Sr. Principal Engineer

Alcon; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 5,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Alcon in Bengaluru, India seeks a Sr. Principal Software Engineer with 15+ years of experience to lead architectural design of enterprise-scale applications and modernize platforms across cloud-native and distributed systems.

You will drive technical strategy, set architecture standards, mentor teams, and collaborate with Dev, QA, DevOps and business units to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing solutions. Strong focus on performance engineering, automation, and observability.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience designing and modernizing enterprise-scale applications.
• Strong architectural leadership across cloud-native and distributed systems.
• Experience in performance engineering, automation, and software quality.
• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable solutions.
• Experience with cloud, DevOps, and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and implementation of scalable, secure, and high-performing enterprise applications and cloud-native solutions.
• Define architecture standards, design principles, and engineering best practices across teams.
• Partner with Development, QA, Automation, Performance, and DevOps to drive quality and production readiness.
• Drive modernization and cloud transformation initiatives for scalability, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Own performance engineering by defining workload models and executing tests (JMeter/NeoLoad).
• Mentor engineering teams and influence strategic technology decisions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into robust solutions.
• Drive observability, monitoring, and reliability practices to ensure system stability.

Skills

Architectural leadership

Cloud-native

Performance engineering

Automation

Distributed systems

CI/CD

Observability

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Java interop

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

Docker

JMeter

NeoLoad

Selenium

Ranorex

Datadog

Zipkin

OpenAPI/Swagger

Job description

Summary of Position:

We are seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer with 15+ years of experience in designing and modernizing enterprise-scale applications. The role requires strong architectural leadership, hands-on expertise in cloud-native and distributed systems, and deep experience in performance engineering, automation, and software quality.

The candidate will drive technical strategy, define architecture standards, lead modernization initiatives, and collaborate across engineering, QA, DevOps, and business teams to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead architecture, design, and implementation of scalable, secure, and high-performing enterprise applications and cloud-native solutions.
• Define architecture standards, design principles, and engineering best practices across teams.
• Partner with Development, QA, Automation, Performance, and DevOps teams to drive quality engineering, automation strategy, and production readiness.
• Drive modernization and cloud transformation initiatives ensuring scalability, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Perform architectural assessments and provide scalable, sustainable solutions to complex technical challenges.
• Lead architecture, design, and production readiness reviews to ensure adherence to enterprise standards.
• Own performance engineering by defining workload models, capacity strategies, and executing tests using tools like JMeter and NeoLoad.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues across distributed systems and drive root cause resolution.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into scalable and robust solutions.
• Drive observability, monitoring, and reliability engineering practices to ensure system stability.
• Mentor engineering teams and influence strategic technology decisions.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies and automation capabilities to improve delivery efficiency.

Key Requirements/Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with 15+ years of experience in designing and modernizing enterprise-scale applications

Programming Languages

• C# (.NET Framework, .NET Core / .NET 6/7/8)
• Python
• SQL
• JavaScript
• Experience with Java (JDK 8/11/17/21) for interoperability and legacy system understanding (Good to have)

Frameworks & Technologies

• .NET Core / ASP.NET Core
• Web API / RESTful Services /MVC
• Entity Framework / ORM Tools
• Microservices Architecture using .NET
• RESTful APIs
• OpenAPI / Swagger
• NuGet
• Experience working with Java‑based services and APIs

Automation & Quality Engineering

• Hands-on experience in UI and API automation frameworks
• Strong expertise with:
• Selenium (Automation)
• Ranorex (Automation)
• API Automation using REST-based testing frameworks
• Experience in designing scalable automation frameworks for enterprise applications
• Strong understanding of test strategy, regression automation, and CI-integrated automation
• Ability to integrate automation within CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing
• Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python and/or C#

Architecture & Design

• Enterprise Solution Architecture
• Microservices Architecture
• Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
• Distributed Systems Design
• Event-Driven Architecture
• Enterprise Integration Patterns
• API Design and Governance
• Security Architecture
• High Availability and Resiliency Design
• Scalability and Performance Engineering
• Enterprise Application Modernization

Cloud & DevOps

• AWS Cloud Services
• Kubernetes
• Docker
• CI/CD Pipelines
• Jenkins
• GitHub Actions
• Infrastructure Automation
• DevSecOps Practices
• Containerization and Orchestration

Observability & Reliability Engineering

• Datadog
• Zipkin
• Distributed Tracing
• Application Monitoring
• Log Aggregation and Analysis
• Performance Tuning
• Reliability Engineering
• Production Support
• Operational Excellence
• Bottleneck Analysis and Optimization
• Production Readiness Validation
• Hands-on expertise with performance testing tools such as JMeter and NeoLoad
• Ability to design workload models, execute performance tests, and analyse bottlenecks
• Experience in end-to-end performance engineering including load testing, stress testing, and capacity planning.

Database Expertise

• Strong expertise in Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS)
• Data Modelling and Database Design
• Query Optimization and Performance Tuning
• Data Migration and Data Integrity Strategies
• Transaction Management
• Database Scalability and Reliability

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies

• Generative AI
• LangChain
• AI Agents
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Vector Databases
• LLM Integration and Orchestration
• Intelligent Automation Solutions
• Enterprise Knowledge Management Systems

Required Competencies

• Exceptional analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong ability to diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve complex technical challenges in distributed enterprise environments.
• Proven expertise in architectural decision-making and technology leadership.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable, maintainable, and secure technical solutions.
• Strong focus on software quality, automation, performance, maintainability, and operational excellence.
• Strong mentoring, leadership, and technical coaching abilities.
• Ability to balance strategic architecture responsibilities with hands-on technical execution.
• Experience driving engineering excellence, modernization initiatives

Work hours: 1 PM to 10 PM IST

Relocation assistance: Yes

Alcon is an Equal Opportunity Employer and takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, or any other reason.