Principal Engineer, Cloud Software

licor; United States; Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

licor seeks an accomplished senior software and cloud engineer to set technical direction for connected products and cloud platforms. You will own platform architecture spanning device-to-cloud data, APIs, and services, while remaining hands-on across implementation and reviews.

The role emphasizes observability, security, and scalable design, with travel as needed and options for remote within the United States. Lincoln, NE is a base option.

Qualifications

• Typically 10+ years in software and cloud engineering with architecture ownership.
• Experience architecting a commercial connected-device/IoT or high-volume data platform.
• Deep expertise with AWS or equivalent public cloud, including IAM, observability, security.
• Strong backend engineering and API design with hands-on coding in a modern language.
• Experience with distributed/event-driven systems, device ingestion and data lifecycle.
• CI/CD, automated testing, incident response, and secure software delivery.
• Ability to explain tradeoffs and mentor engineers; communicate cost/customer impact.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain platform architecture, data models, and technical roadmaps.
• Review designs for services, APIs, data pipelines, storage, and device-to-cloud flow.
• Identify complexity, guide modernization and retirement of fragile components.
• Shape device data ingestion and cloud processing, with reliability/retention focus.
• Set observability, availability, security, privacy, recovery, and production support expectations.
• Stay hands-on through implementation, prototypes, code reviews, and issue resolution.
• Explain technical tradeoffs and mentor engineers; engage external partners as needed.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Backend engineering

API design

Distributed systems

Observability

Security

Leadership through influence

Tools

AWS

Job description

Role overview

Set technical direction and contribute hands-on engineering for connected products and cloud platforms. This individual contributor role spans device and firmware integrations, connectivity, cloud services, data, and applications, with a focus on systems that are dependable, secure, scalable, supportable, and economically sustainable. The position is based in Lincoln, Nebraska, or may be remote within the United States; periodic travel may be required.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain platform architecture, system boundaries, data models, integration patterns, and technical roadmaps.
• Review designs for services, APIs, data pipelines, storage, identity, applications, deployment, and device-to-cloud communication.
• Identify unnecessary complexity and guide platform modernization, consolidation, or retirement of fragile components.
• Shape how devices send data and cloud systems ingest, process, store, and present it, including reliability and retention approaches.
• Set expectations for observability, availability, security, privacy, recovery, and production support; partner on delivery and incident practices.
• Stay hands-on through implementation, prototypes, investigations, code reviews, and resolution of high-risk production issues.
• Explain technical tradeoffs, costs, risks, and recommendations; mentor engineers and guide external technical partners.

Requirements

• Typically 10 or more years in software and cloud engineering, including substantial architecture ownership for production systems.
• Experience architecting a commercial connected-device, IoT, industrial, scientific, telemetry, or high-volume data platform.
• Deep expertise with AWS or a comparable public cloud, including infrastructure, security, observability, resiliency, and infrastructure as code.
• Strong backend engineering and API design skills, with hands-on experience in a modern backend language.
• Experience with distributed and event-driven systems, device ingestion, messaging, time-series data, and data lifecycle management.
• Production experience with CI/CD, automated testing, incident response, observability, and secure software delivery.
• Strong systems thinking and communication, with the ability to lead through influence and connect architecture choices to cost and customer impact.

Nice to have

• Architecture spanning embedded devices, firmware, gateways or cellular connectivity, cloud ingestion, applications, and analytics.
• Work with regulated or quality-controlled systems, including data privacy, access, retention, auditability, or change control.
• Cloud certification or equivalent practical expertise.

Benefits and work setup

• Starting salary of $120,000 annually; final compensation depends on experience, qualifications, and location.
• Full-time; Lincoln, Nebraska, or remote within the United States. Periodic travel may be required.