Principal Software Engineer

About the Team:

The intelligent Developer Ops team builds tools used by ServiceNow’s customers for developing, testing and deploying code to their ServiceNow environments. We’re a team focused on bringing modern solutions for development to ServiceNow’s enterprise customer base.

We are looking for a seasoned Principal Backend Engineer to architect, develop, and optimize backend systems (Enterprise Platform) that power critical application lifecycle and customer-facing SDLC systems at ServiceNow. This role demands deep expertise in Java and JavaScript, strong architectural vision, and leadership in building scalable, secure, and high-performance services.
What you’ll do:

• Participate in all technical aspects of team deliverables including quality, performance, maintainability, and scalability
• Participate in design and code reviews ensuring best practices in performance, maintainability, and testability.  
• Partner with product, design, and engineering leaders to craft solutions that balance innovation, performance, and business impact
• Explore and experiment with new patterns and advocate for approaches that improve system resilience and performance at scale
• Design and implement comprehensive solutions by deeply understanding customer challenges, anticipating future needs, and aligning with product goals
• Design and develop scalable, maintainable, and reusable software components with a strong emphasis on performance and reliability. 
• Integrate automated testing into development workflows to ensure consistent quality across releases. 
• Develop comprehensive test strategies covering functional, regression, integration and performance aspects 
• Mentor and guide other engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and innovation.
• Champion engineering best practices, including code quality, testing, and system reliability.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement by sharing best practices in engineering and quality  
• Promote a culture of engineering craftsmanship, knowledge-sharing, and thoughtful quality practices across the team. 

To be successful in this role you have:

• Proficiency with SQL and relational database technologies such as MariaDB or PostgreSQL
• Strong understanding of caching strategies and their trade-offs
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to lead large-scale technical initiatives
• Strong knowledge of distributed systems, event-driven architectures, and RESTful APIs
• Experience with declarative, metadata driven, frameworks for enterprise applications
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, modern DevOps practices, and automated testing frameworks
• Proficiency with mentoring both junior and senior engineers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and an aptitude for learning new technologies
• Passion for software development, problem solving, coaching, and mentoring other software engineers
• Proven track record of leading major, cross-functional technical projects from conception to launch.
• A strong sense of ownership and a relentless customer focus, with a passion for creating exceptional user experiences.
• A growth mindset and a passion for staying on top of new technologies and industry trends.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.