Principal Software Engineer - Platform, APIs, Distributed Systems (Tech Lead)

Evolution USA; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Evolution USA is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the design and build of a developer platform for complex systems. This hands-on role involves API design, managing reusable components, and defining how the platform evolves over time.

Your background should include substantial experience in platform engineering and backend systems. The position requires operational capability as a technical lead and involves coaching engineers, ensuring effective system design.

Qualifications

• Experience building platforms, backend systems, or distributed services.
• Strong experience with API design for other engineers/teams.
• Hands-on coding experience at Principal level.

Responsibilities

• Design APIs and data models used by multiple engineering teams.
• Define API contracts, versioning strategy, and backward compatibility.
• Coach engineers and influence platform design standards.

Skills

Experience building platforms

Strong experience with API design

Hands-on coding experience

Ability to operate as a technical lead

Job description

Build the Platform Other Engineers Depend On

We’re hiring a Principal Software Engineer (Technical Lead) to design and build a developer platform that powers how complex systems are created, versioned, and reused.

This is a deeply hands-on platform engineering role, focused on API design, distributed systems, and internal developer platforms, not just building services, but defining how they evolve over time.

You’ll take technical ownership of a core platform system responsible for:

• Designing APIs and data models used by multiple engineering teams
• Building a registry-style system for managing reusable components and dependencies
• Defining API contracts, versioning strategy, and backward compatibility
• Working across teams to ensure systems are composable, scalable, and reliable
• Making practical trade-offs between architecture and delivery
• Coaching engineers and influencing platform design standards

What You’ll Work On

• Distributed systems and backend services
• Internal developer platforms and tooling
• Data modeling and workflow systems
• Dependency management and system evolution

Your Background

• Experience building platforms, backend systems, or distributed services
• Strong experience with API design for other engineers / teams
• Experience with API lifecycle (versioning, backward compatibility, evolution)
• Hands‑on coding experience at Principal level
• Ability to operate as a technical lead / architect in an IC capacity

Preferred

• Experience with internal platforms, developer tooling, or shared services
• Exposure to registries, workflows, schemas, or artifact systems
• Understanding of service dependencies and system design trade-offs
• Experience building systems that must be secure and safe for external use

What Makes This Role Different

This isn’t a clean, greenfield build.

You’ll be working on a platform that is:

• Actively used today
• Still evolving
• Not yet “perfect”

Success here requires:

• Knowing what good architecture looks like
• Being able to build towards it incrementally
• Deciding what to fix now, and what to leave for later

Who This Is Ideal For

• Principal Engineers who enjoy platform engineering and system design
• Engineers who have owned APIs, internal platforms, or shared services
• Tech Leads who want to stay hands‑on with distributed systems
• Candidates who have experienced API evolution, migrations, or system redesign
• Engineers moving from large environments who want more ownership and impact