Principal Software Engineer

At StraighterLine we are on a mission to help students succeed!

About UsStraighterLine is the leading provider of high-quality, affordable, online courses that help learners earn college credit and meet their professional goals. Each year, 150,000 learners take one of StraighterLine’s 215 courses to upskill into new careers or earn credit from over 2,000 colleges and universities worldwide. StraighterLine works with institutions and corporate partners to provide their students and employees with flexible education options that allow them to work and learn at their own pace. Visit www.straighterline.com for more information.

As our Principal Software Engineer, you will serve as the technical lead for one or more software products. You are a key member of our product development team and are responsible for the technical vision, direction, implementation, operation, and quality of your portfolio of software products. You will collaborate with the Product Owner to manage the product backlog and guide the product development team in designing, planning, estimating, and delivering technical solutions that address business needs.Above all, you must be passionate about StraighterLine’s mission and vision, with a genuine enthusiasm for improving lives through education. We are looking for someone who lives within 90 minutes of Arlington, Virginia and in one of the following states: VA, MD, PA, DC.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development effort for end-to-end, on-time delivery of high-quality solutions that meet feature requirements and fulfill team commitments.
• Own the technical direction for the product by understanding its technical history, current state, and future vision.
• Design and develop software applications, project prototypes, proofs of concept, and client demos.
• Lead technical discussions and decision-making processes to establish best practices and design principles.
• Participate in and facilitate Scrum activities.
• Collaborate with other technical owners on related products to align technical solutions.
• Work with the Product Owner and Business Analyst to plan roadmaps and translate these into actionable backlogs and deliverable milestones.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for the product and the product team.
• Assess and manage technical risks throughout the development lifecycle.
• Foster an engineering culture focused on rapid delivery with confidence.
• Ensure the quality of engineering activities through code reviews, collaboration with QA engineers, and mentoring of junior team members.
• Define, measure, and report metrics to demonstrate the product development team's delivery, quality, and efficiency.
• Support backlog grooming activities by providing clarity to the development team as they review and update individual stories.
• Proactively evaluate the team’s current approaches, workflows, and technologies, and present improvements to leadership that can benefit the team and the organization.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and recommend new solutions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in software engineering roles, including as a technical lead or senior developer, with demonstrated leadership experience within a Scrum team.
• Expert knowledge of modern web application architectures and technologies.
• Development experience with AWS in a serverless environment.
• Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and related tools.
• Proficient in React, Next.js, Node.js, and related technologies.
• Desirable secondary skills include PHP, .NET, MySQL, and NoSQL.
• Experience with BigCommerce, Stripe, or Moodle is a plus but not required.
• Experience working with remote, distributed teams.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within a team and across product development teams.
• Proven ability to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to understand business needs and expectations.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.