Principal Software Engineer — Tech Leader in Systems

OCLC; Dublin (OH); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site fitness center

Cafeteria subsidy

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Local tickets and memberships

Job summary

OCLC, a non-profit global technology company serving libraries, seeks a Principal Software Engineer to set the technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive complex distributed systems.

You will collaborate with leadership to define long-term strategy, lead architecture, and deliver high-quality software while embracing AI-enabled tools and modern development practices. The role offers hybrid work with on-site presence in Dublin, OH, and opportunities to influence global library technology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in computer science or related field.
• 12+ years of professional software development experience delivering complex enterprise systems.
• Expert-level Java programming with experience in Spring, Hibernate, RESTful APIs, and web services.
• Experience building front-end apps with React and TypeScript.
• Strong PostgreSQL data modelling, querying, and performance tuning.
• Experience designing, building, and operating distributed systems and microservices in Linux/Unix environments.
• Proficiency with Git-based workflows (GitHub, Bitbucket) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with testing frameworks (JUnit, Mockito) and build tools (Gradle, Maven).
• Ability to assess complex technical problems, articulate trade-offs, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives including AI tool integration.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical leader for Resource Sharing engineering initiatives delivering reliable, scalable software.
• Collaborate with Senior Architect to translate architecture into practical designs.
• Evaluate technical trade-offs, risks, and dependencies for complex initiatives.
• Lead development of distributed systems, microservices, APIs, integrations, and data platforms.
• Mentor and coach engineers to foster technical growth.
• Promote engineering quality, delivery standards, and security practices across teams.
• Drive collaborative technical discussions among engineering, product, and operations.
• Refine technical plans with product management and domain experts to align with customer needs.
• Research and adopt emerging technologies to improve software quality and capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate AI-enabled tools into the SDLC.

Skills

Java programming

Object-oriented design

Spring

Hibernate

RESTful APIs

Web services

React

TypeScript

PostgreSQL

Distributed systems

Linux/Unix

Git

CI/CD

JUnit

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related discipline

Tools

GitHub

Bitbucket

Gradle

Maven

JUnit

Mockito

Job description

OCLC, a non-profit global technology company serving libraries, seeks a Principal Software Engineer to set the technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive complex distributed systems.

You will collaborate with leadership to define long-term strategy, lead architecture, and deliver high-quality software while embracing AI-enabled tools and modern development practices. The role offers hybrid work with on-site presence in Dublin, OH, and opportunities to influence global library technology.