Principal R&D Engineer: Build & Ship Real-World Tools

Vizient; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 156,500 - 290,100; Full time

Job summary

Vizient in Chicago is building a foundational R&D unit, where you will partner with product leaders to understand problems, translate intent into working software, and move fluidly from idea to prototype to production.

You’ll make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed and durability, own from day one, and help shape how this unit operates as it grows while shipping software into live environments.

Qualifications

• Experience leading high-impact projects in a fast-paced, innovative environment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders and influence technical direction at an organizational level.
• Prior exposure to large-scale systems, cloud-native platforms, and enterprise-grade software development.

Responsibilities

• Partner with product leaders to understand problems, users, and rationale.
• Shape solutions collaboratively or execute independently when effective.
• Move from idea to prototype to production.
• Make pragmatic technical decisions balancing speed, learning, and durability.
• Help define how the R&D unit operates as it grows.

Skills

Software fundamentals

Shipping mindset

Ambiguity handling

Product understanding

Proven impact

Early-career flexibility

Tools

Cloud-native platforms

Enterprise-grade software

Job description

Vizient in Chicago is building a foundational R&D unit, where you will partner with product leaders to understand problems, translate intent into working software, and move fluidly from idea to prototype to production.

You’ll make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed and durability, own from day one, and help shape how this unit operates as it grows while shipping software into live environments.