Principal Engineer Person & Trust Platform

About the role

ID.me is seeking a Principal Software Development Engineer to serve as the technical authority across the Person and Trust platforms - the systems that define who a person is and how much confidence ID.me can place in that identity. You will own the data model strategy, API contracts, and long-term architecture across the Person API, the Trust Service, and the Inspection Catalog, along with the verification and validation evidence that connects them. Person, Trust, and the Inspection Catalog are foundational systems at ID.me: together they determine who someone is, how inspection evidence is collected, and how much confidence to place in that identity. The role calls for deep expertise in data modeling and graph structures, applied to how verification and validation evidence and the resulting trust decisions are represented and queried. You will own how identity data is modeled - including how Person-to-SSN, Person-to-Face, and Person-to-Legal relationships are expressed - and how confidence in an identity is determined. You will set technical direction, establish the patterns and contracts that other teams build against, and partner closely with Product, Architecture, Identity, Security, and Compliance to deliver a trustworthy foundation used by millions of users and trusted partners.

Key facts

What you'll do

Define and own the long-term architecture and data model strategy for the Person API, Trust Service, and Inspection Catalog as a single integrated system.

Own the API contracts across the domain, including versioning, compatibility, and governance standards that internal and external consumers depend on.

Set technical direction and design standards for identity, evidence, and trust domains to ensure consistency and scalability.

Mentor staff and senior engineers, raising the bar for data modeling, API design, and trust architecture across the organization and filling the domain leadership gap with intentional, lasting technical ownership.

Lead the modernization and consolidation of legacy identity data into a scalable, modular set of services and contracts that support current and future product needs.

Ensure the security, privacy, and compliance of Person, Trust, and Inspection Catalog data throughout the full lifecycle of identity evidence and confidence calculation.

Partner closely with Product, Architecture, Identity, Security, and Compliance teams to translate business requirements into robust, scalable technical solutions.

Drive the design and evolution of graph-based representations for verification and validation evidence to support complex trust decisions.

Establish clear patterns for evidence ingestion, validation, and aggregation that maintain data integrity and support regulatory requirements.

Champion best practices in identity data modeling to ensure interoperability, auditability, and performance across ID.me's ecosystem of services.

Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to define and maintain authoritative sources of truth for identity confidence and verification outcomes.

Influence industry standards and internal governance through technical leadership in identity verification, trust frameworks, and regulatory alignment.

Requirements

10+ years of software engineering experience, including significant time as a recognized technical authority for a complex domain spanning multiple systems.

Demonstrated expertise in data modeling, graph structures, and schema design for complex domains.

Strong experience with API design and governance, including versioning, compatibility, and lifecycle management of public and internal contracts.

Deep understanding of identity, verification, and trust concepts, including evidence collection, confidence assessment, and compliance requirements.

Proven ability to lead modernization efforts for legacy data and systems in a regulated environment.

Strong knowledge of security and privacy principles, including data minimization, retention policies, and auditability.

Experience working in regulated environments with strict compliance and governance requirements.

Excellent communication skills to articulate technical strategy, trade-offs, and rationale to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Ability to work independently as a technical owner and make high-impact decisions with broad organizational influence.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Practical notes

ID.me is a full-time, in-office culture. Unless a specific job description explicitly states otherwise, all roles are on-site five days per week at one of our offices in McLean, VA; Mountain View, CA; New York City, NY; or Tampa, FL. Certain roles - such as field-based sales or other remote-by-design positions - may have different work arrangements as noted in their individual postings.

At ID.me, we embrace the thoughtful use of AI tools in our daily work and there are even occasions where we leverage AI in our hiring process. However, during the interview process, we want to understand your individual skills and experiences. Therefore, we have guidelines on how AI can be appropriately used during your application and interviews which can be found here.