[USA] Principal Software Engineer

Company Description

Are you passionate about building great products at the intersection of RF engineering and software? Do you thrive in environments where you are empowered to make high-impact decisions and bring clarity to complex, ambiguous problems? Do you want to be part of a fast-moving startup with massive upside potential? Come and join us at Spectrum Effect! 

Spectrum Effect’s mission is to solve the most challenging and costly problems in the wireless industry through innovation and automation. Our team is passionate about creating disruptive technologies, developing solutions with engineering excellence, and delivering substantial value to our customers. Protected by 30 patents and deployed by leading mobile operators across the globe, our Spectrum-NET software solution performs automated ML-driven analysis of radio access networks. Spectrum-NET is a cloud-native, horizontally scalable solution based on a Kubernetes-orchestrated microservices architecture. 

Our 50+ person team is located primarily in Seattle (U.S.) and Monterrey (Mexico), with team members enjoying ownership in our private company through stock options and competitive salaries. This is an amazing opportunity to join an emerging leader in the ML-driven automation space and make an impact on the mobile industry. 
 

Job Description

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with a strong aptitude for designing, developing, and deploying high-performance software solutions while defining best practices and technical standards. The ideal candidate will excel in navigating ambiguity, driving cross-functional collaboration, and translating complex technical concepts or insights into thoughtful solutions. 

We are looking for someone who can: 

• Solution Ownership: Lead the rapid design, development, and iteration of software solutions and features. 
• System Translation: Work with system engineers to translate complex technical RF requirements and deliver top-tier software solutions that are technically sound, feasible, and aligned with business objectives. 
• Comfort with Ambiguity: Thrive in a fast-paced startup environment with shifting priorities. Maintain a pragmatic, solutions-oriented outlook and balance speed versus quality trade-offs effectively. Bring structure and clarity when navigating situations with high uncertainty.  
• Technical Communication: Communicate complex software concepts effectively to both internal and external stakeholders, including executive audiences. 
• Mentoring: Provide technical guidance to software engineers, particularly in areas like improving engineering processes, ensuring software quality and security standards, and ensuring system reliability and performance. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering or equivalent 
• Minimum of 7 years of Python, Go, Rust, C++, or similar related experience and 10+ years of general software development experience 
• Experience designing, building and working with real-time systems, with demonstrated comfort handling low level details (e.g., manual memory management, profiling experience) 
• Familiarity working without a traditional operating system 
• Strong curiosity and willingness to learn domain-specific telecom industry knowledge as appropriate 
• Exceptional ability to work independently and proactively with minimal oversight 
• Strong knowledge of software architecture principles and ability to contribute to architectural discussions 
• Strong judgment, decision-making, and problem-solving skills 
• Experience working in a leadership or senior engineering role 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of engaging with both technical and non-technical stakeholders  

Preferred Skills 

• Experience with technologies such as Kubernetes, Docker, Kafka, or NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, InfluxDB) 
• Understanding of machine learning techniques and its applications is considered a plus 
• Familiarity with Java or modern frontend technologies and frameworks (e.g., JavaScript) 
• Experience working with modern deployment techniques and practices, such as CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation 
• Understanding of RAN (Radio Access Network) concepts, including cells, sites, controllers, and topologies 

Additional Information

Why Join Us
 

• Dynamic Team: Collaborate with passionate experts driving real innovation in the telecom space 
• Career Growth: Work on high-impact problems with real ownership and visibility 
• Meaningful Work: Help shape the next generation of ML-driven network analytics 
• Attractive Benefits: Competitive salary, stock options, and a flexible work environment

U.S. Person status is required for this position due to contractual obligations. This is a hybrid position. The candidate should be based in or willing to relocate to the Greater Seattle Area. 

Spectrum Effect, Inc is committed to diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Do you have the technical chops and product sense to help shape the future of wireless automation? Apply now—your next big opportunity starts here.