Principal Software Engineer - Platform Engineering
SAP
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Job summary
SAP Business Network in Palo Alto is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead design and delivery of mission-critical features for the US Navy PPS program. You will set technical direction for the team and ensure secure, reliable software in a government context.
You'll drive architecture, mentor engineers, and collaborate with product, security, and customer teams to deliver scalable procurement technology at enterprise scale.
Qualifications
- U.S. Citizenship required due to government engagements.
- 10+ years of professional software development experience.
- Expert-level proficiency in Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python.
- Deep knowledge of distributed systems, microservices, RESTful/OData APIs, and cloud platforms (SAP BTP, AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Extensive experience with event-driven architectures, Kafka, asynchronous communication, and reliable event processing.
- Experience with long-running distributed workflows, Temporal or similar orchestration tech, focusing on reliability and recovery.
- Experience leading data platform migrations to Databricks with data integrity and performance considerations.
- Proven ability to manage high-complexity technical projects and milestones.
- Strong communication skills and ability to represent SAP to customers and partners.
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in CS/SE or related discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end design and delivery of complex features for SAP Business Network on US Navy PPS program.
- Drive architectural decisions ensuring alignment with platform standards and government security requirements.
- Serve as escalation point for complex engineering issues with definitive guidance.
- Define deliverables and provide strategic technical recommendations for future architecture.
- Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and promote Agile practices across teams.
- Apply knowledge to evaluate industry trends and guide teams beyond immediate scope.
- Champion continuous improvement in development methodologies, tooling, and QA.
- Manage high-risk, high-volume projects with milestone tracking and status updates for stakeholders.
- Represent SAP as senior technical liaison to US Navy customers and partners.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
We help the world run better At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging - but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.
This is a hybrid role based out of Palo Alto, CA. Hybrid is 3 days a week onsite, 2 days a week remote.
to serve as a senior technical leader on the US Navy Business Network (PPS) program. One of SAP's highest-priority and most strategically significant government engagements.
In this role, you will own the concept, design, and delivery of complex product features within SAP Business Network. Setting the technical direction for the team and ensuring that engineering outcomes meet both SAP's quality standards and the exacting demands of a mission-critical government customer. You will be recognized internally and externally as a subject matter expert, providing definitive technical guidance and advancing innovation across the program.
SAP Business Network connects buyers and suppliers globally, enabling seamless procurement, invoicing, and supply chain collaboration at enterprise scale. The US Navy Business Network (PPS) program extends this platform to one of the world's most complex procurement environments. Requiring deep technical expertise, rigorous security compliance, and the ability to deliver reliable software in a regulated government context.
As a Principal Software Engineer, you will work at the intersection of product innovation and mission-critical reliability.
- Lead the technical design and end-to-end delivery of complex product features within SAP Business Network for the US Navy PPS program, including concept, architecture, coding, testing, and quality assurance.
- Drive architectural and technical decisions for program components, ensuring alignment with SAP Business Network platform standards, product strategy, and government security requirements.
- Serve as the primary technical escalation point for complex engineering issues, providing expert guidance and definitive technical direction to the development team.
- Define technical deliverables and provide strategic recommendations that influence future product and architectural decisions.
- Provide technical leadership across the engineering organization, mentoring and upskilling senior developers while establishing a culture of engineering excellence and well-developed Agile practices.
- Apply expert-level product and technical knowledge to evaluate industry trends, solve complex problems, and guide teams beyond the immediate scope of the role.
- Champion continuous improvement across development methodologies, tooling, automation, and quality assurance practices to establish state-of-the-art software engineering processes.
- Manage high-volume, high-risk, and complex projects, maintaining milestone tracking, project status, and technical updates for program management and key stakeholders.
- Serve as SAP's senior technical representative to US Navy customers and strategic partners. Building trusted relationships and communicating technical direction, delivery progress, and quality expectations.
- U.S. Citizenship: Must be a U.S. Citizen due to the requirements associated with supporting U.S. public sector customers and government environments.
- 10+ years of professional software development experience with a proven track record of leading complex, enterprise-scale product delivery
- Expert-level proficiency in one or more of: Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, or equivalent languages in a cloud-native production environment
- Deep knowledge of distributed systems architecture, microservices design, RESTful/OData API development, and modern cloud platforms (SAP BTP, AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Extensive experience designing and implementing event-driven architectures, including Kafka-based event streaming, asynchronous communication, and reliable event processing across distributed systems.
- Strong experience with long-running, distributed workflows, including Temporal or similar workflow orchestration technologies, with a focus on reliability, fault tolerance, state management, and recovery.
- Experience leading or contributing to large-scale data platform migrations, including migration from legacy or existing data platforms to Databricks, with consideration for data integrity, performance, scalability, and operational continuity.
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-complexity technical projects, define deliverables, and ensure milestones are met within approved scope
- Robust communication skills: able to formulate clear technical plans, communicate with constructive feedback, and represent SAP credibly to customers and partners
- Comfortable with both deep technical contribution and cross-functional stakeholder management
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline (or equivalent practical experience)
- Hands-on product development experience with SAP Business Network, SAP Ariba, or related procurement platforms
- Prior experience delivering software for government, defense, or other regulated industry customers
- Familiarity with SAP BTP services, CAPM framework, SAP Integration Suite, event-driven architecture, and long running workflows.
- Experience acting as a Scrum Master or technical servant-leader within an agile/LEAN development team
- Knowledge of procurement, supply chain, or spend management domain processes
You will join SAP Business Network's engineering organization in Palo Alto, contributing as a senior technical leader on the US Navy Business Network (PPS). The team is constructed of skilled engineers passionate about building enterprise-grade procurement technology that operates at government scale.
You will collaborate closely with product management, solution architects, security and compliance specialists, and directly with US Navy customer stakeholders. Making a tangible impact on how global procurement operates for one of the world's most complex organizations.
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.
SAP's culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.
SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: Careers@sap.com.
For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability.
SAP believes the value of pay transparency contributes towards an honest and supportive culture and is a significant step towards demonstrating SAP's commitment to pay equity. SAP provides the annualized compensation range inclusive of base salary and variable incentive target for the career level applicable to the posted role. The targeted annual combined range for this position is 198200-420000USD. The actual amount to be offered to the successful candidate will be within that range, dependent upon the key aspects of each case which may include education, skills, experience, scope of the role, location, etc. as determined through the selection process. Any SAP variable incentive includes a targeted dollar amount and any actual payout amount is dependent on company and personal performance. Please reference this link for a summary of SAP benefits and eligibility requirements: SAP North America Benefits.
For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.
Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.
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