Principal Software Development Engineer (SDE)

Unstructured Technologies Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Principal Software Engineer, where you'll lead architectural design and influence technology direction. This role is perfect for those who thrive in complex systems and want to tackle high-impact problems. You'll mentor engineering teams, drive innovative solutions, and ensure alignment with business goals. Collaborate with passionate professionals in a dynamic environment, shaping the future of cutting-edge tools for AI/ML pipelines. If you're excited about impactful work and continuous growth, this opportunity is for you.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software development experience with a track record of leading complex projects.
• Deep knowledge of software architecture and design patterns.

Responsibilities

• Drive the architecture and design of key product solutions across the organization.
• Lead strategically important projects and provide technical direction.

Skills

Software Development

Software Architecture

Python

Problem Solving

Communication

Job description

Unstructured builds open-source and commercial tools that enable developers to preprocess and transform unstructured data — PDFs, HTML, Word docs, images, and more — for AI/ML pipelines. Our solutions power production-grade, scalable generative AI use cases at leading enterprises.We’re a team of builders obsessed with performance, simplicity, and reliability. If you’re excited by complex systems, cutting-edge ML infrastructure, and high-impact problems, we’d love to meet you.

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Software Engineer to lead and influence the technology direction for our organization. As a key player, you will own organization-level architecture and product solutions, mentoring our engineering teams while solving complex software problems. You will be instrumental in aligning teams toward coherent, scalable designs and mitigating long-term risks.

Key Responsibilities:

Architectural Leadership: Own and drive the architecture and design of key product solutions across the organization. Influence and set the technology direction, ensuring alignment with business goals.

Strategic Influence: Lead strategically important projects that involve multiple teams. Provide technical direction and mentorship, fostering a culture of high-quality software development.

Complex Problem Solving: Address significantly complex, persistent, or ingrained software challenges. Develop innovative solutions that impact the entire organization and set new standards of excellence.

Software Development: Actively engage in the full software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, and operations. Deliver high-quality, production-ready code that is both strategic and tactical.

Mentorship & Collaboration: Provide mentorship and guidance to engineers across the organization. Act as a force multiplier, enhancing the capabilities of the teams you influence.

Cross-Team Alignment: Align teams toward simple, coherent designs that meet business and technical objectives. Resolve escalations and proactively mitigate risks, particularly those involving long-term one-way doors.

Organizational Impact: Shape how the organization operates by influencing software offerings and architectures. Ensure that your work has a lasting impact on both current and future projects.

Qualifications:

Experience: 10+ years of software development experience, with a proven track record of leading and delivering complex, high-impact projects.

Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of software architecture, design patterns, and development best practices. Proficiency in multiple programming languages and frameworks.

Leadership: Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership and drive cross-team initiatives. Experience in mentoring and developing technical talent.

Problem Solving: Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to tackle complex, persistent issues.

Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where business problems and architectural strategies may not yet be defined.

Preferred Qualifications:

Proficiency with Python

Experience in leading large-scale, multi-team projects.

Expertise in cloud-based architectures and services.

Background in mentoring and growing engineering teams.

Why Join Us?

Impactful Work: Play a key role in shaping the future of our organization and its products.

Innovation: Work on challenging problems that require innovative solutions.

Growth: Opportunities to grow your career in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.

Collaboration: Join a team that values collaboration, mentorship, and continuous learning.