Remote Principal Software Engineer - AI-Driven Systems Lead

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Shaping future tech

Collaborative leadership

AI/ML technologies

Strategic impact

Mission-driven work

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Principal Software Engineer, Product Engineering to shape technical direction across teams and stay deeply engaged in hands-on development of critical product systems. You will partner with Product and Engineering leadership to define long-term strategy, tackle ambiguous technical challenges, and influence how new capabilities are built and scaled.

Location: Remote. Compensation: $160,000 - $200,000 annually.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Computer Science or related field; equivalent industry experience.
• 15+ years designing and evolving large-scale software systems.
• Proven success at Principal level, influencing long-term technical direction.
• Strong background in consumer-facing products with focus on UX and reliability.
• Broad technical expertise across frontend, mobile, databases, and distributed systems.
• Experience with modern ML and LLM-based APIs in production environments.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to senior audiences.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive technical outcomes across multiple teams, impacting customers and business at scale.
• Define long-term technical strategy with Product and Engineering leaders.
• Address ambiguous technical and product challenges, shaping what and how the company builds.
• Remain hands-on in software development for critical and complex components.
• Align roadmaps across organizations, resolving bottlenecks in operations.
• Architect and evolve foundational systems for new product capabilities at scale.
• Model high engineering standards and execution rigor in distributed environments.
• Drive AI adoption to enhance productivity and develop AI-based features.

Skills

Hands-on coding

System architecture

Technical leadership

Communication

AI/ML familiarity

Cross-team collaboration

Education

Advanced degree in Computer Science

Tools

Frontend

Mobile

Databases

Distributed systems

ML APIs

LLM APIs

Job description

Ladders is seeking a Principal Software Engineer, Product Engineering to shape technical direction across teams and stay deeply engaged in hands-on development of critical product systems. You will partner with Product and Engineering leadership to define long-term strategy, tackle ambiguous technical challenges, and influence how new capabilities are built and scaled.

Location: Remote. Compensation: $160,000 - $200,000 annually.