Principal Software Engineer

Laudio; Leawood (KS); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and parental leave

Employee assistance program

Wellness programs and charitable match

Job summary

Ascend Learning, LLC is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead architecture and hands-on development across multiple services used by learners, educators, and healthcare professionals. You’ll set direction, drive platform modernization, and guide teams to scalable, secure solutions.

You will mentor engineers, balance tech debt with innovation, and apply AI-assisted practices to improve product quality and outcomes. Hybrid work from Leawood, KS, with remote within the U.S. is acceptable.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software development for web-based apps.
• 3+ years in technical leadership or architecture.
• Experience defining engineering standards and patterns.
• Hands-on with AI-assisted tools and responsible use policies.
• Experience with .NET 8+, Angular, SQL Server, ASP.NET Core.
• Distributed systems, microservices, API design for scalability.
• Secure SDLC practices and WCAG/privacy considerations.
• Observability, SLOs, incident response, and CI/CD quality gates.
• IaC experience with Terraform or Bicep; cloud cost awareness.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and evolve scalable cloud-native apps and platforms.
• Own the technical vision, architecture, and long-term evolution.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives from concept to production.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices and code quality.
• Adopt emerging tech and AI-enabled development approaches.
• Ensure operational excellence, deployments, incidents, and on-call support.
• Communicate strategy and decisions to leadership and teams.
• Present key initiatives to senior leaders and the software community.

Skills

Software architecture

Distributed systems

Leadership / mentoring

AI-assisted development

Security best practices

Observability & SRE

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE or related field

Tools

Azure

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

ASP.NET Core

Angular

TypeScript

SQL Server

GitLab

Terraform/Bicep

Job description

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning, a leading healthcare and learning technology company, is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data-driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning. From testing to certification, Ascend Learning products are used by physicians, emergency medical professionals, nurses, allied health professionals, certified personal trainers, financial advisors, skilled trades professionals and insurance brokers.

Headquartered in Burlington, MA, with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America’s 2025 Greatest Workplaces as well as America’s Best Places to work for Mental Well-Being for 2025.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

We are seeking highly skilled Principal Software Engineer to join our team to lead and contribute to the development of software applications using multiple technologies. Our Software Engineering teams support a wide range of services, platforms and products that span across healthcare, The development team is responsible for both maintenance and development of multiple services/applications that serve several Ascend Learning businesses. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will set technical direction across multiple development teams and shape the architecture of platforms used by learners, educators, and healthcare professionals, while remaining hands-on in design and code.

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Leawood, KS office location. Remote work within the United States will also be considered.

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Design, build, and evolve scalable cloud-native applications and platforms using modern technologies including .NET, Angular, Azure, Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes, and SQL Server.
• Own the technical vision, architecture, and long-term evolution of your domain, establishing engineering standards, guiding platform modernization, reducing technical debt, and ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with business objectives.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives from concept through production, partnering with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to deliver high-impact solutions.
• Mentor and coach engineers through technical guidance, code reviews, engineering best practices, and software design principles, while providing feedback that supports team members' growth and development.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, AI-enabled development practices, and innovative approaches that improve product quality, team effectiveness, and customer outcomes.
• Ensure operational excellence through production troubleshooting, deployments across environments, incident resolution, and participation in on-call rotations as needed.
• Communicate technical strategy, architectural decisions, and key initiatives to engineering leadership and broader communities of practice.
• Participate in and present key initiatives to our senior leaders and software engineering community

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• High school diploma or GED required. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience preferred.
• 8+ years of relevant experience in software development for web-based applications, including 3+ years in a technical leadership or architecture role
• Experience establishing engineering standards, patterns and best practices with organizational and teamwork and collaboration skills, and strong attention to detail.
• Hands-on experience applying AI-assisted and agentic development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code) across the SDLC, including establishing guidelines for responsible use with measurable outcome, as well as integrating AI capabilities such as LLMs or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) into products
• Experience in modern .NET (8+), C#, SQL Server, and ASP.NET Core (MVC/Web API)
• Experience in modern Angular (v17+), TypeScript, HTML5, CSS
• Experience with Kafka, Docker, and Kubernetes
• Experience building and operating applications on Microsoft Azure
• Experience with Git-based platforms (e.g. GitLab), including branching strategies, merge requests and CI/CD integration
• Deep experience designing distributed systems, including microservices, event-driven architectures, and API design, with a focus on scalability, performance, and resilience
• Knowledge of secure software development practices (e.g., OWASP Top 10) and of the privacy, security, and accessibility (e.g., WCAG) requirements that apply to education and healthcare products
• Experience with observability and production operations, including monitoring, alerting, service-level objectives (SLOs), and leading incident response and post-incident reviews
• Deep experience designing distributed systems, including microservices, event-driven architectures, and API design, with a focus on scalability, performance, and resilience
• Knowledge of secure software development practices (e.g., OWASP Top 10) and of the privacy, security, and accessibility (e.g., WCAG) requirements that apply to education and healthcare products
• Experience with observability and production operations, including monitoring, alerting, service-level objectives (SLOs), and leading incident response and post-incident reviews
• Experience defining automated testing strategies (unit, integration, and end-to-end) and quality gates within CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform or Bicep) and an awareness of cloud cost management

HIRING RANGE

The current full-time, annualized base pay hiring range for this role is $134,600.00-$192,500.00. In accordance with applicable state laws, we are providing the expected pay range for this position. Individual compensation will be determined by various factors, including relevant experience, qualifications, current business needs and local market factors. Most regular, full-time employees are eligible to participate in an Ascend incentive bonus or sales plan.

BENEFITS

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Company paid life Insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and parental leave
• Employee assistance program
• Other wellness programs such as Headspace and Airvet
• Charitable matching program

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers. We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued, and be authentic. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S.-based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States, and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.