Hands-on Principal Software Engineer, AI‑First Platform

cars; United States; On-site; USD 175,800 - 219,750; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Plans

New Hire Home Office Stipend

Generous PTO

Job summary

Cars Commerce seeks a Principal Software Engineer to own the Platform Core Services, including Identity, Inventory, and Leads, driving architecture and high-concurrency decisions. You will guide backend and frontend surfaces, shape data models, and implement AI-native workflows that accelerate delivery and product impact.

The role emphasizes leadership, cross-functional influence, and a hands-on approach to solve complex concurrency challenges at scale, with a focus on sub-second latency and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or equivalent industry experience.
• 12+ years of software engineering excellence, including significant time at the Staff or Principal level.
• Deep expertise in designing high-concurrency distributed systems.
• Architect an extensible frontend platform with robust state management and scalable UI performance.
• Proven ability to leverage AI to accelerate product and engineering outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical north star for Platform Core Services and drive architecture strategy.
• Lead end-to-end transformation and ownership of backend and product surfaces.
• Drive RFCs, data benchmarks, and trade-off analyses across engineering and product teams.
• Collaborate with Staff/Senior engineers to raise the technical ceiling of the organization.

Skills

TypeScript/Node.js

Distributed systems design

Data-driven decision making

RBAC design

Leadership & strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Kafka/MSK

Job description

Cars Commerce seeks a Principal Software Engineer to own the Platform Core Services, including Identity, Inventory, and Leads, driving architecture and high-concurrency decisions. You will guide backend and frontend surfaces, shape data models, and implement AI-native workflows that accelerate delivery and product impact.

The role emphasizes leadership, cross-functional influence, and a hands-on approach to solve complex concurrency challenges at scale, with a focus on sub-second latency and