Principal Systems Engineer AI-Driven, Cloud & Distributed

Vantor; Westminster (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

Mental health resources

Student loan repayment assistance

Adoption reimbursement

Pet insurance

Job summary

Vantor is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead design and delivery of complex software-intensive systems across cloud platforms and mission environments. You will partner with engineering, product, and architecture leaders to define system behavior, establish direction, and ensure scalable, resilient software aligned with customer outcomes.

You will balance engineering rigor with product velocity, simplify complexity, and drive architectures that enable independent teams to deliver cohesive

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a technical field.
• Experience architecting and delivering large-scale software systems.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional or cross-domain initiatives.
• Strong understanding of modern software architecture and distributed systems.
• Experience leading architecture reviews and design decisions.
• Ability to define system boundaries, interfaces, and integration strategies.
• Solid understanding of software development, deployment, and operational readiness.
• Effective communication with engineers, product leaders, customers, and executives.
• Ability to lead through influence across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical design and delivery of complex, cross-domain software systems.
• Define system architecture, integration strategy, and technical direction across multiple teams.
• Translate ambiguous customer and mission problems into scalable technical solutions.
• Lead architecture trade studies and critical design decisions across priorities.
• Drive system decomposition, interfaces, and integration planning for distributed systems.
• Partner with Product to validate needs and ensure capabilities address real problems.
• Identify and mitigate architectural and operational risks early.
• Shape technical direction across product portfolios or strategic domains.
• Elevate engineering quality through architecture, standards, and mentorship.

Skills

Software architecture

Technical leadership

Distributed systems

Architecture reviews

System interfaces

DevOps

Communication

Influence

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Vantor is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead design and delivery of complex software-intensive systems across cloud platforms and mission environments. You will partner with engineering, product, and architecture leaders to define system behavior, establish direction, and ensure scalable, resilient software aligned with customer outcomes.

You will balance engineering rigor with product velocity, simplify complexity, and drive architectures that enable independent teams to deliver cohesive