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# Principal Software Engineer

- **Company:** Inc. (kai)
- **Location:** San Jose, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Azure, Cloud Computing, Cloud Engineering, Databases, Continuous Integration, Distributed Systems, Queueing Systems, Software Engineering, Kubernetes, Deployment Automation, Api Design, Grpc, Docker, Golang, Microservices
- **Published:** July 26, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=68b4abe8a5f6c05e

## About the Role

* 10+ years in software engineering with cloud-native architecture experience.
 * Proven record of driving technical projects end-to-end, coordinating across teams and stakeholders.
 * Strong hands-on background in microservices architecture, distributed systems, and API-driven design.
 * Expertise in Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines in a cloud environment (Azure preferred).
 * Familiarity with modern databases, gRPC, message queues, and DevOps automation.
 * Strong problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills - comfortable leading discussions from code to business impact.
 * (Bonus) Understanding or interest in cybersecurity, AI-driven systems, or threat intelligence.

## Description

As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll be a technical leader and hands-on contributor, driving critical initiatives from concept to production. You'll architect, build, and mentor while partnering cross-functionally with Product, AI, and Security. This is a high-impact role where you'll influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and ensure delivery of scalable, secure services that meet enterprise-grade expectations.

What You'll Do

 * Own end-to-end delivery of major platform initiatives, from design through deployment and post-launch success.
 * Design, develop, and optimize distributed microservices in Golang for scale, reliability, and performance.
 * Collaborate across teams - Product, AI, and Customer Success - to align architecture with business objectives.
 * Drive engineering excellence through code quality standards, design reviews, automation, and CI/CD best practices.
 * Be a mentor and multiplier, guiding software engineers through architecture decisions, trade-offs, and delivery.
 * Partner with leadership to align engineering strategy with product objectives and technical roadmap.


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