Principal Software Architect – Education Platform

WGU; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

WGU is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead architectural strategy and scalable system design across the university's education platform. You will influence technology decisions, drive modernization efforts, and ensure best practices in security, reliability, and performance.

This leadership role requires guiding multiple teams, aligning technology with strategic goals, and mentoring the next generation of technical talent in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve architecture strategies that span multiple engineering teams, products, and technology domains.
• Drive the design of scalable, resilient, secure, and maintainable systems that support WGU's mission-critical education platform.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and modernize existing systems while reducing operational complexity and technical debt.
• Establish architectural standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices that improve consistency and quality.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to engineering leadership, product management, and executive stakeholders.
• Translate business objectives into long-term technical strategies and architectural roadmaps.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, frameworks, and industry trends to identify innovations that create meaningful value for WGU and its students.
• Lead critical technical decision-making for initiatives with enterprise-wide impact.
• Champion software craftsmanship, maintainability, security, observability, reliability, and performance across engineering teams.
• Coach and mentor Staff Engineers, Senior Engineers, and emerging technical leaders.

Job description

WGU is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead architectural strategy and scalable system design across the university's education platform. You will influence technology decisions, drive modernization efforts, and ensure best practices in security, reliability, and performance.

This leadership role requires guiding multiple teams, aligning technology with strategic goals, and mentoring the next generation of technical talent in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.