Principal Software Engineer

GitHub, Inc.

21d•Remote

About The Position

GitHub is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to help shape the future of our core platform infrastructure. In this critical leadership position, you'll drive system architecture for our most critical services, inspire and coach engineering teams, and deliver solutions that keep GitHub running for millions of developers worldwide. We're looking for someone with deep expertise in building and operating large-scale distributed systems—someone who thrives on solving hard problems around reliability, availability, and performance at massive scale. You have a proven track record of tackling complex technical challenges with creativity and pragmatism, and you excel in highly collaborative, cross-functional environments. Our team focuses on the systems that power GitHub at scale, ensuring our platforms remain stable, secure, and performant under extreme load. As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll work alongside a globally distributed team of talented engineers and managers to enhance and scale our most critical infrastructure, delivering an exceptional experience to our diverse and growing customer base. You'll lead by example—both through your own technical contributions and by mentoring others. You'll guide technical strategy, influence architectural decisions, and drive performance optimization across teams. Our culture is built on developer empathy, transparency, and inclusive collaboration. Here, curiosity and a drive for impact are at the heart of everything we do. Join us to help shape the future of software development and make a difference for millions of developers around the world.

Requirements

11+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python,
OR Associate’s Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 10+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python,
OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field AND 9+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python,
OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 7+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python,
OR PhD Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python,
OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience with cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services
Understanding of production system monitoring and observability
Ability to think critically about both system design and software engineering concepts and blend those perspectives pragmatically based on project needs
Demonstrated experience with large-scale system architecture and design, particularly in cloud-based environments, with a strong understanding of distributed systems and microservices
Experience working closely with product management, design, and other engineering teams to drive cross-functional projects and deliver high-quality product

Responsibilities

Lead and influence system architecture design for complex products and solutions, ensuring they meet security, compliance, and performance requirements.
Establish and mentor best practices for testing, performance tuning, and code quality, defining success metrics and ensuring maintainability across dependencies.
Provide technical leadership during code reviews to ensure reliability, scalability, and alignment with product goals.
Partner with product managers and technical leads to define service requirements and incorporate feedback into future designs.
Act as an expert in debugging tools and methods, leading proactive and reactive development to resolve issues across teams.
Optimize deployments and runtime performance to meet business objectives, ensuring safe rollouts aligned with GitHub's standards.
Drive improvements in development quality and team performance through tooling, automation, and knowledge sharing.
Lead product refinement through telemetry analysis, performance metrics, and experimentation frameworks to inform engineering decisions.
Develop strategies to identify and mitigate technical risks, including frameworks for risk assessment and contingency planning.
Shape the strategic vision for technology and product development, identifying opportunities for innovation and leading initiatives aligned with GitHub's long-term goals.