Principal Software Engineer, Core Experiences

Smartsheet

. Set technical direction for systems at the heart of Smartsheet .

Posted 10/9/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesLead💰 $205,000 - $275,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in architecting scalable systems and designing APIs for real-time collaboration, with a strong focus on data-intensive applications and cloud infrastructure. Proven ability to lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and drive complex projects from prototype to production.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Java DevelopmentAWS Cloud InfrastructureDistributed Systems DesignData Migration StrategiesTechnical Leadership

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

JavaKotlinEvent-Driven SystemsAsynchronous ProgrammingData ArchitectureAPI DesignMachine Learning WorkflowsDatabase TuningScalability EngineeringProduction-Quality Code

Soft Skills

MentoringCollaborationProblem-SolvingCommunicationLeadership

Tools & Technologies

AWSKubernetesDatabricksDelta LakeSparkSnowflakeApache IcebergKafkaKinesisMCP Servers

Industry Keywords

Scalable SystemsLow-Latency SystemsRelational DatastoresDistributed DatastoresSaaSReal-Time CollaborationTechnical StandardsEngineering DocumentationRoot-Cause AnalysisComplex Incident Management

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

ApacheAWSCloudDistributed SystemsJavaKafkaKotlinKubernetesSparkUnity

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set technical direction for systems at the heart of Smartsheet
Architect the sheet data platform across transactional databases and the lakehouse platform
Design services and APIs for real-time collaboration and AI agents at machine scale
Identify major technical opportunities and risks, build prototypes, and turn them into funded initiatives
Plan and execute petabyte-scale production data migrations with zero customer impact
Create phased multi-quarter plans, track progress, report risks, and deliver on time
Partner with Product, Data Platform, AI Platform, and Infrastructure across organizational boundaries
Write architecture decisions, RFCs, and engineering standards; lead design reviews
Define patterns and guardrails for AI capabilities in complex architectures and software development
Write high-performing Java on AWS and Kubernetes; perform deep code reviews
Mentor senior and staff engineers on distributed systems and data-intensive design
Participate in on-call, lead complex incidents, investigate database and infrastructure bottlenecks, and drive root-cause improvements

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years building highly scalable, highly available, low-latency systems, including several years operating at Principal or Staff level
Production-quality Java or Kotlin experience and ability to work comfortably across the stack
Experience designing and running asynchronous, event-driven systems on AWS or comparable cloud infrastructure
Knowledge of ordering, idempotency, back-pressure, partial failure, and consistency across service boundaries
Experience owning systems backed by very large relational or distributed datastores
Experience tuning, scaling, outgrowing, and migrating large data systems without customer impact
Experience taking high-stakes technical problems from prototype to production across multiple teams
Experience writing design docs, RFCs, or standards adopted by an engineering organization
Experience building LLM-enriched workflows that delivered measurable value to SaaS customers
A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical industry experience
Legally eligible to work in the U.S. on an ongoing basis
Nice to have: Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Spark, Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, Kafka, Kinesis, MCP servers, agent-facing APIs, or real-time collaborative applications

Benefits

Comp & perks

Employer subsidized medical/vision and dental coverage for full-time employees
401k Match: 50% of your contribution up to the first 6% of your eligible pay
Monthly stipend to support your work and productivity
Flexible Time Away Program, plus Sick Time Off
Smartsheet-sponsored life insurance, short-term, and long-term disability plans
12 paid holidays per year
Up to 24 weeks of Parental Leave
Personal paid Volunteer Day
Opportunities for professional growth and development including access to Udemy online courses
Company Funded Perks, including a counseling membership, local retail discounts, and your own personal Smartsheet account
Teleworking options from any registered location in the U.S. (role specific)
Market competitive incentive opportunity