Principal Engineer – Supply Chain, Transportation Technology

Target • Brooklyn Park, MN

6d • $168,000 - $303,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Principal Engineer, you set strategy and direction for software development and infrastructure engineering at Target, shaping how engineering efforts are designed, developed, and operationalized across multiple portfolios. You lead and approve engineering work that meets functional and non-functional requirements, mentor technical talent, and contribute to the external technical community.

The Transportation Technology team develops solutions for Target’s First Mile, Middle Mile, and Last Mile network, moving goods from vendors to distribution centers, stores, and guests. Its portfolio includes transportation planning and execution, shipment visibility, carrier and partner integrations, yard and appointment operations, and store delivery. The team connects these capabilities through scalable platforms, dependable integrations, and end-to-end transportation outcomes.

In this role, you will own the long-term technology and architecture vision for Transportation, advise senior Business, Product, and Operations leaders, influence roadmaps and investment decisions, and lead AI-native applications and AI-enabled engineering across the development lifecycle. You will guide architecture and platform choices across Transportation and the wider enterprise, establish engineering standards, steer platforms and partner integrations, mentor senior engineers, and contribute expertise to Target and the broader technical community.

The position operates in a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day arrangement. Work is performed both onsite at the assigned Target HQ location in Minnesota and virtually, depending on role, team, and daily tasks. Work duties cannot be performed outside the country of the primary work location unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Requirements

• Four-year degree or equivalent experience, with commitment to continuing education and staying current with emerging technologies.
• 12+ years of experience in technology development or services, including significant experience setting strategy and technical direction for enterprise-scale platforms.
• 4+ years of experience in strategic planning, architecture leadership, and setting technical direction across complex technology environments.
• Demonstrated ability to shape technology and product roadmaps, influence senior Business and Technology leaders, and connect architecture and investment decisions to business outcomes.
• Recognized technical thought leadership and ability to bring industry expertise, emerging technology perspectives, and external best practices into an organization.
• Deep hands-on engineering expertise in two or more programming languages or technology stacks, including ability to build proofs of technology, reference implementations, and architecturally significant production code.
• Experience architecting and operating distributed enterprise platforms, microservices, APIs, and event-driven integrations.
• Expertise in architecture trade-offs, platform modernization, integration patterns, data contracts, security, performance, observability, reliability engineering, CI/CD, automated testing, deployment safety, and disaster recovery.
• Demonstrated leadership in AI-native application architecture and AI-enabled engineering across the software development lifecycle, including evaluation of business value, technical quality, security, privacy, compliance, and appropriate human oversight.
• Experience shaping build-versus-buy recommendations, technology RFPs, and vendor evaluations, and aligning domain architecture with enterprise standards and strategy.
• Ability to influence without direct reporting authority, mentor senior technical talent, communicate complex trade-offs clearly, and lead collaboratively across organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Own the long-term technology and architecture vision for Transportation and shape strategic roadmaps, principles, and standards.
• Anticipate industry and technology shifts, challenge established approaches, and provide technology thought leadership.
• Advise senior Business, Product, and Operations leaders; influence product roadmaps, priorities, and investment decisions; and connect engineering choices to measurable business and guest outcomes.
• Lead the evolution of AI-native applications and AI-enabled engineering across discovery, design, development, testing, security, deployment, and operations; establish reusable patterns and guardrails and deliver measurable improvements.
• Influence architecture and platform decisions across the enterprise, aligning Transportation direction with Enterprise Architecture, shared platforms, security, data, and broader technology strategy.
• Set and evolve engineering practices for architecture, APIs, distributed and event-driven systems, cloud platforms, automation, CI/CD, DevSecOps, testing, observability, reliability, scalability, and production operations.
• Guide end-to-end architecture across transportation capabilities, data, and partner ecosystems; establish reusable APIs, event and data contracts, and interoperability patterns.
• Guide build-versus-buy recommendations, vendor evaluations, and technical trade-offs with a focus on long-term value, resilience, and flexibility.
• Mentor senior engineers, strengthen technical communities, share knowledge across Target, and bring external expertise and best practices into the organization.
• Actively contribute to the broader engineering and industry community.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits and programs for eligible team members and dependents, which may include medical, vision, dental, and life insurance.
• 401(k).
• Employee discount.
• Short-term disability.
• Long-term disability.
• Paid sick leave.
• Paid national holidays.
• Paid vacation.
• Financial, education, and well-being benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal