Principal Software Engineer

Bumble Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 280,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Unlimited PTO

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401k match

Wellness program

Parental leave

Premium app access

Job summary

Bumble Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead full-stack architecture and backend systems for scalable, distributed platforms. You will influence long-term technical strategy and champion AI-powered approaches across engineering teams.

You’ll work with Product, Data, and Design to shape roadmaps, mentor engineers, and advance modern frontend/backend tech to deliver high-quality, impactful products at scale.

Qualifications

• Typically requires 12+ years of experience, with equivalent backgrounds welcomed.
• Deep expertise in full stack engineering, building and scaling complex applications and backend systems.
• Strong experience in system design, distributed systems, and cloud-native architectures (AWS, GCP, Kubernetes).
• Expertise in modern frontend and backend technologies (React, Node.js, Java) guiding architectural decisions.
• Proven ability to influence across teams and lead through technical excellence.
• Advanced AI fluency, embedding AI into development practices, systems, or product capabilities.

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 to enable rapid, high-quality delivery.
• Partner with senior leaders to shape roadmap decisions and align technology with business impact.
• Mentor engineers and influence engineering practices across teams.
• Embed AI into engineering strategy and workflows to accelerate development and unlock product capabilities.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration and take ownership of critical initiatives with an agile mindset.
• Champion Bumble values such as Respect and Curiosity, fostering inclusive innovation.

Skills

Full stack engineering

Distributed systems

Cloud-native architectures

Frontend technologies (React/Node.js/…

Technical leadership

AI fluency

Tools

Go

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

React

Node.js

Java

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.

What You’ll Do

• 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

About You

• 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

$280,000 - $320,000 a year

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.

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.
• 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.

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