Principal Software Engineer — AI-Driven Microservices Leader

OCLC; Dublin (OH); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

OCLC is a global library technology leader dedicated to connecting libraries and expanding access to knowledge. This Principal Software Engineer will set technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive scalable, secure distributed systems and AI-enabled tooling.

You will partner with product, research, and operations to shape roadmaps, evaluate trade-offs, and ensure delivery of high‑quality software. This hybrid role based in Dublin, OH offers collaboration with teams worldwide and a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of professional software development experience.
• Expert-level Java programming with Spring/Hibernate and RESTful APIs.
• Experience building front-end apps with React and TypeScript.
• Strong PostgreSQL data modeling and query optimization experience.
• Experience with distributed systems, microservices, Linux/Unix, and Git-based workflows.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing (JUnit/Mockito), and build tools (Gradle/Maven).
• Ability to mentor engineers, lead initiatives, and influence practices across teams.
• Experience evaluating AI tools and incorporating AI concepts in lifecycle workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical direction and mentor engineers across teams.
• Translate architectural direction into practical, scalable designs.
• Evaluate trade-offs, risks, and dependencies for complex initiatives.
• Lead development on distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and data platforms.
• Promote quality, security, and operational excellence across engineering.
• Foster collaborative decision-making with product and operations.
• Align technical plans with customer and organizational needs.
• Research and adopt emerging technologies and practices.

Skills

Java

Object-Oriented Design

Design Patterns

Spring Framework

Spring Boot

Spring MVC

Spring Data

Hibernate

RESTful APIs

Web Services

PostgreSQL

Data Modeling

Query Optimization

Linux/Unix

Git

Bitbucket

GitHub

Distributed Systems

Microservices

React

TypeScript

CI/CD

JUnit

Mockito

Gradle

Maven

AI Tools

Cursor

Claude Code

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Git

Bitbucket

GitHub

Jira

Confluence

Gradle

Maven

JUnit

Mockito

PostgreSQL

Spring

Hibernate

Job description

OCLC is a global library technology leader dedicated to connecting libraries and expanding access to knowledge. This Principal Software Engineer will set technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive scalable, secure distributed systems and AI-enabled tooling.

You will partner with product, research, and operations to shape roadmaps, evaluate trade-offs, and ensure delivery of high‑quality software. This hybrid role based in Dublin, OH offers collaboration with teams worldwide and a