Principal Software Engineer

SmithRx; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative health-tech company is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead multi-team initiatives and shape the future of engineering. This role involves influencing technical strategy, mentoring engineers, and ensuring high-quality system design. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in software architecture, machine learning, and natural language processing. Join a mission-driven team dedicated to transforming the healthcare sector through cutting-edge technology and collaborative culture. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in a rapidly growing organization while working on complex challenges that drive business success.

Benefits

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

401(k) Retirement Savings Program

Paid Time Off

Paid Holidays

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Assistance Program

Professional Development Opportunities

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software engineering experience with leadership in complex systems.
• Expertise in system architecture, including scalability and reliability.

Responsibilities

• Drive technical strategies for multi-year initiatives aligning with company goals.
• Mentor engineers and set standards for engineering excellence.

Skills

Software Design

System Architecture

Machine Learning

Natural Language Processing

Problem-Solving

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Advanced Degree in Computer Science

Tools

Machine Learning Frameworks

Testing Frameworks

Job description

SmithRx is a rapidly growing, venture-backed Health-Tech company. Our mission is to disrupt the expensive and inefficient Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) sector by building a next-generation drug acquisition platform driven by cutting edge technology, innovative cost saving tools, and best-in-class customer service. With hundreds of thousands of members onboarded since 2016, SmithRx has a solution that is resonating with clients all across the country.

We pride ourselves for our mission-driven and collaborative culture that inspires our employees to do their best work. We believe that the U.S healthcare system is in need of transformation, and we come to work each day dedicated to making that change a reality. At our core, we are guided by our company values:

• Integrity: Always operate with honesty and transparency so we earn the trust of our clients.
• Courage: Demonstrate the courage needed to take on a broken industry and continuously improve what we offer to optimize health outcomes.
• Together: Foster a collaborative and inclusive environment that values teamwork, respect, and open communication, and encourages creativity and diversity of thought.

Job Summary:

As a Principal Software Engineer at SmithRx, you will be a technical leader driving multi-year, multi-team initiatives that shape the future of our engineering organization and business. You will influence the technical strategy across teams and work closely with senior leadership in engineering, product, and design to align technical direction with company goals. Your work will unlock new business opportunities through innovative technical capabilities, and you will ensure the long-term health and quality of our systems.

This role requires exceptional leadership, technical depth, and strategic foresight to guide the design, execution, and evolution of complex systems. You will mentor and collaborate with engineers across the organization, set standards for engineering excellence, and lead the charge in delivering high-quality, scalable, and impactful solutions.

In order to be eligible for this position applicants must be based in one of the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

What you will do:

Technical Leadership

• Define and align technical strategies for multi-year, multi-team initiatives with broader company goals.
• Own technology decisions for large-scale architectures, including frameworks and build-versus-buy choices for key components.
• Design systems with high reliability, scalability, and long-term maintainability, incorporating staged validation plans where necessary.
• Ensure engineering quality through regular health reviews, curated testing strategies, and technical documentation that supports maintainability independent of your expertise.
• Drive overall testing strategies for systems requiring high reliability or quality, including creating validation frameworks or systems.
• Design platforms with long-term maintainability and embedded ML components, ensuring anomaly detection and NLP features were both scalable and production-ready.
• Collaborate with machine learning engineers to design, validate, and deploy ML-based anomaly detection systems, ensuring performance met system SLAs.
• Employ systems-level mindset to integrate ML in production environments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Directors, product managers, and design leadership to ensure alignment on technical strategy and business objectives.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify and deliver new business opportunities enabled by technical capabilities.
• Influence product decisions, scope, and technical trade-offs to prioritize customer value without compromising quality.

Organizational Impact

• Drive technical choices that have sweeping implications across the engineering organization, rallying teams around clear rationales and technical visions.
• Proactively identify and refocus engineering efforts when projects are off-course or not driving meaningful business impact.
• Partner with senior leadership to define a long-term vision for engineering teams that aligns with business and market opportunities.

Mentorship and Advocacy

• Serve as a mentor and technical guide for engineers at all levels, fostering a culture of learning and growth.
• Champion engineering excellence by setting high standards for system design, coding, testing, and operational practices.

What you will bring to SmithRx:

Qualifications

• BS or advanced degree in computer science or applicable experience.
• 15 years required, or 12+ years with an advanced degree of software engineering experience, including leading large-scale, complex systems or initiatives.
• Expertise in system architecture, including design for scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Proficiency in evaluating build-versus-buy decisions and choosing frameworks/tools for diverse use cases.
• Proven ability to design systems that address ambiguous or novel challenges, using research and validation plans to guide execution.
• Experience driving the overall health and quality of systems, including testing strategies and technical documentation.
• Strong ability to influence and align technical and product strategies across teams and stakeholders.

Key Skills

• Deep technical expertise in software design and architecture.
• Experience with Machine Learning concepts and their application in software systems.
• Familiarity with Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and their use cases.
• Experience in developing and deploying anomaly detection algorithms.
• Exceptional problem-solving and decision-making skills, especially in situations with no clear “right” answer.
• Strong communication skills to rally teams, explain complex concepts, and build alignment across organizations.
• A track record of identifying opportunities to meet customer needs through technical capabilities and driving meaningful results.

What SmithRx Offers You:

• Highly competitive wellness benefits including Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance and AD&D Insurance.
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Program.
• Short-term and long-term disability.
• Discretionary Paid Time Off.
• 12 Paid Holidays.
• Paid Parental Leave benefits.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Well-stocked kitchen in office locations.
• Professional development and training opportunities.

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Our company is currently able to offer remote employment for this position in the following states: AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, KS, MN, MO, NV, OH, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI. In what state do you currently live? * Select...

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As set forth in SmithRx’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.