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 leader of the department. This is a practitioner who ships production software, earns credibility through results, and sets the standard others follow. The Principal works inside the systems they influence, understands their limitations from firsthand experience, and translates that into action that resolves problems rather than merely identifying them. This role demands expertise in AI-assisted development, agentic engineering, cloud-native architecture, and platform thinking. The Principal evaluates every technical decision through the build, buy, borrow, or bot lens, understanding what is fiscally responsible, operationally sustainable, and fastest to value. The Principal holds the trust of engineering teams, product partners, and executive leadership. They influence through example: building prototypes, delivering working software, and taking ownership when critical issues arise. This person must be fluent in business fundamentals (P&L, cost of delay, unit economics) and connect engineering decisions to business results. The ideal candidate brings a track record of delivering at scale within large enterprise environments, ideally across more than one industry vertical. They maintain a culture of accountability, velocity, and quality grounded in the WGU Leadership Principles. Success in this role is defined by delivery: what ships, what improves, and what problems get solved. 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 modern software engineering practices, AI-assisted development workflows, and emerging technologies Prototype new tools, frameworks, and architectural patterns through proof-of-value initiatives Drive engineering excellence across multiple teams by establishing repeatable delivery patterns and operational standards Partner closely with infrastructure, cloud, security, architecture, and product teams as a peer technical leader Identify architectural inefficiencies and technical debt, proposing practical and cost-effective solutions grounded in data Communicate technical strategy, dependencies, tradeoffs, and risks clearly to executive leadership Support operational readiness, incident response, and day-2 supportability across enterprise systems Lead through 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 enterprise IT organizations with established operational processes Equivalent relevant experience may substitute for education (1 year experience per 1 year education, at hiring manager discretion) Preferred Qualifications Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field Experience with Kafka/Confluent and integration middleware (Apache Camel, MuleSoft, or similar) Hands-on AWS experience: ECS/EKS, Lambda, SNS/SQS, API Gateway, Terraform Spring Boot, Kubernetes, and container orchestration in production Observability stacks (Dynatrace, Datadog, or similar) including custom metrics and SLO management Familiarity with AI/ML platforms, LLM integration, and agentic frameworks Higher education, EdTech, or regulated industry experience ITIL v4 Foundation or higher; AWS Solutions Architect or CKA certification Experience across multiple industry verticals Why Join WGU At WGU, you'll help shape technology that directly impacts student success at national scale. You'll join an organization that values innovation, accountability, engineering excellence, and mission-driven work. This role offers the opportunity to influence enterprise architecture, modernize delivery practices, and help define how AI-enabled software engineering evolves within a leading online university. Disclaimer This position description outlines the primary duties, responsibilities, requirements, and working conditions of the role. Management reserves the right to modify responsibilities as needed to meet organizational needs. This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including attendance at designated company summits, typically one to two times per year. Position & Application Details Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave. How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday. Additional Information Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive. Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu. Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law. In 1997, a coalition of 19 U.S. governors founded Western Governors University with a singular vision: to make higher education more accessible by offering full degree programs online. Starting small, we quickly expanded. Today, we're one of the largest accredited online universities in the U.S. Click on the links below to learn more: Enrollment Counselor Evaluator Field Experience Roles (Part-time & Intermittent) Program Mentor Service Desk Technician Mexico Team