Principal, IT Software Engineer 1 — San Francisco

The Principal, IT Software Engineer 1 is a senior technical authority responsible for setting architectural direction and driving end-to-end solution design across multiple teams and complex, interdependent systems. This role operates with a high degree of autonomy, shaping technical strategy, influencing organizational engineering standards, and serving as a key advisor to engineering leadership on platform direction, technical risk, and long-range planning. The Principal Engineer is a recognized subject matter expert who elevates the capability of the broader engineering organization through mentorship, technical governance, and thought leadership, while directly resolving the most ambiguous and highest-impact technical problems facing the business. This pivotal role is responsible for driving the technical design, implementation, and reliability of our next-generation Customer Experience (CX) orchestration platforms, centered on AWS, Genesys Cloud, and Salesforce. Here’s what you’ll do: • Architects and delivers highly complex, cross-system solutions, proactively identifying and resolving dependencies, risks, and technical debt across multiple teams and platforms. • Sets technical direction and establishes architectural standards, patterns, and best practices adopted across the engineering organization. • Lead development of data pathways between internal and external systems, especially with integration to CRM, AI Platforms, and APIs. • Leads and facilitates architectural review boards, design reviews, and technical governance forums, ensuring solutions align with enterprise architecture and long-term technology strategy. • Drives multi-PI (Program Increment) and multi-quarter technical roadmaps, translating business strategy into actionable engineering initiatives and sequencing work across teams. • Serves as the primary technical escalation point for the most complex, ambiguous, or high-risk problems, often those without established precedent or playbook. • Mentors and coaches senior engineers, tech leads, and managers, building organizational depth in technical decision-making, system design, and engineering craftsmanship. • Champions engineering excellence by defining and promoting best practices, coding standards, tooling strategy, and quality processes across the development community. • Proactively identifies systemic risks (technical, operational, and organizational) and partners with leadership to shape mitigation strategies and influence prioritization. • Represents engineering in cross-functional strategic discussions, influencing product, platform, and infrastructure decisions at an organizational level. • Evaluates emerging technologies and industry trends, making recommendations on adoption that materially affect the technology roadmap. • Leads technical due diligence for major initiatives, including build-vs-buy decisions, platform migrations, and large-scale re-architecture efforts. • Drives resolution of critical production issues requiring deep system knowledge and cross-team coordination. What you’ll need to be successful: • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree a plus. • 3 – 5 years of progressive software engineering experience, including significant experience in senior/lead technical roles with at least 2 years focused on high-scale Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), CX enterprise software or Field Services enterprise software. • Extensive experience designing and building reliable workflows and integrations in major CRMs, specifically Salesforce. • Experience in AWS services (e.g., Lambda, EC2, SQS, Kinesis) and proven production experience using Terraform for infrastructure provisioning. • Experience working with REST and SOAP based web-services preferred. • Recognized subject matter expert with deep, broad technical expertise across software engineering, system design, and architecture. • Demonstrated track record of designing and delivering large-scale, distributed, and highly available systems. • Proven ability to influence technical direction and decision-making at an organizational (not just team) level. • Strong expertise in agile methodologies, SAFe/PI planning, and scaled agile delivery models. • Exceptional communication and executive presence; able to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership. • Demonstrated success mentoring and developing engineering talent, including senior engineers and tech leads. • Experience driving enterprise architecture standards, technology governance, or engineering best-practice initiatives. • Strong business acumen with the ability to connect technical strategy to organizational and business outcomes. May require a background check due to job duties requiring routine access to DIRECTV and DIRECTV customer’s proprietary data. Qualified applicants with arrest and conviction will be considered for employment in accordance with local ordinances and state law. This is a remote position that can be located anywhere in the United States, with the exception of Alaska. #LI-Remote A career with us comes with big rewards: DIRECTV's compensation structure is designed to be market-competitive and fully supports efforts to attract and retain employees. It is the company's policy to offer pay that is competitive with other employers in the local market. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The Base Salary range displayed below reflects the minimum and maximum target salary for each of DIRECTV's 4 (four) US Labor Market Zones. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. DIRECTV WAGE ZONES: $134,363 - $244,036 Low (N1): $134,363 - $201,595 Mid (N2): $141,435 - $212,205 High (N3): $155,579 - $233,426 Top (N4): $162,650 - $244,036 Click HERE to review information on some of the largest Designated Market Areas (DMAs). Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the salary ranges reflect base salary only and do not include bonus or benefits - when you consider all of these together, it represents a pretty impressive total compensation package. Apply today! Fair Chance Ordinance Notice for Los Angeles County applying for jobs at DIRECTV Compliance Notice Regarding Use of Automated Decision-Making Tools in Hiring Process