Principal Engineer

Web.com Canada, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

HSA

Dental

Vision

401K matching

Life/AD&D/STD/LTD

Tuition reimbursement

Pet insurance

Generous PTO

Job summary

Bluehost is seeking a Principal Engineer to provide deep technical leadership for the Hosting platform at a pivotal moment for the business. This senior individual contributor role will drive architecture, reliability, and modernization across backend and infrastructure systems.

You will design large-scale Python services on Linux with MySQL, modernize Perl/cPanel environments, and lead SRE practices while mentoring senior engineers and aligning multi-quarter roadmaps with Bluehost's growth

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend/infrastructure engineering experience.
• Expert Python and Linux systems knowledge at production scale.
• Strong MySQL expertise including performance tuning and schema design.
• Hands-on Perl and cPanel experience with modernization of legacy systems.
• Background in Site Reliability Engineering and infrastructure governance.
• Ability to set direction and mentor engineers across teams.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction and architecture standards for backend and infrastructure systems.
• Design and evolve large-scale Python backend services running on Linux, backed by MySQL at production scale.
• Modernize Perl-based and cPanel environments without disrupting live sites or live provisioning automations.
• Drive site reliability engineering practice across Hosting, partnering with DevOps and SRE functions on incident response and system hardening.
• Own the org-wide standard for AI-augmented delivery: governance on prompts, provenance, and licensing.
• Lead root‑cause analysis on complex production issues and turn findings into durable architectural fixes.
• Mentor senior and staff-level engineers and shape multi-quarter tech roadmaps.

Skills

Backend engineering

Python

Linux

MySQL

Perl

Site Reliability Engineering

Technical leadership

Roadmapping

Tools

cPanel

Job description

Who We Are

At Bluehost, we believe all small businesses deserve the opportunity to succeed online. Our mission is to give small businesses the confidence to think big. We're the all-in-one platform for small businesses to grow online with powerful simplicity, premium performance, smart tools and human support.

Why we're hiring for this role

We're looking for a Principal Engineer to bring deep technical leader sh ip to our Hosting platform at a pivotal moment for the business. This is a high-impact senior individual contributor role for someone who's run large-scale hosting infrastructure end-to-end ( Python, Linux, MySQL at scale, Perl, cPanel ) and wants to sh ape architecture, reliability, and SRE practice as Bluehost modernizes and grows.

What You'll Do & How You'll Make Your Mark

• Set technical direction and architecture standards for backend and infrastructure systems across the Hosting org
• Design and evolve large-scale Python backend services running on Linux, backed by MySQL at production scale
• Bring deep, hands‑on expertise on Perl‑based and cPanel‑integrated systems, guiding their modernization without disrupting live customer sites or live provisioning automations
• Drive site reliability engineering practice across Hosting, partnering closely with DevOps and SRE functions on incident response and system hardening
• Own the org-wide standard for AI‑augmented delivery: where AI is used across the lifecycle and where it isn't, how generated code is reviewed, how provenance and licensing are handled, and what customer data may enter a prompt - and measure whether the standard is actually holding
• Lead root‑cause analysis on the most complex, highest-impact production issues, and turn findings into durable architectural fixes
• Mentor senior and staff‑level engineers, raising the technical bar and influencing how the broader org builds and operates
• Partner with engineering leader sh ip to sh ape multi‑quarter technical roadmaps that support Bluehost's growth trajectory

Who You Are & What You'll Need to Succeed

• 10+ years of backend/infrastructure engineering experience, including deep, hands‑on hosting‑platform expertise
• Expert‑level Python and Linux systems knowledge at real production scale
• Strong MySQL expertise , including performance tuning, schema design, and large‑scale trouble sh ooting
• Deep hands‑on experience in Perl and cPanel environments, with a track record of modernizing legacy systems without breaking them
• Preferred: strong background in Site Reliability Engineering and infrastructure practice, applying architectural patterns for systemic resilience, fault isolation, and operational governance
• AI‑augmented delivery : you use AI across the delivery lifecycle , not just code generation, and can say which models suit which problems and where you don't use them . You have set the org-wide standard for how AI‑generated code is reviewed, how provenance and licensing are handled, and what customer data enters a prompt - and you can sh ow how you measured adoption and outcomes against it, including what a security or compliance review will ask for.
• Proven technical leader sh ip: setting direction, mentoring engineers, and influencing decisions across multiple teams
• Excellent judgment operating in complex, high‑scale, customer‑facing SaaS environments under real business pressure

Why You'll Love Us

Work‑life balance. Meaningful work, balanced by a culture that respects your time.

A culture of belonging. We celebrate what makes each of us different, with 20+ affinity groups connecting employees globally.

We care about you. Excellent Health, HSA, Dental, Vision, Matching 401K, Life/AD&D/STD/LTD, Tuition Reimbursement, Pet Insurance, and generous PTO.

Where can we take you? Mentor sh ip, new challenges, and real career growth. Unfold new possibilities #OTOD!

Employment with Newfold Digital is at‑will and nothing in this Job Description should be interpreted or construed to alter the at‑will employment relationship.

This Job Description includes the essential job functions required to perform the job described above, as well as additional duties and responsibilities. This Job Description is not an exhaustive list of all functions that the employee performing this job may be required to perform. The Company reserves the right to revise the Job Description at any time, and to require the employee to perform functions in addition to those listed above.