Principal Software Architect

Cloaked•New York, NY

1d•$245,000 - $275,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Cloaked is seeking a Principal Software Architect to own end-to-end platform architecture for cloud-native services and public APIs, and to provide reference designs and guardrails. The role sets reliability and performance standards, defines SLOs and error budgets, leads incident postmortems, and partners with SRE to meet service objectives. It also plans scale initiatives for 10× user and traffic growth, including capacity, cost, and resilience roadmaps. The architect leads cross-functional delivery with Product and SRE, chairs design and architecture reviews, and establishes engineering standards for security, CI/CD, testing, and observability. The role evaluates platforms, patterns, and tools; runs proofs of concept and phased rollouts; leads architecture for core platform capabilities and assigned future domains; and defines technical approaches and non-functional requirements. It defines cloud reference stacks and implementation baselines for infrastructure as code, container orchestration, and observability, while mentoring senior engineers and codifying best practices. The position requires approximately 10% domestic travel. Cloaked is a well-funded Series B startup based in New York City. The NYC team follows a hybrid model, while the company offers flexible work arrangements and the ability to work remotely as needed. Salary is $245,000–$275,000 per year for a 40-hour work week.

Requirements

Master’s degree or equivalent foreign degree in Computer Science, Applied Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related field, and three years of experience as a Software Engineer or in a similar software or systems engineering position; alternatively, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent foreign degree in one of these fields and five years of such experience.
At least two years of experience designing distributed or cloud-native systems and public APIs.
At least two years of experience working with both relational and NoSQL databases.
At least two years of experience with CI/CD and automated testing practices.
Experience with at least one programming language, such as Python, Java, or Go, or equivalent.
Experience with at least one web framework, such as Django, FastAPI, or NestJS, or equivalent.
Experience with a cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and infrastructure as code.
Experience with containers and observability.
Experience with security-by-design practices for cloud applications.
Approximately 10% domestic travel.

Nice To Haves

Experience providing technical leadership or mentoring.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end platform architecture for cloud-native services and public APIs, providing reference designs and guardrails.
Set reliability and performance standards, define SLOs and error budgets, run incident postmortems with action items, and partner with SRE to meet SLOs.
Plan and execute scale initiatives for 10× user and traffic growth, and drive capacity, cost, and resilience roadmaps.
Lead cross-functional delivery with Product and SRE by decomposing initiatives into milestones and technical workplans.
Chair design and architecture reviews and publish and enforce engineering standards across security, CI/CD, testing, and observability.
Evaluate and introduce platforms, patterns, and tooling; run proofs of concept and phased rollouts.
Lead architecture for core platform capabilities and future domains as assigned.
Define technical approaches and non-functional requirements; review designs and ensure implementation meets performance, security, and cost targets.
Define cloud reference stacks and require infrastructure-as-code, container-orchestration, and observability baselines; guide implementation with platform teams.
Provide technical mentorship to senior engineers and codify best practices.
Travel domestically approximately 10% of the time.

Benefits

Above-market-rate pay and equity based on commercially available market data; compensation combines salary, bonus, and equity.
For full-time U.S. employees: medical, dental, and vision insurance, with Cloaked covering the majority of employee premiums.
Company-paid basic life insurance.
401(k) with company match.
Flexible work arrangements and ability to work remotely as needed.
Home office stipend and a new company laptop, with other role-dependent technology.
Competitive PTO, floating holidays, and sick days.
Paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster placement.
Monthly wellness and meals stipend, including lunch and coffee during the workday.
Unlimited professional development fund and opportunities for career and personal growth.
Encouragement to attend conferences and industry events.
Office kitchens with drinks and snacks, and team outings and social events.