Principal Software Engineer

About the role

Zuora creates software that enables businesses to manage and grow recurring revenue models. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for guiding architectural strategy and scaling enterprise systems.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Define the technical roadmap and architectural strategy for distributed enterprise platforms.
• Architect high-performance services utilizing microservices, APIs, and event-driven patterns.
• Align engineering teams on a unified technical vision and standards for code quality and system design.
• Collaborate with product, UX, risk, and compliance departments to ensure technical solutions meet business goals.
• Establish benchmarks for system observability, reliability, security, and operational excellence.
• Provide mentorship to senior engineers through design reviews and technical coaching.
• Manage technical debt while maintaining delivery speed and product innovation.
• Take ownership of the resilience and security of critical domain systems.

Requirements

• Extensive experience building large-scale distributed systems and enterprise software.
• Proficiency in Java and the Spring framework.
• Deep knowledge of microservices, service-oriented architecture, data modeling, and integration patterns.
• History of leading architectural roadmaps and influencing technical direction across multiple teams.
• Ability to simplify complex technical challenges and work effectively in ambiguous environments.
• Strong communication skills for aligning stakeholders on architectural decisions.
• Experience developing technical talent and mentoring engineering staff.
• Capability to balance innovation, reliability, and long-term platform health.

Nice to have

• Background in financial systems, billing, or high-scale payment platforms.
• Experience with security, fraud prevention, compliance, and disaster recovery requirements.
• Familiarity with developer enablement tools such as SDKs, webhooks, and API contracts.
• Professional experience within both startup and enterprise environments.

Skills & tools

• Java
• Spring
• Distributed systems architecture
• Microservices
• API design
• Cloud-native patterns