Principal Engineer, Application Software

Aires•Pittsburgh, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Aires is seeking a Principal Engineer, Application Software for its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office. The role guides research, development, and design of engineering products and partners with organizational leadership to shape development strategy and prioritize technology initiatives. The engineer leads project planning, defines tasks, recommends technical approaches, and directs teams through the full product development lifecycle. The position directly manages the API Integrations, Research, and DevOps teams, including hiring and performance reviews. It provides technical leadership across owned teams, drives scalable software and external API integrations, and oversees product quality, security, reliability, cloud deployment, and delivery. The role also works with product owners, Scrum Masters, QA, leadership, and external partners, and may take on special projects as business priorities require. This is a hybrid position, and candidates must be local to Pittsburgh, PA. Relocation assistance is not provided. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States; the position is not eligible for current or future visa sponsorship.

Requirements

At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record developing enterprise applications.
At least 2 years of direct people-management experience, including authority over hiring and performance reviews.
Strong hands-on expertise in Java and its core ecosystem.
Extensive experience building, securing, and scaling microservices using Spring Boot.
Experience building or governing external-facing API integrations with third-party client or vendor systems, including contract design, versioning, and SLA management.
Hands-on AWS experience developing and deploying cloud-native applications using services such as Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, and EC2.
Strong proficiency with relational databases, complex SQL queries, and PL/SQL development.
Experience managing source code with Git, including branching, merging, and collaboration in multi-developer environments.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments and stepping into a lead developer role.
Strong analytical skills and ability to understand complex system logic.
Hands-on experience with unit and integration testing using JUnit and ensuring code coverage.
Ability to communicate technical tradeoffs to technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executive leadership.
Strong time-management and organizational skills, with ability to manage competing tasks effectively.
Proactive, team-oriented approach to problem-solving and supporting team growth.
Desire to embrace Aires' values of Client Focus, Results, Responsibility & Accountability, Collaboration, and Innovation.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.
Must be local to Pittsburgh, PA; relocation assistance is not provided.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of Generative AI concepts, including RAG, prompt engineering, and integration of LLMs into enterprise applications for sentiment analysis, text processing, or intelligent automation.
Understanding of modern frontend ecosystems, particularly Angular, and CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap or Material Design.
Experience maintaining, troubleshooting, or modernizing legacy Java applications, including Java Swing, JSF, and JSP.
Hands-on experience building or integrating CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.
Experience with Jira, Confluence, and collaborative team practices.
Knowledge of secure coding practices, OWASP Top 10, Spring Security, and API security standards such as OAuth 2.0 and JWT.
Familiarity with observability and monitoring tools such as ELK Stack, CloudWatch, Prometheus, or Grafana.
Experience with Docker and optionally ECS for deploying microservices.
Collaborative, can-do attitude and proactive drive to tackle complex technical challenges alongside the team.
Interest in mentoring and supporting others through peer support, approachability, and efforts to elevate team capabilities.

Responsibilities

Directly manage the API Integrations, Research, and DevOps teams, including hiring and performance reviews.
Oversee software development strategy and guide engineers through research, development, and design, coordinating priorities and cross-team dependencies with organizational leadership.
Develop scalable, robust RESTful APIs and microservices using Java and Spring Boot, with emphasis on reliable client- and vendor-facing integrations that meet contractual requirements.
Use and champion AI-assisted development tools, including Kiro IDE, for code generation, debugging, and documentation; explore emerging AI initiatives and GenAI features for the platform roadmap.
Translate business requirements into technical solutions, conduct design reviews, and mentor mid-level and junior engineers.
Design and optimize database schemas, write SQL queries, and develop PL/SQL procedures.
Establish and enforce engineering standards through code reviews, best practices, secure and performant code, and unit and integration testing with code coverage.
Ensure software products are fit for purpose, suitably specified, and approved by cross-functional product teams; collaborate with Quality Assurance to resolve validation issues.
Follow Agile practices and work with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and stakeholders to turn requirements into technical tasks and sprint deliverables.
Facilitate cross-functional communication, remove delivery roadblocks, ensure deliverables are met, and serve as the senior point of contact for delivery and departmental performance issues.
Own the reliability and governance of client- and vendor-facing API integrations, including contract and versioning standards, SLAs, and coordination with external partners when issues arise.
Set DevOps standards for CI/CD pipeline design, environment strategy, and release orchestration, and own deployment reliability for the team's systems.
Guide the Research team in evaluating emerging technologies and translating exploratory work into production proposals with defined scope, risk, and ROI.
Maintain security and observability through secure coding, API security, and system-health monitoring; contribute to containerized and cloud-native deployments with attention to performance and scalability.
Take on ad hoc and special projects outside the standing roadmap as business priorities require.