Principal Software Engineer

Cigna; Paterson (NJ); On-site; USD 181,000 - 266,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship

Benefits

Flexible schedule

Job summary

At Cigna, a Senior Principal Software Engineer in Paterson, NJ will tackle complex, scalable problems across the tech stack. You will optimize performance, improve CI/CD pipelines, and mentor engineers through real Rails and Kotlin workloads.

You’ll translate vague product needs into concrete, shippable services and drive reliability through better test automation. This temporary role emphasizes ownership, scrappy execution, and a path toward scalable, durable solutions for Paterson teams.

Qualifications

• Written communication clear enough to survive a forwarded email chain.
• 9+ years building trust the slow, unglamorous way.
• Ability to learn new technology systems quickly and apply them effectively.
• Grit to debug at 4pm on a Friday without complaint.

Responsibilities

• Optimize application performance, latency, and resource utilization at scale.
• Maintain and improve CI/CD infrastructure across NJ engineering teams.
• Mentor the principal cohort through their first real Ruby on Rails on-call at Cigna.
• Enhance test automation frameworks to increase release confidence.
• Carry features from whiteboard sketch to Paterson, NJ production without dropping the baton.
• Read RabbitMQ stack traces others skim past, and trace bugs to their root.
• Translate fuzzy product wishes from Cigna stakeholders into shippable Kotlin services.

Skills

Written communication

Trust-building

Grit under pressure

Learning agility

Paterson network

Tools

Kotlin

Ruby on Rails

TypeScript

RabbitMQ

Job description

This temporary Principal Software Engineer seat at Cigna pays $181,000 - $266,000 and comes with a backlog of genuinely interesting technology problems. Think $181,000 - $266,000, think temporary hours, think 8 years of TypeScript turning into ownership you can actually feel at Cigna.

Key Responsibilities

• Optimize application performance, latency, and resource utilization at scale
• Maintain and improve CI/CD infrastructure across NJ engineering teams
• Mentor the principal cohort through their first real Ruby on Rails on-call at Cigna
• Enhance test automation frameworks to increase release confidence
• Carry features from whiteboard sketch to Paterson, NJ production without dropping the baton
• Read the RabbitMQ stack traces others skim past, and trace bugs to their root
• Translate fuzzy product wishes from Cigna stakeholders into shippable Kotlin services

What You'll Bring

• Written communication clear enough to survive a forwarded email chain
• 9+ years building trust the slow, unglamorous way
• The grit to debug at 4pm on a Friday without complaint
• Ability to learn new technology systems quickly and apply them effectively
• 8 years that taught you which corners can be cut
• A Cigna mindset: scrappy today, scalable tomorrow
• A Paterson network, or the hustle to build one from scratch

Our team at Cigna is solutions-focused, collaborative, and proud to call Paterson, NJ home. Our team in NJ keeps a running list of what we'd do differently, and we actually act on it.

Our Cigna offer leans on substance: $181,000 - $266,000, mentorship, benefits, and a flexible schedule that respects Paterson life.

We just reopened this Principal Software Engineer req and are eager to meet new people.