Principal Software Engineer

C.H. Robinson Worldwide; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 128,000 - 296,000; Full time

Job summary

C.H. Robinson Worldwide is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for our Documents and Customs services within Global Forwarding. You will architect, design, and deliver high-impact, scalable systems spanning frontend, backend, and data layers.

Collaborate with product, UX, data science, and engineering teams to embed AI into software processes and improve reliability. You will lead with technical excellence, mentor engineers, and drive architectural decisions across multiple teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years designing and implementing large-scale distributed software systems.
• Proficiency with .NET Core and C#.
• Experience with microservices, CQRS, event-driven design.
• Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Experience deploying cloud-native apps on Azure/AWS/GCP.
• Familiar with AI-assisted development tools and AI/ML integration.
• Excellent communication with executives, engineers and product managers.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement architecture patterns for reliable full-stack systems.
• Build scalable UI components, optimize APIs and backend services.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI and automation in software development.
• Collaborate with Product, UX, Data Science, and Engineering teams.
• Mentor engineering teams and promote best practices in testing and deployment.
• Ensure high availability and perform root cause analysis.
• Document architecture and drive knowledge sharing.

Skills

Distributed systems

C#/.NET Core

Microservices

CI/CD

Cloud platforms

Testing

Communication to leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / Software Engineering / MIS

Tools

Git

GitHub

TFS

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

Terraform

Kafka

Job description

C. H Robinson is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for our Documents and Customs services, which are core capabilities and service lines of our Global Forwarding division. Our Lean AI culture focuses on outcomes and data driven methods to generate high value at an accelerated pace. We work alongside our business users and senior leadership to build better processes and technology solutions. You will collaborate with Product Managers, UX designers, data scientists, and other engineering teams to design, build, and deliver high-impact, scalable solutions. In this role, you will work across the stack to architect reliable, high-performance systems, ensuring long-term maintainability and adaptability to evolving business needs. As a Principal Software Engineer, you help foster a culture of excellence with your deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership to drive innovation, embed AI into software engineering process. If you are someone who is comfortable using modern AI development tools, and is genuinely curious about how to build reliable, production-grade applications in an enterprise environment, let’s talk! This role may be located only in Minnesota, Chicago or Kansas City.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Define and implement architecture patterns that ensure reliability, maintainability, and extensibility of full-stack applications.
• Build efficient and reusable UI components, optimize API performance, and architect backend services for scalability, security, and performance.
• Identify opportunities to integrate AI and automation in software development, such as code intelligence, predictive analytics, and operational efficiency improvements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Product, UX, Data Science, and Engineering) to align technical direction with business priorities and product vision.
• Encourage a culture of innovation by adopting a data-driven approach, conducting experiments, and iterating rapidly on features.
• Effectively communicate technical trade-offs, design decisions, and architectural vision to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, architectural diagrams, and design guidelines to drive consistency and knowledge sharing.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineering teams, ensuring best practices in development, testing, and deployment.
• Ensure high availability of systems, troubleshoot production incidents if needed, and drive permanent fixes through root cause analysis.
• Build strong, productive partnerships with multiple engineering teams and divisions, driving alignment and technical excellence across the organization.
• Research, evaluate, and adopt new engineering tools, technologies, and methodologies to enhance developer productivity and system efficiency.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience designing and implementing large-scale, distributed software systems that span multiple platforms.
• 10+ years of experience with modern development languages (e.g., .NET Core, C#).
• Strong expertise in relational (MS SQL, Oracle) and non-relational databases (MongoDB, Elastic, CosmosDB), with a focus on scalability and performance optimization.
• Deep understanding of microservices architecture, CQRS, event-driven design, and eventually consistent system patterns.
• Experience with data streaming architectures and frameworks (e.g., Kafka, ESB, Apache Flink).
• Familiarity with AI/ML-driven engineering practices, including leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, CodeWhisperer) and embedding AI/ML models into applications for automation and intelligence.
• Expertise in testing strategies, automated testing frameworks, acceptance criteria definition, and reviewing test automation for high-quality software delivery.
• Proficiency with version control systems (e.g., Git, GitHub, TFS) and best practices in branching strategies and collaboration.
• Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and infrastructure automation (e.g., GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Terraform).
• Experience building and deploying cloud-native applications and services on Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Hands-on experience in end-to-end feature development, including API design, backend services, and frontend integration.
• Experience in troubleshooting complex distributed systems, participating in on-call rotations, and leading post-mortems and root cause analysis for permanent fixes.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts effectively to diverse audiences, including executives, engineers, and product managers.
• Proven track record of delivering results in fast-paced environments, managing multiple priorities, and driving technical excellence.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or MIS.

Preferred Qualifications

• In-depth knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript and modern JavaScript libraries and tooling (e.g., React).
• Robust design and UX/product sensibilities.
• Experience with AI-powered observability and anomaly detection in monitoring and incident response workflows.
• Experience working on large-scale open source or inner source software development.
• Contributions to open-source projects, publicly available frameworks and/or patents.

Values a diverse and inclusive work environment

Compensation Range $127,500.00 - $295,900.00 The base pay range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum base pay for the position across all U.S. locations. Your individual base pay within this range is determined by work location, which takes into account geographic cost of labor, and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the base pay only and do not include additional variable compensation.

Questioning if you meet the mark? Studies have shown that some individuals may be less likely to apply unless they match the job description exactly. Here at C.H. Robinson, we’re building an inclusive workplace where all employees feel they belong. If this position excites you, you may just be our next great fit!

Equal Opportunity C.H. Robinson is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to a workplace and performance culture that reflects the strengths of our worldwide marketplace. We value unique experiences and diverse backgrounds of our people within our company, our business relationships, and our communities. We’re committed to providing an inclusive environment, free from harassment and discrimination, where all employees feel welcomed, valued and respected.

EOE\Disabled\Veteran Benefits

• Your Health, Wealth and Self Your total wellbeing is the foundation of our business, and our benefits support your financial, family and personal goals.
• We provide the top-tier benefits that matter to you most, including:
• Three medical plans which include Prescription drug coverage
• Enhanced Fertility benefits
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Account (including employer contribution)
• Dental and Vision
• Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Paid observed holidays
• 2 paid floating holidays for U.S. hourly employees
• Flexible Time Off (FTO) offered to U.S. salaried employees — no accruals and no caps.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) offered to all other employees in the U.S. and Canada
• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off to volunteer in your community
• Charitable Giving Match Program
• 401(k) with 6% company matching
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Plus a broad range of career development, networking, and team-building opportunities

Learn more about our benefit offerings on our BENEFITS & WELLBEING page

Why Do You Belong at C.H. Robinson?

C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for companies across the globe and across industries, from the simple to the most complex. With $22 billion in freight under management and 19 million shipments annually, we are one of the world’s largest logistics platforms and rank in the FORTUNE 200. We’ve been an innovator in logistics for over 100 years. Our global suite of services accelerates trade to seamlessly deliver the products and goods that drive the world’s economy.

With the combination of our multimodal transportation management system and expertise, we use our information advantage to deliver smarter solutions for more than 90,000 customers and 450,000 contract carriers on our platform. Our technology is built by and for supply chain experts to bring faster, more meaningful improvements to our customers’ businesses.

As a responsible global citizen, we contribute millions of dollars to support causes that matter to us and our people. FORTUNE has named C.H. Robinson one of the World’s Most Admired Companies 2024, showcasing our position as a leader in our industry. Our commitment to excellence is further affirmed by being named a Great Place to Work 2023-24 by the Great Place to Work Institute, one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity and one of America’s Greatest Workplaces in 2023 by Newsweek.

Join us as we collaborate, innovate, and work as one global team to make life better and more sustainable for our customers, communities, and world. For more information, visit us at www.chrobinson.com.