Principal Software Engineer

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Technical 412 Pay Range: $175,900.00 - $272,600.00 Job Description The Principal Software Engineer is the primary technical [... source excerpt omitted ...] olved. Job Duties Partner with engineering and product leadership to define technical strategy and delivery roadmaps that improve the student experience at scale Build and ship production-grade software while establishing engineering standards others follow Lead Agile delivery practices that balance rigorous planning with rapid execution and predictable outcomes Design and evolve cloud-native architectures with strong emphasis on scalability, observability, reliability, security, and operational supportability Evaluate technical decisions through a build, buy, borrow, or bot lens with focus on speed-to-value, sustainability, and fiscal responsibility Mentor engineers on mode [... source excerpt omitted ...] gh accountability, urgency, ownership, and attention to detail Participate in critical operational events and provide leadership during high-impact incidents when needed Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or related field 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience including architecture, delivery leadership, and technical mentorship across multiple teams Experience building and operating web applications using Java, REST APIs, SQL, and Git in enterprise environments Experience designing and delivering system integrations with third-party and internal platforms Track record in large-scale enter