About the role:
The Principal Engineer is a senior individual contributor role within the R&D organization, reporting directly to the VP of Engineering. This position exists to provide the highest level of technical leadership across the engineering team, ensuring that architectural decisions are sound, scalable, and aligned with the company's long-term product vision. The Principal Engineer owns system design, setting engineering standards, and guiding the team through ambiguous technical challenges. While this role carries no direct reports, its influence spans the entire engineering organization through mentorship, code review, and cross-functional collaboration with Product, UX, and QA.
The Principal Engineer is expected to operate at the intersection of strategy and execution — translating business requirements into thoughtful technical solutions while keeping the team aligned and moving forward. This role was created to elevate the overall technical capability of the organization and to ensure that as the product scales, the underlying architecture scales with it.
Candidates must be available to work standard U.S. Eastern Time hours to ensure effective collaboration with distributed teams and external partners.
Lead the architectural design and technical direction of complex, large-scale systems across the R&D organization, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with long-term product strategy
Partner closely with Product Management, UX, and QA teams throughout the full development lifecycle to translate business requirements into sound technical designs and actionable engineering plans
Establish and enforce engineering standards, best practices, and architectural patterns across the engineering team to ensure consistency, quality, and operational excellence at every stage of development
Drive the end-to-end execution of high-priority technical initiatives by identifying risks early, removing blockers, and keeping cross-functional stakeholders informed and aligned throughout delivery
Conduct thorough architecture and code reviews on a regular basis, providing constructive, high-quality feedback that raises the technical bar and accelerates the growth of engineers at all levels
Mentor and guide senior and mid-level engineers through complex technical challenges, serving as a go-to resource for architectural guidance and engineering decision-making across the organization
Evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and industry trends on an ongoing basis and make informed recommendations that strengthen the engineering platform, improve developer productivity, and support the company's technical roadmap
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, with at least 3 years operating at a Staff or Principal Engineer level or equivalent technical leadership capacity
Deep expertise in system architecture and distributed systems design, with a proven track record of delivering scalable, high-availability solutions in a cloud-based environment (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
Strong proficiency in one or more modern programming languages (e.g., REact, .NET, Python) and hands-on experience across the full software development lifecycle
Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally with Product, UX, and QA teams to drive alignment between technical execution and product vision
Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
Proven ability to lead and influence without formal authority — driving technical consensus, mentoring engineers, and elevating team performance across a matrixed organization
Experience establishing and enforcing engineering standards, conducting architecture reviews, and managing technical debt in a fast-paced product development environment
Self-directed and highly collaborative with a low-ego, team-first mindset and the intellectual curiosity to continuously learn and adapt in an evolving technical landscape
PetDesk combines the industry's most user-friendly client engagement tools with the highest-rated pet parent app to simplify your veterinary clinic's operations while strengthening pet care and client relationships.
Key team members
Michael Freeman
Alyssa Opella
Allison Rona
Robin Remich Stepowany
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