Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA
Lead Software Engineer jobs in Seattle are in strong demand, concentrated in South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, and Bellevue across cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and consumer technology. Employers hiring right now include JPMorganChase, Oracle, and Apple. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Compute delivers bare metal and virtual machine instances - CPU and GPU -at global scale. We are hiring a Lead Principal Engineer to provide hands-on technical leadership for OCI compute control plane services, with a focus on Imaging and Container Registry. You will architect and deliver distributed systems that are multi-tenant, highly available, and horizontally scalable across OCI regions, while driving operational excellence and cross-team technical alignment.
In this role, you will:
- Architect, design, and operate distributed, highly available, and resilient systems for multi-tenant, horizontally scalable, and cost-efficient architectures that deliver consistent latency, throughput, and durability across OCI regions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE and functions to deliver new platform features focusing on Imaging, Container Registry Services, enforce secure-by-default designs, and improve overall services reliability.
- Mentor and guide engineers in distributed systems design, high-scale data processing, and operational excellence; set and raise engineering standards across multiple teams.
- Drive operational excellence by owning service-level objectives (availability, latency, durability) and reducing toil through automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms.
- Own the full service lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment, on-call, and continuous improvement — maintaining high code and reliability standards.
- Define and drive the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging, Container Registry Services .
- Partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities for Oracle Imaging & Container Registry Services.
- Contribute to the broader Compute vision, influencing how Oracle’s Imaging & Container Registry Services evolve to support mission-critical workloads globally.
We are looking for a hands-on Lead Principal engineer with technical breadth, proven experience in solving cloud scale problems, distributed systems design & implementation experience to build fault tolerant solutions that will form the foundations of the next generation of Compute offerings. The candidate is expected to have strong written and verbal communications skills, the ability to lead projects across organizational boundaries, and experience representing their work to senior leaders.
Qualifications:
- 10+ years of development experience with large scale, highly available distributed systems
- Proficiency in Java programming patterns, programming experience with Scala, Python is preferred.
- Advanced knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
- Experience with operating distributed services at scale
- Expertise in Linux and operating systems
- Systematic problem-solving approach, strong communication skills, strong ownership and drive
- Deep understanding of service metrics and alarms through the development of dashboards, service KPIs, alarming systems
- Ability to propose, scope, design and direct automation, optimizations, and enhancements BS or MS degree in Computer Science/Engineering or a related IT field or equivalent experience relevant to functional area.
Soft Skills & Leadership:
- Proven ability to drive technical outcomes, take ownership of deliverables, and work independently in fast-evolving AI solution spaces.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts and document solution approaches, collaborate across multiple geo distributed teams.
- Demonstrated problem-solving ability leveraging AI, distributed systems, and cloud-native application behaviors. A proactive, experimentation-oriented mindset with a strong willingness to learn and guide team on emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and engineering patterns.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in management and automation of end-to-end CPU/GPU lifecycles at scale
- Proficiency with Cloud and CICD environments
- Proficiency with Kubernetes, OS Images and Terraform
- Proficiency with modern build tools and pipelines
- Proficiency building multi-tenant, virtualized infrastructure
- Proficiency with change control management and mature operating processes
- Proficiency with Security including Identity, SSL and certificates
- Proficiency with Database and Data Stores
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Compute delivers bare metal and virtual machine instances - CPU and GPU -at global scale. We are hiring a Lead Principal Engineer to provide hands-on technical leadership for OCI compute control plane services, with a focus on Imaging and Container Registry. You will architect and deliver distributed systems that are multi-tenant, highly available, and horizontally scalable across OCI regions, while driving operational excellence and cross-team technical alignment.
In this role, you will:
- Architect, design, and operate distributed, highly available, and resilient systems for multi-tenant, horizontally scalable, and cost-efficient architectures that deliver consistent latency, throughput, and durability across OCI regions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE and functions to deliver new platform features focusing on Imaging, Container Registry Services, enforce secure-by-default designs, and improve overall services reliability.
- Mentor and guide engineers in distributed systems design, high-scale data processing, and operational excellence; set and raise engineering standards across multiple teams.
- Drive operational excellence by owning service-level objectives (availability, latency, durability) and reducing toil through automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms.
- Own the full service lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment, on-call, and continuous improvement — maintaining high code and reliability standards.
- Define and drive the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging, Container Registry Services .
- Partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities for Oracle Imaging & Container Registry Services.
- Contribute to the broader Compute vision, influencing how Oracle’s Imaging & Container Registry Services evolve to support mission-critical workloads globally.
We are looking for a hands-on Lead Principal engineer with technical breadth, proven experience in solving cloud scale problems, distributed systems design & implementation experience to build fault tolerant solutions that will form the foundations of the next generation of Compute offerings. The candidate is expected to have strong written and verbal communications skills, the ability to lead projects across organizational boundaries, and experience representing their work to senior leaders.
Qualifications:
- 10+ years of development experience with large scale, highly available distributed systems
- Proficiency in Java programming patterns, programming experience with Scala, Python is preferred.
- Advanced knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
- Experience with operating distributed services at scale
- Expertise in Linux and operating systems
- Systematic problem-solving approach, strong communication skills, strong ownership and drive
- Deep understanding of service metrics and alarms through the development of dashboards, service KPIs, alarming systems
- Ability to propose, scope, design and direct automation, optimizations, and enhancements BS or MS degree in Computer Science/Engineering or a related IT field or equivalent experience relevant to functional area.
Soft Skills & Leadership:
- Proven ability to drive technical outcomes, take ownership of deliverables, and work independently in fast-evolving AI solution spaces.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts and document solution approaches, collaborate across multiple geo distributed teams.
- Demonstrated problem-solving ability leveraging AI, distributed systems, and cloud-native application behaviors. A proactive, experimentation-oriented mindset with a strong willingness to learn and guide team on emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and engineering patterns.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in management and automation of end-to-end CPU/GPU lifecycles at scale
- Proficiency with Cloud and CICD environments
- Proficiency with Kubernetes, OS Images and Terraform
- Proficiency with modern build tools and pipelines
- Proficiency building multi-tenant, virtualized infrastructure
- Proficiency with change control management and mature operating processes
- Proficiency with Security including Identity, SSL and certificates
- Proficiency with Database and Data Stores
See All 65 Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle
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Find Lead Software Engineer JobsLead Software Engineer Job Market in Seattle
Who's Hiring
- JPMorganChase12
- Oracle6
- Apple4
- Blue Origin4
- Uber3
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Construction & Real Estate
- Banking & Financial Services
Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a lead software engineer job in Seattle?
Target Seattle's densest hiring corridors: South Lake Union's cloud and platform companies, Bellevue's enterprise software firms, and the growing fintech and healthtech clusters throughout the metro. Candidates who demonstrate distributed systems experience, prior team leadership, and a portfolio of shipped features at scale stand out. Engaging Seattle's active engineering meetup community and contributing to open-source projects with local collaborators also builds visibility with hiring managers here.
Which companies hire lead software engineers in Seattle?
Employers hiring lead software engineers in Seattle right now include JPMorganChase, Oracle, and Apple, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Seattle's hiring mix includes global technology giants, mid-stage venture-backed startups, and established enterprise software companies, many headquartered or with major engineering offices in the South Lake Union and Eastside corridors.
Are there remote lead software engineer jobs in Seattle?
Yes, though many lead software engineer roles require on-site collaboration given the team leadership and architecture review responsibilities the position carries. About 64% of lead software engineer openings tied to Seattle are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with fully remote options most common in platform engineering and backend infrastructure teams at Seattle-area cloud companies.
How can I get a lead software engineer job in Seattle with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is targeting senior software engineer roles at Seattle's mid-size startups in South Lake Union or Eastside tech hubs, where informal leadership opportunities arise faster than at larger companies. Seek out roles that include mentorship responsibilities or tech lead components, and pursue on-call rotation ownership to build the incident response experience Seattle employers expect before promoting into a formal lead title.
Which industries hire the most lead software engineers in Seattle?
Seattle lead software engineer roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Construction & Real Estate, and Banking & Financial Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Seattle's position as a global cloud computing hub, combined with a maturing healthtech sector and longstanding aerospace and defense presence, keeps engineering leadership demand consistently high across these verticals.
Related Jobs in Washington
See All 65 Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle
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