Our vision for the future is based on the idea that transforming financial lives starts by giving our people the freedom to transform their own. We have a flexible work environment, and fluid career paths. We not only encourage but celebrate internal mobility. We also recognize the importance of purpose, well-being, and work-life balance. Within Empower and our communities, we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our associates dedicate thousands of hours to volunteering for causes that matter most to them.

Chart your own path and grow your career while helping more customers achieve financial freedom. Empower Yourself.

We are seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to provide deep technical leadership and execution support across product initiatives. This role works closely with Product Management, Solution Architects, and Engineering teams to help finalize requirements, evaluate functional and technical solutions and ensure the successful implementation of scalable, high-performance systems.

The Principal Engineer partners with architects to interpret, validate, and operate architectural designs, ensuring they are effectively translated into high-quality, maintainable solutions by engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with Product Management to understand product vision, business objectives, and customer needs
• Collaborate closely with Solution Architects to understand architectural direction, integration patterns, and non-functional requirements
• Support the finalization of requirements by evaluating functional and technical implications within defined architectural guidelines
• Provide input and feedback on proposed architectures to identify risks, gaps, or implementation considerations
• Design, build, and review scalable, high-performance backend services using Spring Boot, aligned with approved architectures
• Implement and guide cloud-native solutions on AWS ensuring solutions meet performance, scalability, reliability, and security expectations defined by architecture
• Create and maintain technical documentation (design documents, implementation guides, runbooks) that helps teams execute effectively
• Mentor engineers and support teams in implementing complex technical solutions
• Promote engineering best practices, code quality, and operational excellence

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with strong technical leadership credentials
• Extensive hands-on experience with Java, Spring Boot and databases
• Strong working knowledge of AWS and cloud-native application development
• Proven experience building scalable and performant distributed systems
• Strong ability to translate product and architectural requirements into executable designs and code
• Excellent communication and documentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with microservices, APIs, and event-driven systems
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or AWS EKS
• Deep understanding of units, integration, UI, E2E, and BDD/Cucumber testing
• Strong understanding of performance tuning, observability, and reliability practices
• Prior experience in Staff or Principal Engineering roles

What Success Looks Like

• Architecture designs are consistently implemented accurately and effectively
• Engineering teams clearly understand how to execute against architectural guidance
• Scalable and high-performing systems delivered on time
• Clear documentation that reduces ambiguity and rework
• Strong collaboration across Product, Architecture, and Engineering

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications of the job. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. You will be evaluated in part based on your performance of the responsibilities and/or tasks listed in this job description. You may be required to perform other duties that are not included in this job description. The job description is not a contract for employment, and either you or the employer may terminate employment at any time, for any reason.

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, religion, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable state or local law.