Principal Software Developer (Backend Platform)

MaintainX; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Training and development

Competitive salary

Comprehensive healthcare

Job summary

MaintainX is seeking a backend engineering leader to direct the technical strategy within their Platform Engineering division. You will shape AI-native workflows and establish standards for backend services, while mentoring senior engineers across multiple teams.

Ideal candidates will have a strong background in distributed systems and experience with tools like AWS and Terraform. This role requires expert-level English to effectively present technical priorities to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in distributed systems and architectural decision-making.
• Strong AI-native mindset, experience in incorporating AI-assisted workflows.
• Expert-level English for leading cross-team communications.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for backend services across engineering.
• Shape AI-native workflows and drive platform evolution.
• Mentor and elevate senior engineers through complex problems.

Skills

Node.js

TypeScript

Distributed systems

AI-native mindset

Technical judgment

English (expert)

Tools

AWS

Terraform

CI/CD

GraphQL federation

Event driven systems

APIs

Job description

• You’d be joining our backend team within the Platform Engineering division
• We’re building an AI-native platform for our internal developers, over 150 of them, guided by a single question: does this shorten the time from idea to value, for the teams building on our platform and for the customers they ultimately serve?
• The smooth path is the safe, fast path, because the platform makes it the default. We build the route that maximizes AI acceleration
• You’ll set the technical direction for how backend services get built, shipped, and operated across the engineering org — not just for one team
• Shape the technical direction, governance and architecture of the backend platform
• Shape AI-native workflows into the platform itself, changing how the org builds services with developers and agents
• Proactively identify and drive resolution of cross-cutting technical challenges before they become delivery blockers, working across multiple engineering teams
• Define and evolve platform-wide standards, patterns, and abstractions adopted across teams
• Influence roadmap priorities by framing trade-offs, surfacing opportunities, and driving alignment across engineering, product, and analytics
• Drive adoption of changes across teams, not just their delivery
• Mentor and elevate senior engineers through complex problems and architectural decisions
• Navigate ambiguity and lead complex, multi-squad initiatives with minimal direction
• Participate in the on-call rotation

Benefits

• Flexible time off
• Training and development investments
• Competitive salary and equity opportunities
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage

• Deep exposure across several of the platform’s key domains: cloud (AWS), IaC infrastructure (Terraform/Atmos), CI/CD, GraphQL federation, Event driven systems, APIs, and developer experienceExpert in Node.js, TypeScript, or similar languages, with a track record of setting standards others adopt
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, demonstrated with experience making architectural decisions with long-term, cross-org, multi-year consequences
• A strong AI-native mindset — you’ve brought AI-assisted workflows into a platform or org, not just your own workflow
• Track record of cross-team impact: changing how multiple teams build, decide, or deliver
• Experience navigating organizational complexity, aligning stakeholders and using data to demonstrate impact
• Expert-level English, spoken and written — you’ll lead platform engineering managers across multiple teams and present technical priorities to executive stakeholders
• Strong technical judgment balanced with pragmatism: knows when to advocate for the right solution and when to move forward
• Demonstrated ability to frame ambiguous technical problems and drive them to resolution with minimal guidance