Principal Software Engineer

Bumbleinc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

1 company-wide week off

Focus Fridays

Fully paid life insurance

401k with company match

Monthly wellness benefit

Parental leave

Premium App Access

Job summary

Bumble Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to shape the future of its full-stack architecture, spanning user-facing apps to distributed backend systems.

You will influence long-term technical strategy, champion innovation, and embed AI-powered approaches while leading through influence and elevating engineering standards. Senior leadership responsibilities include mentoring teams, driving high-impact initiatives, and partnering with Product, Data, and Design to align technology with

Qualifications

• Typically requires 12+ years of experience in software engineering.
• Deep expertise across full stack architecture and scalable systems.
• Strong design sense for cloud-native, distributed backends and modern frontends.
• Proven ability to influence across teams and lead via technical excellence.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive long-term technical strategy across full stack systems for scale.
• Architect and guide development of complex applications and distributed services.
• Lead adoption of modern frontend/backend technologies to enable rapid delivery.
• Partner with Product, Data, and Design to align tech with business impact.
• Mentor engineers and raise engineering standards across teams.
• Embed AI into engineering strategy and workflows to accelerate development.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with an agile mindset.
• Champion Bumble values such as Respect and Curiosity and foster inclusive innovation.

Skills

Full stack

System design

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

Frontend tech

Backend tech

AI embedding

Technical leadership

Tools

React

Node.js

Go

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Job description

Introduction to Role & Team

Bumble’s platform is powered by technology that connects millions of people across the world - and as we scale, the complexity and impact of our systems grow with it. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will operate as a technical leader shaping the future of our full-stack architecture, from user-facing applications to deeply distributed backend systems.

This role is central to how we deliver on our mission to foster healthy, equitable relationships. You’ll influence long-term technical strategy, champion innovation, and embed AI-powered approaches into how we build and scale. Grounded in our values of Excellence and Courage, you’ll lead through influence - empowering teams, raising engineering standards, and driving meaningful outcomes across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive long-term technical strategy across full stack systems, ensuring scalability, resilience, and performance
• Architect and guide the development of complex applications and distributed backend services at scale
• Lead the adoption of modern frontend and backend technologies (e.g., Go, Kotlin, microservices architectures) to enable rapid, high-quality delivery
• Partner with senior leaders across Product, Data, and Design to shape roadmap decisions and align technology with business impact
• Act as a technical authority, mentoring engineers and influencing engineering practices across teams
• Embed AI into engineering strategy and workflows, identifying opportunities to accelerate development and unlock new product capabilities
• Drive cross-functional collaboration, taking ownership of critical initiatives and adapting approaches with an agile mindset
• Champion Bumble values such as Respect and Curiosity, fostering inclusive innovation and continuous learning across the engineering community

Qualifications

• Typically requires 12+ years of experience, though we welcome candidates with alternative backgrounds that demonstrate equivalent skills
• Deep expertise in full stack engineering, with a track record of building and scaling complex applications and backend systems
• Strong experience in system design, distributed systems, and cloud-native architectures (e.g., AWS, GCP, Kubernetes)
• Expertise in modern frontend and backend technologies (e.g., React, Node.js, Java, or similar) with the ability to guide architectural decisions
• Proven ability to influence across teams and lead through technical excellence rather than formal authority
• Advanced AI fluency, with experience embedding AI into development practices, systems, or product capabilities
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of ambiguous, high-impact challenges and drive them through to successful outcomes
• Embodies Bumble values such as Excellence and Courage, acting as a role model for engineering quality, inclusion, and innovation

About Us

Bumble Inc. is the parent company of Bumble Date, BFF, and Badoo. The Bumble platform enables people to build healthy and equitable relationships, through Kind Connections. Founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, Bumble was one of the first dating apps built with women at the center and connects people across dating (Bumble Date) and friendship (BFF). BFF is a friendship app where people in all stages of life can meet people nearby and create meaningful platonic connections and community based on shared interests. Badoo, which was founded in 2006, is one of the pioneers of web and mobile dating products.

AI Fluency

AI is important to us. We’re excited by people who are curious and experimental, and who think thoughtfully about how AI can amplify their impact and outcomes.

We encourage you to use AI responsibly as you prepare your application. Please don’t use it to fabricate experiences or answer questions live in interviews. We care deeply about authenticity and want to understand your real skills, judgment and voice, because building a meaningful, genuine connection with you matters to us.

Final Compensation

Will be determined based on factors such as the selected candidate’s qualifications, relevant experience, skill set, and other job-related considerations.

Benefits & Perks

Insurance: Medical/dental/vision, 30-day eligibility.

Bumble has multiple competitive offerings that will be available to you on the first of the month following date of hire.

Unlimited PTO + 1 company-wide week off + Focus Fridays every week

Fully paid life and long-term disability insurance

401k with 4% company match if you contribute 6%, 90-day eligibility

Monthly wellness benefit and access to Noom, Unmind, and Your Money Line

Maternity and Fertility benefit + 26 week paid parental leave

Premium App Access

Inclusion at Bumble Inc.

Bumble Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and we strongly encourage people of all ages, colour, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, veterans, parents, people with disabilities, and neurodivergent people to apply. We're happy to make any reasonable adjustments that will help you feel more confident throughout the process, please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).

AI in Bumble Inc. Hiring

At Bumble, we may use AI tools to support parts of our recruitment process — such as helping us record, transcribe, and summarize conversations, and supporting job alignment by comparing resumes and job descriptions to highlight skills and potential roles that may be a good match. These tools help us work more efficiently and stay focused on you during our conversations. Importantly, all hiring decisions are made by people. AI is used only to support our team’s efficiency and improve the candidate experience — not to evaluate or decide on your candidacy. Participation in AI-supported interviews and conversations is completely voluntary and will not impact your candidacy. If you’d prefer to opt out, simply let your recruiter or interviewer know at the start of a call, or anytime during the interview or conversation. Summaries and related data are retained only as long as needed in line with our internal data retention policies. If at any point you’d like a transcription or summary deleted, please contact your recruiter directly.

For further information on how we hold and manage your data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.