Principal Software Engineer

At Workiva, we're building innovative solutions to help businesses navigate complex Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) challenges. Our Backend Enablement team develops the core technology that powers this space, and we're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership, drive architectural decisions, and deliver high-impact solutions on aggressive timelines.

You'll build systems from the ground up, drive architectural decisions, and deliver high-impact solutions on aggressive timelines. This role requires deep cloud experience, strong technical leadership, and the ability to collaborate across product, design, and engineering.

If you thrive in fast-paced environments, love solving complex problems, and want your work to shape the future of how businesses manage risk and compliance, we'd love to talk.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design and development of new systems and services-taking products from concept to launch

• Architect and develop scalable, event-driven distributed systems and APIs that power our GRC solutions

• Learn and adapt to GRC principles and apply them effectively in software development

• Collaborate across product, design, and engineering to meet aggressive timelines without sacrificing quality.

• Write clean, efficient, and maintainable code that follows industry best practices and coding standards

• Mentor and influence engineers across teams, raising the bar on technical excellence

• Define success measures, establish KPIs and metrics to ensure solutions deliver meaningful business and customer value

• Develop and execute comprehensive test plans and automated tests (unit, integration, functional, etc.) with Workiva solutions in mind to ensure software quality and reliability

• Drive product discovery activities with customers and stakeholders to gain insights, validate hypotheses, and identify opportunities for innovation

• Communicate complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical audiences, using clear and concise language

• Participate in production on-call support rotation

What You'll Need
Minimum Qualifications

• Proven experience operating at a Principal Engineer level or higher. (8+ years of relevant experience)

• Strong foundation in computer science, including expertise in data structures, algorithms, object-oriented software design, and working with cloud-based distributed systems

• Hand-on experience in a production engineering environment.

• Strong record of delivering solutions from the ground up (0 1).

• Ability to thrive in fast-paced environments with evolving priorities

• Strong written and verbal communication and collaboration skills, adept at explaining complex technical issues to diverse audiences

• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability skills, with a commitment to staying up-to-date with new technologies and best practices in software engineering

• Curiosity, accountability, and a passion for creating change that matters

• Preferred Qualifications

  • 8+ years of professional software development experience

  • Exposure to SaaS product-engineering development

  • Proficiency with event-driven architectures, data pipelines, and event sourcing

  • Expertise in React, Kotlin, GraphQL (API development), and Snowflake (data storage)

  • Expertise in debugging complex systems or applications

  • Experience as a technical mentor preferred, with the ability to coach and mentor junior engineers

  • Experience working in an agile development environment preferred, with a focus on continuous improvement and delivery

• Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

  • Embrace your inner wanderlust - expect up to 10% travel

  • Stay virtually untethered with the power of reliable internet access, enabling you to work remotely from your chosen spot, whether that's your home office or a beachside cafe

How You'll Be Rewarded

A discretionary bonus typically paid annually

Restricted Stock Units granted at time of hire

401(k) match and comprehensive employee benefits package

The salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this job in the US. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience and other relevant factors.

Employment decisions are made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other protected characteristic.

Workiva is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. To request assistance with the application process, please email talentacquisition@workiva.com.

Workiva employees are required to undergo comprehensive security and privacy training tailored to their roles, ensuring adherence to company policies and regulatory standards.

Workiva supports employees in working where they work best - either from an office or remotely from any location within their country of employment.