Principal, Software Engineering
About The Position
Northern Trust is seeking a highly experienced Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership and hands-on execution across complex, cloud-native software initiatives. The role combines deep engineering expertise with mentorship, architecture influence, and collaboration across global teams. The ideal candidate is passionate about engineering excellence, AI-assisted development, and building high-quality, scalable products using modern development practices. The position leads hands-on software development using Java and Microsoft Azure, while influencing architecture and engineering standards. It supports cloud platforms, DevOps pipelines, CI/CD, automation, and resilient, observable, cost-efficient systems. The role also mentors engineers, partners with product, architecture, QA, operations, DevOps, and SRE teams, and collaborates with globally distributed colleagues across North America, EMEA, and India. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without employment-based visa sponsorship. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package and a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
Requirements
- 10+ years of professional software engineering experience with a strong hands-on track record.
- Deep expertise in Java and modern application frameworks.
- Strong experience with Azure cloud services and cloud-native application development.
- Practical understanding and application of Test-Driven Development (TDD).
- Practical understanding and application of spec-driven or contract-first development.
- Practical understanding and application of CI/CD and DevOps practices.
- Working knowledge of cloud databases, data modeling, and performance tuning.
- Ability to lead by influence rather than authority.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Strong problem-solving, design, and decision-making abilities.
- Comfort operating in fast-paced, evolving environments.
- Authorization to work in the U.S. without current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.
Nice To Haves
- Microsoft Azure Architect Certification (strongly preferred).
- Experience integrating or enabling AI-assisted engineering tools in development workflows.
- Exposure to large-scale modernization, cloud migration, or distributed systems.
- Experience working in regulated or enterprise-grade environments.
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and review high-quality, production-ready software as a hands-on technical leader.
- Lead development using Java, applying clean code, Test-Driven Development (TDD), and spec-driven development principles.
- Drive adoption of AI-assisted development tools and intelligent automation to improve developer productivity and code quality.
- Influence and review application and solution architecture for scalability, security, performance, and maintainability.
- Partner with architects and senior engineers to define and enforce engineering standards and best practices.
- Design, build, and deploy applications on Microsoft Azure using cloud-native services.
- Contribute to cloud architecture decisions involving Azure compute, networking, storage, security, cloud databases, and performance.
- Support and continuously improve DevOps pipelines, CI/CD practices, and infrastructure automation.
- Enable resilient, observable, and cost-efficient cloud systems.
- Champion TDD and automated testing at unit, integration, and system levels.
- Enable and evolve test automation frameworks and practices across teams.
- Collaborate with DevOps and SRE partners to improve release reliability and deployment frequency, reduce operational risk and technical debt, and strengthen monitoring, alerting, and production readiness.
- Mentor and groom engineers in technical skills, design thinking, and ownership.
- Guide engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and technical deep dives.
- Foster high engineering standards, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Advise product, QA, and platform teams on technical matters.
- Work with cross-functional stakeholders, including Product, Architecture, QA, and Operations.
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Collaborate with globally distributed teams across North America, EMEA, and India, accommodating time-zone overlaps when required.
- Identify risks proactively and propose pragmatic solutions.
Benefits
- Retirement benefits, including 401(k) and pension.
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
- Spending accounts and disability benefits.
- Paid time off.
- Parental and caregiver leave.
- Life and accident insurance.
- Other voluntary and well-being benefits.
- Discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Education Level
No Education Listed
