Principal Engineer

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs (NJ); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Discounts and perks

Job summary

VERSANT Media seeks a Principal Engineer who blends deep technical expertise with a startup mindset to influence stakeholders, lead architectural decisions, and deliver scalable SaaS and cloud-native solutions. You will guide modernization, evaluate SaaS and low-code/no-code platforms, and collaborate with leaders to align tech with business goals.

You will mentor engineers, drive cross-functional alignment, and champion rapid prototyping and high-quality delivery in a hybrid work setup.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Proven experience in cloud-native architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP), serverless, and event-driven design.
• Strong understanding of SaaS platforms and low-code/no-code and Gen AI tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead engineering efforts and influence cross-functional teams.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems and integrating with modern platforms.
• Excellent communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Track record of delivering secure, scalable, and performant systems.

Responsibilities

• Architect for Impact: Design and lead modernization efforts for inherited systems, prioritizing speed, scalability, and business value.
• Platform Thinking: Evaluate and implement SaaS, low-code/no-code platforms to accelerate delivery and reduce custom development.
• Stakeholder Influence: Collaborate with business, product, and technology leaders to align technical solutions with strategic goals.
• Lean Delivery: Embrace rapid prototyping, iterative development, and pragmatic decision-making.
• Leadership & Mentorship: Inspire and mentor engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Drive alignment across engineering, product, and business teams.
• Leadership: Set the technical vision for the engineering organization, driving excellence and innovation.
• Operate to provide high level of customer service and delight, ownership, and a high bar for quality.

Skills

Cloud-native architecture

Serverless

Event-driven design

SaaS platforms

Low-code/no-code

Gen AI tools

Leadership

Cross-functional influence

Tools

Kafka

Kinesis

Redis

ElastiCache

DevOps

CI/CD

Job description

• Compensation: USD 170,000 - USD 190,000 - yearly

Company Description

VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass.

Job Description

We are seeking a Principal Engineer who combines deep technical expertise with a startup mindset and a passion for solving business problems. This role is ideal for someone who can influence stakeholders, lead architectural decisions, and deliver scalable solutions using SaaS, low-code/no-code platforms, and cloud-native technologies.
Key Responsibilities

• Architect for Impact: Design and lead modernization efforts for inherited systems, prioritizing speed, scalability, and business value.
• Platform Thinking: Evaluate and implement SaaS, low-code/no-code platforms to accelerate delivery and reduce custom development.
• Stakeholder Influence: Collaborate with business, product, and technology leaders to align technical solutions with strategic goals.
• Lean Delivery: Embrace rapid prototyping, iterative development, and pragmatic decision-making.
• Leadership & Mentorship: Inspire and mentor engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Drive alignment across engineering, product, and business teams.
• Leadership: Set the technical vision for the engineering organization, driving excellence and innovation. Collaborate with engineering leadership to establish and implement practices, standards, and a clear direction for engineering teams, ensuring alignment with long-term strategic objectives.
• Operate to provide high level of customer service and delight, ownership, and a high bar for quality.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Proven experience in cloud-native architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP), serverless, and event-driven design.
• Strong understanding of SaaS platforms and low-code/no-code and Gen AI tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead engineering efforts and influence cross-functional teams.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems and integrating with modern platforms.
• Excellent communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Track record of delivering secure, scalable, and performant systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with full-stack (backend, frontend, Cloud, Infrastructure) development.
• Familiarity with distributed messaging (Kafka, Kinesis) and caching (example - Redis, ElastiCache).
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Understanding of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Exposure to startup environments or fast-paced product development cycles.
• Experience in media, entertainment, or digital platforms is a plus.

Why Join Versant?

• Be part of a founding team shaping the future of a new tech company.
• Work on high-impact projects with direct visibility to senior leadership.
• Enjoy a culture that values innovation, speed, and purpose-driven engineering.

Additional Requirements: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week.
This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks.

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [e-mail] .

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.

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