Principal Software Engineer – Developer Experience

Jobtailor

Missouri

On-site

USD 150,000 - 190,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Principal Engineer to set and lead the technical strategy for platform tooling, CI/CD, and AI-enabled development across the organization. You will mentor teams, drive adoption of golden paths, and shape reference architectures.

This role requires deep systems thinking, strong communication, and a track record of delivering scalable distributed systems. Based in the United States, Missouri, you will partner with product, security, and infrastructure leaders to

Qualifications

Proven experience as Principal Engineer or senior technical leader.
Strong systems thinking and product mindset.
Experience integrating AI/ML into engineering workflows or rapid ramp-up ability.
Technical leadership without formal authority, mentoring and roadmaps.
Excellent communication skills.
10+ years in software development, with senior-level roles.
Proficiency in at least one modern language (Java/Go/C#/Python/TypeScript).
Experience designing and operating distributed systems and CI/CD pipelines.
Hands-on with developer platforms and SDLC tooling (GitHub/GitLab, Jira/ADO, artifacts, secrets, feature flags).
Must not require GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future.

Responsibilities

Set and lead technical strategy for platforms, tools, and workflows improving productivity.
Define and drive adoption of golden paths for repo structure, CI/CD, testing, security.
Build automation and self-service capabilities reducing manual toil.
Lead AI embedding into engineering workflows (agents, copilots).
Partner with product, security, infrastructure to translate pain points into improvements.
Mentor engineers across IT on engineering practices and AI-assisted development.
Define and own outcome-focused engineering metrics.
Shape and govern engineering standards and reference architectures.

Skills

Technical leadership

AI/ML integration

CI/CD design

Distributed systems

Software development

Mentoring engineers

Communication skills

Systems thinking

Product mindset

Cross-team alignment

Modern languages

Developer tooling

Tools

GitHub

GitLab

Jira

ADO

CI/CD systems

Artifact repositories

Secrets management

Feature flags

Job description

Set and lead technical strategy and delivery for platforms, tools, and workflows improving developer productivity, quality, and satisfaction across GM
Define and drive adoption of golden paths covering repository structure, CI/CD, testing, security, observability, and deployment
Build automation and self-service capabilities reducing manual toil, including environment provisioning, pipeline setup, guardrail enforcement, and standards checks
Lead strategy for embedding AI into engineering workflows, including agents and copilots for planning, coding, testing, documentation, and operations
Partner with and influence product, security, infrastructure, and application leaders to translate pain points into platform and tooling improvements
Mentor and coach engineers across IT on software engineering, AI-assisted development, and recommended practices
Define and own outcome-focused engineering metrics and use data to guide investments
Shape and govern engineering standards, patterns, and reference architectures across Core IT and beyond

Requirements

Proven experience as a Principal Engineer or senior technical leader driving technical strategy and execution across multiple teams or organizations
Strong systems thinking and product mindset
Experience using and integrating AI/ML into engineering workflows, or strong evidence of ability to ramp quickly
Technical leadership without formal authority, including mentoring, design reviews, roadmap influence, and cross-team alignment
Excellent communication skills
10+ years of experience in software development, including significant time in senior/staff/principal-level roles
Strong proficiency in at least one modern language, such as Java, Go, C#, Python, or TypeScript
Experience designing, building, and operating distributed systems in production
Deep experience designing and operating modern CI/CD pipelines and release processes
Hands-on experience with developer platforms and SDLC tooling, such as GitHub/GitLab, CI/CD systems, Jira/ADO, artifact repositories, secrets management, and feature flags
Must not require GM immigration-related sponsorship now or in the future

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in technical strategy and execution, with a focus on AI integration, CI/CD processes, and developer productivity. Proven ability to mentor engineers and influence cross-functional teams to drive platform improvements and engineering standards.

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