Senior Principal Engineer, Ad Tech Platform Leader

Target; City of Albany (NY); Hybrid; USD 27,552 - 41,328; Full time

Job summary

Target is seeking a Principal Engineer in New York, NY, to guide ad-tech systems strategy and build scalable software and infrastructure across multiple portfolios. You will lead technical directions, help select technologies, and mentor engineers while driving business impact.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, architectural leadership, and external community engagement, with hybrid or remote work options.

Qualifications

• MS in computer science or equivalent work experience.
• 10+ years of experience in technology development or services.
• 4+ years of experience in strategic planning and setting technical direction.
• Proven success solving complex technical problems across multiple technical or functional areas.
• Deep knowledge of ad tech industry basics and translating vision into technical strategy with financial implications.
• Experience building or integrating DSP, SSP, ad server platforms for self-serve advertising.
• Experience with scalable, high-performance distributed systems and OO tech like Java/Scala/SQL, Postgre, MongoDB, Cassandra, graph databases; Kubernetes; Cloud.
• Strong leadership, influencing others, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication to convey complex solutions.
• Strong planning and organizational abilities.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to set the technology strategy for ad tech systems.
• Evaluate build vs. buy decisions for new capabilities and prototypes.
• Define how software and infrastructure engineering efforts are designed, developed, and operationalized across portfolios.
• Lead and approve engineering efforts to meet requirements and solve business challenges with advanced solutions.
• Work with engineering leaders to build a high-performing team and provide technical leadership.
• Act as a thought leader and contribute to the external technical community.

Skills

Leadership abilities

Interpersonal skills

Problem-solving

Verbal and written communication

Strategic planning

Team building

Technical leadership

Education

MS in computer science or equivalent

Tools

Java/Scala/SQL

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Cassandra

Graph databases

Kubernetes

Cloud technologies

Job description

Target is seeking a Principal Engineer in New York, NY, to guide ad-tech systems strategy and build scalable software and infrastructure across multiple portfolios. You will lead technical directions, help select technologies, and mentor engineers while driving business impact.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, architectural leadership, and external community engagement, with hybrid or remote work options.