Principal Software Engineer

Okta Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 224,000 - 308,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus

Health insurance

401(k)

Job summary

Okta is seeking a Principal Engineer for the OIG team to drive end-to-end feature development for enterprise-grade identity governance at scale. You will shape architecture across access governance personas and collaborate with product, design, and QA to deliver secure, reliable, and scalable software used by thousands of enterprise customers.

The role emphasizes system thinking, craft in engineering, and leadership without formal authority, with a focus on multi-tenant security, RBAC/ABAC, and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with senior/leadership responsibilities.
• Experience architecting large-scale distributed systems in production for enterprise customers.
• Strong skills in microservices, event-driven architectures, APIs, and data modeling at scale.

Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of feature areas from design through post-launch monitoring.
• Design, build, and ship production-ready features across the OIG system with focus on reliability and performance.
• Write clean, well-tested code and maintain high engineering quality across teams.
• Collaborate with Product, QA, and SRE for scoping and deployment work.

Skills

Java

Kotlin

Go

Microservices

Event-driven

APIs

Data modeling

RBAC/ABAC

Distributed systems

Cloud-native

Education

B.S. Computer Science

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Kubernetes

Job description

Secure Every Identity, from AI to HumanIdentity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real-world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence.This is an opportunity to do career-defining work. We're all in on this mission. If you are too, let's talk.OpportunityAs a Principal Engineer on the OIG team, you will be involved into development, design, and maintenance of our product to serve enterprise customers at scale. You will involve the architecture and evolution of our product features — spanning the across different access governance personas — and work collaboratively across engineering, product, and design to deliver features that are secure, scalable, and delightful to use.This is a role for someone who thinks in systems, leads with craft, and is energized by the challenge of building enterprise-grade software that millions of users depend on.This is a rare opportunity to join a team where your technical decisions will directly shape how thousands of enterprises manage access governance at scale, where the technical challenges are genuinely hard, and where the work you ship will be seen and felt by real users every day.Job Duties And ResponsibilitiesTake end-to-end ownership of feature areas — from technical design through implementation, testing, deployment, and post-launch monitoringDesign, build, and ship high-quality, production-ready features across the OIG system, with a focus on correctness, reliability, and performanceQuickly deliver high-quality bug fixes and handle customer-reported issuesWrite clean, well-tested, maintainable code and hold yourself and teammates to a high bar for engineering qualityPartner with our Product Development, QA, and Site Reliability Engineering teams for scoping the development and deployment workRequired Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a senior or staff-level technical leadership roleProven track record of architecting and delivering large-scale, distributed systems in production environments serving enterprise customersDeep expertise in microservices, event-driven architectures, APIs, and data modeling at scaleStrong proficiency in one or more of: Java, Kotlin, Go, or equivalent JVM/cloud-native languages used in Okta's backend stackDemonstrated ability to influence without authority — driving technical alignment across multiple teams and stakeholdersExperience designing systems that meet enterprise reliability, scalability, and security requirements (think: multi-tenancy, high availability, audit logging, RBAC/ABAC)Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex technical topics accessible to both engineers and non-engineersPreferred if you have experience in any of the following!Experience building identity, access management, or governance (IAM/IGA) products or platformsFamiliarity with workflow engines or approval/routing systems (e.g., finite state machines, BPM-style systems)Experience with enterprise SaaS platforms serving large, complex customer organizationsHands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern observability toolingEducationB.S. Computer Science or equivalentAdditional requirements:There is no citizenship requirement. The Okta employee must be on US Soil, which means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or outlying areas of the United States, as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101#P25914_3566727The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay area is between: $224,000—$308,000 USDBelow is the annual base salary range for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington. Your actual base salary will depend on factors such as your skills, qualifications, experience, and work location. In addition, Okta offers equity (where applicable), bonus, and benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave (including PTO and parental leave) in accordance with our applicable plans and policies. To learn more about our Total Rewards program please visit: https://rewards.okta.com/us.The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Washington is between:$200,000—$275,000 USDThe Okta ExperienceSupporting Your Well-BeingDriving Social ImpactDeveloping Talent and Fostering Connection + CommunityWe are intentional about connection. Our global community, spanning over 20 offices worldwide, is united by a drive to innovate. Your journey begins with an immersive, in-person onboarding experience designed to accelerate your impact and connect you to our mission and team from day one.Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.If reasonable accommodation is needed to complete any part of the job application, interview process, or onboarding please use this Form to request an accommodation.Notice for New York City Applicants & Employees: Okta may use Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT), as defined by New York City Local Law 144, that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, or other automated processes to assist in our recruitment and hiring process. In accordance with NYC Local Law 144, if you are an applicant or employee residing in New York City, pleaseOktaThe foundation for secure connections between people and technologyOkta is the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With over 7,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta customers can easily and securely use the best technologies for their business. More than 19,300 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Slack, T-Mobile, Takeda, Teach for America, and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.