Champion modern engineering practices such as continuous delivery, test automation, observability, and cloud-native deployment

Benefits

• Up to 100% paid premiums for Medical and Vision coverage
• Range of mental wellness resources, including access to Modern Health
• Flexible PTO policy
• 15 paid holidays in 2025—including a three-day break around July 4th and a full week off for Thanksgiving
• No Internal Meetings Fridays
• Competitive 401(k) plan
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Life insurance