Principal Software Engineer

Xello

1d • Remote

About The Position

Xello is seeking a Principal Engineer to shape the company’s long-term technical strategy and guide its technological direction. Reporting to the VP of Engineering, this role combines strategic planning with hands-on technical leadership. The Principal Engineer will work with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to ensure technology decisions support user needs, product and business strategy, and company growth. The role is remote for candidates across Canada, with working hours aligned to the Eastern Time zone.

The successful candidate will guide architecture and engineering practices across teams, raise standards for code quality and system design, and help evolve the use of AI in the development lifecycle. They will also help balance technical debt with product delivery, strengthen software reliability and quality, and support the development and hiring of senior technical talent.

Xello develops future-readiness programs and aims to help people create successful futures through self-knowledge, exploration, and planning. The company describes itself as inclusive and committed to agile practices, innovation, continuous learning, training, and mentoring. The compensation range for this role is CAD $180,000–$220,000, with the final offer based on experience and expertise.

Requirements

• 15 or more years of software engineering experience.
• At least 5 years of experience at staff or principal level in high-growth SaaS businesses or startups.
• Deep expertise in software development methodologies and best practices, with technical credibility in opinionated engineering environments.
• A track record of sound judgment and clear reasoning, balancing quality, speed, and maintainability.
• Expertise in C#/.NET for backend development; TypeScript and Angular for single-page applications; web standards and frontend architecture; SQL and Redis; and building and operating systems in Azure.
• Experience applying AI to engineering workflows, with sound judgment about tradeoffs, guardrails, and best practices, and a track record of using AI to reduce toil, improve quality, and increase team effectiveness.
• A pragmatic, simplicity-oriented approach and a track record of reducing complexity while enabling scale, resilience, and increased velocity.
• Excellent conflict management and collaboration skills, including the ability to navigate disagreement respectfully, evaluate competing ideas fairly, and drive evidence-based decisions.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Empathy and collaboration skills, particularly when working with sales, product, and design teams.
• Commitment to staying current with technology and assessing its relevance to Xello’s objectives.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve Xello’s long-term technical roadmap in alignment with product and business strategy.
• Collaborate with product, design, sales, and client-facing teams to ensure technology decisions support user needs and company growth.
• Set technical direction across teams and guide architecture toward scalable, secure, and maintainable systems.
• Partner with engineering leaders to advance AI in the development lifecycle by establishing practical patterns, guardrails, and workflows that improve velocity, quality, and developer experience while managing risk.
• Identify and prioritize technical debt while balancing long-term system health with ongoing product delivery.
• Champion CI/CD processes with the DevOps team to help ensure software is highly available, performant, and secure.
• Collaborate with QA to strengthen quality strategy, emphasizing reliability, security, and performance.
• Lead design reviews, planning sessions, and critical discussions, fostering inclusive participation and effective compromises.
• Help shape the development, alignment, and effectiveness of senior technical talent across the organization.
• Contribute to the hiring strategy to attract and retain top talent.

Benefits

• Professional development budget for every employee.
• Internal and external training and mentoring.
• Flexible work arrangements, including hybrid and remote options, for Canadian-based staff.
• Four weeks of vacation for Canadian-based staff.
• Employer-paid health and dental benefits for Canadian-based staff.
• Four-month parental leave top-up for Canadian-based staff.
• Group RRSP with 3% matching for Canadian-based staff.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed