Sr. Principal Engineer

Alcon MX; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,500,000 - 9,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Alcon in Bengaluru is seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer with 15+ years of experience to lead architectural strategy and modernize enterprise-scale applications.

You will drive cloud-native transformations, establish standards, and guide cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performing solutions. Responsibilities include mentoring engineering teams, defining best practices, and coordinating with Dev, QA, and DevOps to ensure production readiness and observability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a related field.
• 15+ years of designing and modernizing enterprise-scale applications.
• Strong architectural leadership and collaboration across teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and implementation of scalable, secure 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 and production readiness.
• Drive modernization and cloud transformation initiatives ensuring scalability and reliability.
• Perform architectural assessments and provide scalable solutions to complex challenges.
• Own performance engineering and define workload models, capacity strategies, and execute tests with tools like JMeter and NeoLoad.

Skills

Architecture Leadership

Cloud-Native

Distributed Systems

Performance Engineering

Automation

CI/CD

JMeter

NeoLoad

C#

Python

Java

JavaScript

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

AWS

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. At Alcon, we are committed to helping people see better. We believe patients should have access to quality eye care regardless of their economic circumstances; however, barriers to good eye health exist for patients in both developed and emerging markets. Alcon develops and manufactures innovative devices to serve the full life cycle of eye care needs. Its surgical group is one of the largest makers of equipment used for cataract removal and laser vision correction. Its consumer products include the well-known Opti-Free line of contact lens solutions and related products. Alcon, which was founded in 1945, sells its products in 180 countries worldwide.