engineer principal - Global Technology Strategy Enablement, Nashville TN (Hybrid)

Starbucks Corp.; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) match

Stock program (Bean Stock)

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Starbucks Corp. seeks a Principal Engineer, Global Technology Strategy & Enablement, to extend US platforms to international markets. You will define standards, architecture, and integration patterns while coordinating with regional teams and North America core groups.

This role emphasizes hands-on engineering and scalable solutions across markets. Based in Nashville, you will join a fast-paced, collaborative team that aligns with Starbucks guiding principles.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of professional software development and platform management experience.
• 5 years of leading teams of six or more software developers.
• 3 years of demonstrating technical leadership across multiple platforms.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Deep expertise in modern cloud platforms (Azure) and API-first, event-driven data integration.

Responsibilities

• Extend US systems for broader global use; design extension points and localization for international markets.
• Lead hands-on engineering to prove the approach in real markets.
• Define technical standards within the Global Licensing Framework and ensure adoption.
• Evolve team engagement between North America, global core, and regional engineering.
• Collaborate in a highly collaborative environment aligned with Starbucks values.

Skills

Software development

Platform management

Technical leadership

Multi-market design

DevOps practices

Observability

Education

BSc Computer Science

Tools

Azure

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection. We are known for developing extraordinary leaders who share this passion and are guided by their service to others.

Starbucks is a global system of more than 42,000 stores across 90 countries, operated by Starbucks and by our licensee partners. Much of the technology behind those stores and our digital experiences is developed in-house in the US, where our largest investment is focused. As principal engineer, Global Technology Strategy & Enablement, you will lead the engineering work to extend those US systems for broader global use: designing how they are configured, localized and integrated for international markets, building integration approaches and solutions that scale across countries and licensees, and defining the technical standards that sit within our Global Licensing Framework. You will bring deep software engineering knowledge to that challenge and ultimately help leverage Starbucks scale and US-focused investment for the benefit of every market we serve.

You will be one of a small global core team sitting between US-based Starbucks Technology, Starbucks Digital Solutions and our regional technology teams in Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America and the Caribbean. The team’s mandate is "build once, adopt widely": defining the technical standards and reference architectures within the Global Licensing Framework that markets and licensees build against, designing the integration approaches that connect US platforms with market and licensee systems at scale, and providing hands‑on engineering to land global capability in region without overburdening the core teams focused on North America. Near‑term priorities include refreshing the technical standards in the Global Licensing Framework, extending our observability platform to cover our international regions, and scaling select Starbucks Technology capabilities out of North America.

This position reports to the director, Engineering – Global Technology Strategy & Enablement, based in Nashville, within the Global Experience Technology organization. The team is being formed now, so you will shape how it works rather than inherit it, with direct exposure to CTO-level strategy and to Starbucks Technology, Starbucks Digital Solutions and regional leadership around the world.

As a principal engineer, Global Technology Strategy & Enablement, you will…

• Extend US systems for broader global use. Assess Starbucks Technology and Starbucks Digital Solutions platforms built for North America, design the extension points, configuration and localization approach that let them serve international markets, and lead the hands‑on engineering to prove the approach in real markets.
• Build integration approaches and solutions that scale. Design the API, event and data integration patterns that connect US platforms with market and licensee systems, including automated data ingestion from markets so that Starbucks becomes an increasingly data‑led organization, and make sure they hold up across dozens of countries rather than one.
• Define technical standards as part of the Global Licensing Framework. Own the engineering standards, reference architectures and integration requirements that international markets and licensees build against, and lead the architecture and solution reviews that ensure they are adopted consistently.
• Evolve how teams work together. Shape the engagement model between the core teams focused on North America, the global core and regional engineering, so that international requirements are designed in early and delivered without pulling core teams away from their own roadmaps.
• Enjoy working on an energetic, fun team and have a clear ability to drive the business forward as part of a highly collaborative team, while acting in accordance with Starbucks guiding principles and values.

We’d love to hear from people with:

• 10‑15 years of professional industry experience with software development and platform management, with deep, hands‑on knowledge of designing, building and operating large‑scale platforms
• 5 years of leading teams of six or more software developers
• 3 years of demonstrating technical leadership across multiple platforms
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field
• Deep expertise in modern cloud platforms (Azure preferred) and in designing API‑first, event‑driven and data integration solutions that operate reliably at enterprise scale
• Experience designing software for extensibility and localization, such as configuration‑driven, multi‑tenant or multi‑market architectures, so that solutions built for one market can be extended to serve others
• Proven track record defining technical standards and reference architectures that partner organizations and teams genuinely adopt, and influencing without direct authority across engineering, product and business teams
• Strong DevOps, CI/CD, observability and reliability engineering practice
• Experience working across multiple markets or regions and with distributed teams across time zones

It would be great if you also bring:

• Experience taking a technology capability built for one market and scaling it across multiple countries or business units, including making the commercial case for adoption with partners such as licensees or franchisees
• A track record of replacing fragmented, manually collected data with automated ingestion and reporting that leaders across a large organization actually use to make decisions
• Comfort operating in a landscape that blends in‑house platforms with third‑party and SaaS solutions, and making pragmatic build‑versus‑buy calls that balance global consistency with local commercial reality
• An understanding of store, retail or hospitality technology and what it takes to land a global capability in a local market

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits.
• short‑term and long‑term disability, paid parental leave, family expansion reimbursement, paid vacation from date of hire*, sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked), eight paid holidays, and two personal days per year.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, discounted company stock program (S.I.P.), Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock), incentivized emergency savings, and financial well‑being tools.
• 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first‑time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, student loan management resources, and access to other educational opportunities.
• backup care and DACA reimbursement.

*If you are working in CA, CO, IL, LA, ME, MA, NE, ND or RI, you will accrue vacation up to a maximum of 120 hours (190 in CA) for roles below director and 200 hours (316 in CA) for roles at director or above. For roles in other states, you will be granted vacation time starting at 120 hours annually for roles below director and 200 hours annually for roles director and above.

The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job‑related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, and internal equity. At Starbucks, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

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Starbucks Coffee Company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with all federal, state and local ordinances. Starbucks Coffee Company is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail] or 1(888) 611-2258.