Remote job
Principal Architect (Engineer)
Job details
About this role
Role overview
Lead the technical evolution of a high-scale platform as it moves from monolithic applications toward a distributed architecture. This principal-level engineering role combines architecture, hands-on problem solving, technical strategy, and cross-team influence, with responsibility for keeping systems scalable, reliable, maintainable, and aligned with long-term business needs.
Responsibilities
- Define architectural principles and guide teams toward modular, loosely coupled, maintainable services. - Lead the decomposition of monolithic applications into distributed systems with clear ownership and service boundaries. - Shape the technical roadmap, including decisions about data flow, service interactions, APIs, and platform evolution. - Work directly with engineers on complex design and implementation challenges while maintaining high engineering standards. - Mentor engineers and influence technical direction across teams without relying on direct authority. - Balance architectural best practices with pragmatic delivery constraints and business priorities.
Requirements
- At least 12 years of experience designing and evolving large-scale distributed systems. - A record of leading major technical initiatives across multiple teams and influencing organization-level engineering direction. - Deep expertise in modular system design, monolith decomposition, APIs, service boundaries, and interoperability. - Strong knowledge of distributed-system patterns, including event-driven architectures, consistency models, and REST, gRPC, or messaging-based communication. - Experience designing reliable and scalable systems in cloud environments; AWS experience is preferred. - Excellent judgment, communication, and collaboration skills, including the ability to guide decisions in ambiguous situations.
Benefits and work setup
- Base pay range of $205,950–$285,000 USD, with equity for employees; some roles may also include an annual bonus. - Hybrid-hub working model, with support for either office-based or fully remote work depending on role and location. - Benefits and perks may vary by employment type and location.