Principal Engineer

PrepLadder; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

PrepLadder, a leading ed-tech platform in India, seeks a Principal Backend Engineer to drive the technical vision and architecture of the backend platform. You will lead large-scale engineering initiatives, solving complex challenges to build scalable, reliable, and secure systems powering learning experiences for millions of users.

You will define backend architecture strategy, design scalable services with Python and Node.js, and lead microservices and distributed systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience.
• Expertise in Python and Node.js.
• Experience designing microservices and distributed systems.
• Strong knowledge of AWS and/or GCP.
• Experience with CI/CD and deployment automation.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive backend architecture strategy across products and platforms.
• Design and build scalable services using Python and Node.js.
• Lead architecture of microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven workflows.
• Mentor senior engineers and contribute to long-term technical roadmap.
• Drive observability, security, and engineering productivity initiatives.

Skills

Backend design

Distributed systems

Python/Node.js

Mentoring

Stakeholder mgmt

CI/CD

SQL/NoSQL

System scalability

Observability

Technical leadership

Tools

Kafka

RabbitMQ

AWS

GCP

CI/CD tools

Python

Node.js

Job description

PrepLadder is a leading ed-tech platform helping students prepare for competitive medical exams through high-quality learning content and technology-driven learning experiences for millions of learners across India.

We are looking for a Principal Engineer (Backend) to drive the technical vision and architecture of our backend platform. In this role, you will lead large-scale engineering initiatives, solve complex technical challenges, and help build highly scalable, reliable, and secure systems that power learning experiences for millions of users.

What You'll Do:

• Define and drive the backend architecture strategy across multiple products and platforms.
• Design and build highly scalable services using Python and Node.js.
• Lead the architecture of microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven workflows.
• Establish engineering standards, best practices, and technical governance across teams.
• Drive critical decisions around scalability, performance, reliability, and security.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, and Business stakeholders to align technology investments with business goals.
• Lead complex technical initiatives spanning multiple teams and systems.
• Drive adoption of modern engineering practices, observability, automation, and operational excellence.
• Guide teams through system design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical problem-solving.
• Mentor senior engineers and contribute to the long-term technical roadmap of the organization.

What We're Looking For:

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience with a strong track record of designing and scaling large systems.
• Expertise in Programming languages like Python and Node.js.
• Exposure to PHP-based systems/services is a plus.
• Extensive experience building microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.
• Strong experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar messaging systems.
• Deep understanding of backend architecture, system design, and large-scale distributed computing.
• Strong experience with AWS and/or GCP
• Experience with CI/CD, deployment automation, and engineering productivity initiatives.
• Strong understanding of SQL/NoSQL databases, caching strategies, and backend optimization.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across teams and organizations.
• Exceptional problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.