Principal Engineer - Platform & Data

Masabi; United States; Remote; USD 101,000 - 146,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday per year plus shutdown

Premium medical care

Mental health support

Training budget

Home office budget

Work from anywhere up to 3 months/year

Equipment choice

Job summary

Masabi is seeking a Principal Engineer to join the Architecture team in a fully remote role for candidates based in Romania. You will shape platform and data architecture, lead architectural decisions, and stay hands-on where it adds value.

The role demands deep experience with distributed systems, microservices, and cloud-based data strategy. You will collaborate across engineering to drive scalable, cost-efficient services while guiding technical directions and producing clear documentation

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing and evolving distributed systems and microservices.
• Track record of shaping technical direction across multiple teams.
• Strong background in cloud platforms and data architecture.

Responsibilities

• Shape Masabi’s platform architecture, including blueprint definition, standards and best practices.
• Help shape Masabi's data architecture and strategy across the platform.
• Design and deliver scalable, robust, cost-efficient services aligned with the blueprint.
• Stay hands-on in code and technical delivery with reviews and contributions.
• Identify and solve complex platform challenges around scalability, performance, resilience, and cost.
• Advise across engineering teams to ensure Masabi standards are followed.
• Contribute to technical roadmap planning and prioritization of improvements.
• Support RFP estimation and technical scoping for complex initiatives.
• Produce clear technical documentation and architecture artefacts.

Skills

Distributed systems

Microservices

REST API design

Data architecture

Cloud platforms

Tools

Kubernetes

DynamoDB

MySQL

Snowflake

Databricks

Spark

Terraform

GitLab CI/CD

Job description

Location

Romania

This role is available in a fully remote model for candidates based in Romania

About Us

At Masabi, we’re driving the fare payment revolution, powering the journeys of millions all over the world. We build fare collection platforms that allow riders to seamlessly buy and present tickets for public transport either on their mobile phones, from a ticket machine, or even by tapping their bank card to travel.

Our Justride platform is used in over 250 locations globally, including some of the largest cities in the world. With our industry-first mobile ticketing SDK, we’ve partnered with large players in the transport space, including Uber, Moovit and Transit.

Your own journey is important to us too. Choosing a role here means joining a network of innovators from all walks of life; a group of passionate individuals who consistently deliver. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to build the career you want. Whether you’re taking the direct route or trying a new path, we’ll support you no matter what.

The Role

We’re looking for a Principal Engineer to join Masabi’s Architecture team.

This is a senior role for someone who combines deep technical expertise with strong judgement and the ability to operate across teams. You’ll help shape the technical direction of Masabi’s platform while staying close enough to the detail to design, review and deliver meaningful technical work.

Working across the engineering organisation, you’ll act as a senior technical leader: defining and evolving architecture, guiding complex decisions, and contributing hands‑on where it matters most. A particular focus for this role is strengthening our data architecture, how we structure, use and build on the data our platform generates.

The role suits someone who can move between system‑level thinking and implementation, someone who understands trade‑offs, can navigate ambiguity, and helps turn complex or loosely defined problems into clear, practical technical approaches.

Responsibilities

Shape Masabi’s platform architecture, including platform blueprint definition, standards and best practices

Help shape Masabi's data architecture and strategy, including how we structure, store and make use of the data generated across our platform

Design and deliver scalable, robust, cost efficient services aligned with platform blueprint

Stay hands‑on in code and technical delivery, including reviews and targeted contributions

Identify and work through complex platform challenges related to scalability, performance, resilience and cost

Act as a senior technical advisor across engineering teams, supporting and influencing technical decisions and ensuring Masabi standards are followed

Shape and contribute to technical roadmap planning and prioritisation of platform improvements

Support RFP estimation and technical scoping for complex initiatives

Produce clear, high-quality technical documentation and architecture artefacts

Improve how architecture is understood and applied across engineering and the wider business

Contribute to and help shape technical forums and working groups, including areas such as API and architecture governance

About You

You bring strong experience designing and evolving distributed systems and microservices architectures

You’ve operated at Principal or Staff level, shaping technical direction across multiple teams or domains

You are comfortable staying hands‑on, contributing in code, design and delivery when needed

You have strong experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred) and modern infrastructure practices

You’ve worked on systems where scale, reliability, performance and cost trade‑offs matter, and can navigate those decisions thoughtfully

You have proven experience in data architecture (e.g. data platforms, pipelines, warehousing or data lakes) and working on products built on top of large data stores

You can take loosely defined (early stage) business or technical problems and turn them into clear, actionable technical approaches

You communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, and produce structured documentation that helps both technical and non-technical audiences make decisions

You’ve contributed to engineering standards, architecture patterns or platform direction

Strong experience with REST API design in complex, multi‑service environments, ideally including how APIs are consumed on the front end

Interest in or exposure to AI‑enabled systems, particularly understanding architectural implications in production

Nice To Have

Experience breaking monolithic applications into microservices architectures

Experience with event‑driven architectures (e.g. Kafka, schema governance)

Experience improving cloud cost and system efficiency at scale

Familiarity with a range of tools and technologies including:

Development: Kotlin, Java

Data storage/processing: DynamoDB, MySQL, Snowflake, Databricks, Spark

Infrastructure as code and CI/CD: Terraform, GitLab CI/CD

You don’t need to have experience in every area listed above. If you bring strong fundamentals, good judgement and a willingness to learn, we’d still love to hear from you.

Some of Our Benefits

• 25 days holiday per year plus the Christmas Shutdown (another 3-4 days)
• Premium medical care via Regina Maria
• Mental health support
• Menopause support
• Regular social gatherings with a monthly allowance for each employee
• Up to €1000 training budget per year
• €200 to spend on your home office
• Choice of workstation
• Ability to work for up to 3 months per year from any country in the world

Careers at Masabi are for people going places - driven by a mission to make transit fair and accessible for all.

We are a network of innovators from all walks of life, passionate about making a difference. At Masabi, we operate with openness and trust, creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to bring their whole, authentic selves to work.

Whoever you are, just be yourself. We welcome applications from underrepresented groups, including disabled and neurodivergent people, and can make adjustments at any stage of the process. You’re also welcome to share your pronouns whenever you feel comfortable. Together, we simplify journeys, remove barriers, and improve daily life for millions.

Why Join Masabi?

Driven by Purpose – We believe in journeys made simple. The work isn’t always easy, but the best things never are.

Encouraged to Accelerate – Masabi is going places and our people are in the driving seat. Whether you’re taking the direct route or exploring new paths, we support your journey.

Advancing with Empathy – We put people first and foster a culture of learning, not blame. No matter your cargo, we share the load.

We’re already powering journeys - are you ready to join us?